A Walk in the Park

Butterfly Count: Park Lyndon, July 1, 2014

Great Spangled Fritillary

We had imagined that a butterfly count might involve strolling along a path, perhaps in a garden, a shaded woods, or a meadow adorned by wildflowers. Butterflies would alight on colorful blossoms to nectar (yes, it’s a verb), pausing so we could photograph them before moving on. As we walked about we would share information about the best locations, the best guidebooks to butterfly identification, and perhaps some photo tips. Then we would adjourn for lunch and conversation at a nearby picnic area.

Instead, we found ourselves stuck in a fen, miles, we thought, from the nearest trail. Our boots made that sucking sound when we lifted them from the mud or standing water, and each step brought with it the danger of a hidden hole, a slippery submerged log, or just a random lump of dirt left by the glaciers. So walking was perilous. Roger, our intrepid leader, a man familiar with the territory, had taken a misstep and fallen into the mud. This did not inspire our confidence. Ordinarily we might use our hands to grab some of the small trees or bushes for support, but many of them were poison sumac, so that was not an option. Besides, we needed to use our hands to swat at deerflies and protect our cameras should we collapse into the mud.

Roger was in pursuit of Copper. (Not sure what kind - based on the way we were stumbling, it might have been a Keystone Copper.) It was an eager pursuit, so sometimes Roger would disappear, adding feelings of abandonment to the pleasures of the day. If only we had figured out how to use our iphone we might make it back to the car!

More than once we thought, “What the hell are we doing here?!”

Kim finally concluded that this was some sort of initiation, akin to the fraternity hazing now outlawed in the civilized world, and that soon folks would emerge from the woods with smiles, movie cameras, and plenty of iced tea.

Nope.

But of course we did make it back to the picnic area and the car, and we did enjoy a peanut butter and DEET lunch with our fellow Butterfly Counters, and we did exchange location and guidebook tips, along with a lot of laughs. And part of our walk was along a path. But still . . ..

It was, nevertheless, worthwhile, and not just because we’d survived. Kim got some excellent shots, including a “lifer,” the Edwards Hairstreak.

Edwards Hairstreak

Baltimore Checkerspot

Banded Hairstreak

Eyed Brown

She also got an impressive array of mosquito bites. Not many people venture into the fen, so the mosquitoes there are enthusiastic about company and not at all deterred by shirts.

We also saw and stumbled over Allegheny Mound Ants. They have a symbiotic relationship with Edwards Hairstreak larvae, looking after them and even housing them in exchange for a drop of sweet "honeydew" that the larvae secrete.

Our next Butterfly Count is in two days. They claim it will be at the Botannical Gardens, but if there is a fen on the property, we are sure they will find it.