Saturday, August 31, 2013

MBC Trip to Sherborn Power Lines

Today was overcast in the 70s and very high humidity.  It didn't seem like a particularly good day for seeing butterflies, but there was a scheduled Mass Butterfly Club field trip in one of the hot spots close to home, so I went.  I'm glad I did.  Although the sun only peeked out a few minutes, we saw a good variety of butterflies, I met some new people, and it was fun to be out in nature with like-minded people.  We were searching for Leonard's Skippers, but without the sun to assist us, we did not find any.

Appalachian Browns
mating

Common Spreadwing (female)
(unconfirmed)


Great Spangled Fritillary


Praying Mantis (my first!)


Eastern-Tailed Blue


Eastern Forktail Damselfly


Silver-Bordered Fritillary
(dorsal view)


ventral view


Virginia Meadow Beauty

From my perspective, the Preying Mantis and the Silver-Bordered Fritillary were the highlights of the trip.  I had never seen a Preying Mantis before, and I had only seen a Silver-Bordered Fritillary in New Hampshire to this point.  It was my first sighting for the state of Massachusetts.   The Silver-Bordered Fritillary flew in and landed right next to me on the trail.  I couldn't have asked for a better view or a better photo op!

I also really liked the Virginia Meadow Beauty wildflower.  It has 8 stamens and is a really interesting looking flower.


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2 comments:

  1. Nick MorganSeptember 2, 2013 at 6:21 PM

    Lovely pictures as usual and some interesting butterflies. I particularly like the Appalachian Browns. I haven't seen them before. The Great Spangled Fritillary is spectacular.

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    1. DawnSeptember 2, 2013 at 8:01 PM

      Thanks, Nick! I don't see the Appalachian Browns that often, so they were a treat, especially to witness the mating. The GSF was in a pretty setting, but my favorite was the Silver-Bordered since it was the first time I saw it in Massachusetts!

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