Finally, a little activity around here.

13 years ago

Was out on my patio enjoying the wonderful 112 heat (not) early this afternoon, and the Senna down in the dry lake bed in front of my place was visited by only the second Pieridea that IÂve seen this entire year so far. Pretty sure it was a Eurema boisduvaliana, and a female. It made several typical stop and go landings at various places on the two plants, so most likely was laying eggs.

We have lots of Senna artemisioides v. filifolia plants around the complex, but like mine they are all down in the rocky xeriscape lakes and river beds. So there is not much chance that I can get to them on my walker to look for eggs with the rocks and steep slopes. Too bad since I know the exact places she visited, so if she did lay eggs they wouldnÂt be too hard to find.

It was nice to finally see a lep of any kind actually trying to go about its routine of perpetuating the species this year as it has been very slim pickings around here. This is a species we donÂt see here often or in any great numbers as this area is about the northern limit that they stray to. This is the first time IÂve seen one laying eggs here (if in fact she did). WeÂve always thought it was possible for them to run a generation here as there is so much Senna and Cassia in the local xeriscapes. But we have just never found any ovum or larvae to prove it. We have proven many times that Eurema nicippe and E. mexicana run a generation here and in SW Utah some years, but they come in far greater numbers too.

IÂve reared E. boisduvaliana a few times from livestock I wild collected in SE Arizona mostly. I have made several trips down there, mostly for the Coliadinae, Nymphalidae and Coleoptera that are resident there or stray in from Mexico and Central America. And of course for the hummingbirds. Everybody should do Madera and Ramsey CanyonÂs once in their lifetime Â for the butterflies and moths, the beetles and for the birds that not seen elsewhere in the US.

Anyway, these are the two Green Feathery SennaÂs that she was visiting.

Larry

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Comments (5)

runmede
13 years ago
I'm not too familiar with latin names of butterflies so I went through your message and looked them up. I've raised Sleepy Orange (Abaeis [Eurema] nicippe:
http://www.carolinanature.com/butterflies/sleepyorange.html

Here in VA, in my backyard, I have Senna marilandica (Maryland senna):
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=sema11

Cloudless Sulphur (Phoebis sennae) also use the Senna marilandica (Maryland senna)
http://www.nearctica.com/butter/plate4/Psennae.htm

Pieridae
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/taxonomy?f=15&sci=Pieridae&com=Whites%20and%20Sulphurs

Eurema boisduvaliana (Boisduval's Yellow)
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=1448

Senna artemisioides v. filifolia
Botanical Name: Cassia artemisioides v. filifolia
Common Name: Green Feathery Senna
http://www.tucson.watersavingplants.com/eplant.php?plantnum=1349&letter=a&return=g857

Mexican Yellow, Eurema mexicana
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=1449&chosen_state=22*Louisiana

Do you have permits from the USDA to bring butterflies across state lines? Just wondering.
I attended one of the USDA stakeholders meetings. I keep only one permit now for Maryland because I end up helping a friend with her Monarch Fiesta in the fall. Can't take, mail, butterflies across state lines without a permit from the USDA/APHIS (see below):

Here is a link that might be useful: Association for Butterflies has some good info on USDA/APHIS Permits
ladobe
Original Author
13 years ago
Back during my active years researching, collecting and rearing leps every bug I did had the proper Class A, other required collecting, import or export permits whether domestic or foreign species that was required at the time. Those permits are all on file. I'm fully aware of what APHIS requires now concerning the matter, but I do not actively do lepidoptera anymore, and haven't for many, many years.
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bernergrrl
13 years ago
Larry--I cannot believe the heat you have there!! Ugh! Glad you got to see some something fluttering around--hope there will be more soon. Maybe it's just a lull with all the leps in either the larval or pupal stage?
ladobe
Original Author
13 years ago
Hi "S Girl",

We haven't made the 120's yet, but have got close to it. The 120's are coming though, soon. The summer monsoons made an attempt about a week ago, but have failed so far to drop a single drop. So its hot and dry and many of my xeriscape plants are floundering.

With no adult lep activity at all this year, there would not be many if any of this years larvae, or any pupa either unless they overwintered as such and are a late summer/fall bug that just hasn't eclosed yet. Logic is that the unusually long, cold winter/spring here in the west kiled most of them off and it will take some years to make a come back.

I talked to an old collecting buddy a couple of days ago that used to hike the arctic/alpine habitats with me up in the frozen north. He said there is not a lot happening there either with few spring or summer bugs this year. And summer will be over up there in another month. It's a bad year for the leps in my old haunts, and an even worse one here.

Larry
ladobe
Original Author
13 years ago
I had another single visitor to my Senna artemisioides v. filifolia today about noon. But instead of pale yellow with "tails" this one was orange and larger. Several stops were made inside the plants each in a different location, so I presume to lay eggs. Then she accommodatingly flew up and landed on the Lantana right in front of me not three feet away. No I didn't have my camera with me, but it was an easy ID as an Abaeis nicippe female.

So I assume there is both Eurema boisduvaliana and Abaeis nicippe ovum/larva in those two Senns plants now. No way I can get down to them for pictures, but it was nice to see another lep anyway as scarce as they have been this year.

As I said before the E. boisduvaliana is a rare visitor here, but A. nicippe normally flies in fair numbers most years. This year nothing is flying in numbers, and in fact almost nothing is flying at all.

Larry

Finally, a little activity around here.

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Finally, a little activity around here.

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