Butterflies at Skunk's July 1

Today was the Skunk's Misery butterfly count, always held on the first Sunday in July.  It is always one of the more interesting counts in the area and I have been participating in it for a long time.  In the morning we check out Mosa Forest, as Skunk's Misery is generally called.

I did the west half of Centreville Drive, as I often do.  There was not a large number of leps, and in fact I never found a single skipper!  No doubt the this heat wave was a factor to some degree in keeping butterflies less active.
I started off with a good number of Monarchs, which seem to be doing well this year.

Tawny Emperors are quite numerous at this time.

Hairstreaks were few in number, but I saw more before the day's count officially began.  I attribute this to the extreme heat.  I only saw Banded.

Highlight for the day was my discovery of a Harvester!  I first saw it sitting beside a hickory nut on the road.

These are unique creatures that feed only on aphids, and are not often seen.

This was only the third one I have ever seen and the last one was on this count in 2012, I believe.

I also found an uncommon species in the form of a Compton Tortoiseshell.  We had a single one last year as well in the same area.

Gray Commas were in good numbers on Centreville.  There were a few Eastern Commas, but I never saw a Question Mark.

After lunch, I checked out a couple of spots in the northwest section of the circle.  The best spot is off Mosside Road along the river near the bridge south of Aughrim.  It is always a favourite stop of mine.

I finally saw some skippers, including several Delaware, several European and a single Tawny-edged.  I later saw a Dun or two.

Dragonflies were somewhat scarce today.  I recall one year I spotted a female Great Blue Skimmer, a rarity in southern Ontario.

Halloween Pennant

The afternoon was stifling hot and I mainly just drove around!

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail