Colorado Springs/ Pike NF late June 2024
Posted: Wed Jul 03, 2024 2:23 pm
Work took me out to Colorado Springs, and it turned out I had some time to search for butterflies the last week of June 2024.
I am not accustomed to field work in dry mountains. I have no idea where to look for butterflies, or how they behave. So this was a novelty, I was effectively a neophyte.
Being comfortable near water and trees and green, I started low (which, for Colorado Springs, means 6000ft.) I saw what one would usually see anywhere at low levels- skippers, sulphers, monarchs. I did see Papilio rutulus, which is at least as large as our MST with IMHO more striking patterns.
But what I later discovered is that there are more flowering plants and more butterflies at altitude (say, > 9500ft.) In fact, every species I saw at 6000ft I saw more of over 9500ft. At low levels milkweed was a draw, but at higher elevations the lupine was the nectar source.
Up in the mountains on dirt roads I was shocked to find Papilio rutulus, and even more surprised and joyed to see it nectaring side-by-side with Papilio eurymedon! PE seems to be more of a mountain species, I never saw it down low.
On ONE hilltop I found eurymedon, rutulus and Papilio zelicaon. The latter were doing as I'd observed in California- chasing each other around mostly-coniferous forest fields. Why only this one hilltop? They all look the same to me.
I also saw in the mountains: checkerspots, one fritilary, and lots of skippers. I didn't catch any skippers, since I can't even get rid of those I have now.
I did drive up to the top of Pike's Peak in Pike NF, which is SW of where I did most field work. I saw virtually nothing! I cannot explain why, except the environment guys seem to be clearing out a lot of trees from Pike's Peak area, and in doing so destroy the roadside fields. BTW, the drive is not for the faint of heart- no shoulder, no guardrail, and 800ft drops; you go around a corner and all you see is edge of road and sky.
I never saw Papilio multicaudata, nor any Parnassius. Real disappointment.
Since I was in the area I also went to the May Museum of Natural History. This small, family run museum houses a number of display cases, mostly Leps and large Coleoptera. There are plenty of reviews online, summary is they're faded out, but cool. I really liked the displayed collection because it's (1) a snapshot of a man's dedication and (2) it's a snapshot of available leps from the early 1900s- contrast with today and some of the collection is unobtainium, and some described as rare are now common as dirt. I did note that many specimens endemic to Solomon Islands were labeled as PNG or "northern Australia".
I'm certain that no taxa I capture are rare or of much interest to Colorado-based Lepidopterists. But it was interesting and fun for me...almost like being a kid again.
I am not accustomed to field work in dry mountains. I have no idea where to look for butterflies, or how they behave. So this was a novelty, I was effectively a neophyte.
Being comfortable near water and trees and green, I started low (which, for Colorado Springs, means 6000ft.) I saw what one would usually see anywhere at low levels- skippers, sulphers, monarchs. I did see Papilio rutulus, which is at least as large as our MST with IMHO more striking patterns.
But what I later discovered is that there are more flowering plants and more butterflies at altitude (say, > 9500ft.) In fact, every species I saw at 6000ft I saw more of over 9500ft. At low levels milkweed was a draw, but at higher elevations the lupine was the nectar source.
Up in the mountains on dirt roads I was shocked to find Papilio rutulus, and even more surprised and joyed to see it nectaring side-by-side with Papilio eurymedon! PE seems to be more of a mountain species, I never saw it down low.
On ONE hilltop I found eurymedon, rutulus and Papilio zelicaon. The latter were doing as I'd observed in California- chasing each other around mostly-coniferous forest fields. Why only this one hilltop? They all look the same to me.
I also saw in the mountains: checkerspots, one fritilary, and lots of skippers. I didn't catch any skippers, since I can't even get rid of those I have now.
I did drive up to the top of Pike's Peak in Pike NF, which is SW of where I did most field work. I saw virtually nothing! I cannot explain why, except the environment guys seem to be clearing out a lot of trees from Pike's Peak area, and in doing so destroy the roadside fields. BTW, the drive is not for the faint of heart- no shoulder, no guardrail, and 800ft drops; you go around a corner and all you see is edge of road and sky.
I never saw Papilio multicaudata, nor any Parnassius. Real disappointment.
Since I was in the area I also went to the May Museum of Natural History. This small, family run museum houses a number of display cases, mostly Leps and large Coleoptera. There are plenty of reviews online, summary is they're faded out, but cool. I really liked the displayed collection because it's (1) a snapshot of a man's dedication and (2) it's a snapshot of available leps from the early 1900s- contrast with today and some of the collection is unobtainium, and some described as rare are now common as dirt. I did note that many specimens endemic to Solomon Islands were labeled as PNG or "northern Australia".
I'm certain that no taxa I capture are rare or of much interest to Colorado-based Lepidopterists. But it was interesting and fun for me...almost like being a kid again.