This post will be a longer one, since I will be combining Week 7 and Week 8's posts. Hopefully I haven't kept folks waiting anxiously for too long, but as they say absence makes the heart grow fonder right?
In these past two weeks, as predicted, our Monarch numbers tapered off significantly. There were some days I was scouring the point and occasionally sprinting up and down Coral Avenue after a single Monarch to take to one of the demos. Well, the results speak for themselves:
Week 7: 3.88 monarchs/hr
Week 8: 20.23 monarchs/hr
The storms really worked their magic on Week 7, leading the Monarch Team to cancel two of our weekend demos due to inclement weather and a general lack of butterflies. Week 8 picked up a bit with the arrival of a cold front and northwest winds though, for the most part, our Monarch friends have gotten out of Dodge. Most of us have instead been witnessing migrations from a different sort, leading us to Week 7 and Week 8's Butterflies of the Week(s)!
Week 7's Butterfly of the Week: the Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis)
ID Points: Medium-sized orange butterfly, with a silver colored question mark (though some would argue the Question Mark spotting appears more like a semi-colon or slightly misshapen bass clef symbol) spotting pattern on the underside of the hindwing. The perimeters of the wings appear bright blue. Distinguishable from the Eastern Comma by an additional horizontal black spot found on the subapical region of the forewing. The Question Marks currently found around the point are a part of the fall/winter brood.
Food plant: Members of the Elm Family, Nettles, and Hackberry
Range: Widespread throughout this region, and as far north as Southern Canada, and west as North Dakota.
Interesting Facts: The Question Mark is another migratory species that, in the past week or so, has been seen on the move across the Delaware Bay to the more southern regions of the coastal U.S. Currently, we are witnessing the fall-winter broods, which are significantly more orange than their spring counterparts that appear blacker in color at the base of their hindwings. It is the spring brood that is ultimately responsible for repopulating the Cape May region each season; though their arrival in the late spring is considerably less dramatic than the movement we are seeing currently.
Week 8's Butterfly of the Week: the Eastern Comma (Polygonia comma)
ID Points: Generally appears smaller in size and lacks the subapical spot on the forewing like the Question Mark. The underside of the hindwing possesses the characteristic silver "comma" that, through binoculars, can be easily missed or mistaken as its' close relative. This species also has spring-summer and fall-winter broods with the same general black to orange hindwing patterning.
Food plant: Elms and Nettles
Range: Also widespread throughout this region, with similar distribution throughout the U.S. as the Question Mark, though less commonly found any further north of Maine.
Interesting Facts: Behaviorally speaking, they are strikingly similar to the Question Mark and it is common to find both species together in the same place. Such an example can be seen below in a fruit feeder set out on a lawn in West Cape May.
As Halloween approaches I'm finding myself wanting to stay longer here in Cape May. This town and all the wonderful people in it have truely worked their magic on me. I've been blessed to live in two countries outside the U.S. for work and school and had some wonderful job opportunities, but nothing in my life has been truely as rewarding as my experience here. I know that I will never forget the people that I have met here who have treated me like part of the big family that is the Cape May Bird Observatory/N.J. Audubon. Thank you all for the Wednesday night poker games, all of the amazing goodies at the potlucks, and for the guidance and patience many of you have given me as I've delved into the world of birding for the very first time this fall. A very special thanks goes to the members of Team Monarch: Dick Walton, Patsy Eickelberg, Louise Zemaitis, Michael O'Brien (thank you for all the pictures), Mark Garland and Paige Cunningham, Bill and Edie Schul, Cameron Cox, and Laura (thank you thank you thank you for your help on the dead-heading around the Point): I couldn't have had a better group of amazing people to work with if I tried.
Most importantly, thank you. Yes you, the readers of this blog, the individuals who came to our tagging demos, the individuals whose curiosity led them to come out and hear about our project's work, the individuals who refused to limit themselves to what they already knew - your support has been invaluable.
Though this year was a slower season, as most of us say, there's always another year and there's always tomorrow. May you all have a very safe and relaxing fall filled with life birds, butterflies, dragonflies, and everything else in between.
Cheers,
Claire
P.S. If anyone would like to reach me or keep in contact my e-mail is: ceiseton@gmail.com
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