BY: STEVE BIASETTI, GROUP FOR THE EAST END DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

Early this month, Jay Kuhlman and I met up for our 16th Annual rendition of the Central Suffolk July Butterfly Count. The Count is coordinated throughout the continent by the North American Butterfly Association (NABA); it originated in 1975 with The Xerces Society.

One day each summer since 2005, Jay K. and I have searched for butterflies of all kinds in the fields, forests, and wetlands of Eastport, Center Moriches, Manorville, Riverhead and Calverton. This year, we were joined by Jay Rand, who snapped wonderful wildlife shots throughout the day (a few of which accompany this post).

We found about two-dozen butterfly species on the day. These sightings included large showy types (monarchs, red-spotted purples, common buckeyes, three kinds of swallowtails), small, fast-flying blurs (such as dun skippers and little glassywings), and little colorful gems (e.g., American coppers, gray hairstreaks, eastern tailed-blues). We also encountered species that are tied to specific habitats, including woodland denizens (little wood satyrs and common wood nymphs) and wetland specialists (Appalachian browns, least skippers and mulberrywings).

Jay K., Jay R. and I have broad naturalist interests. So I must admit that our energies were not focused solely on butterflies during the day. Overall insect diversity was fantastic: cicadas droning in the midday heat, six-spotted tiger beetles zipping from sun patch to sun patch, and a dung beetle rolling its prize through the low grass. Of the Odonates, 11 species of dragonflies (including widow skimmers, common whitetails, eastern pondhawks and halloween pennants) and four kinds of damselflies (e.g., violet dancers, familiar bluets and spreadwings) competed for our attention. With Jay R.’s expertise, we were able to pin a species name on several moth species as well (including the photographed sweetfern geometer moth).

Although this post concerns insect sightings for the day, I would be remiss to exclude the vertebrates. We identified 50 species of birds in our travels (including stunning male orchard orioles and eastern bluebirds), five kinds of mammals (highlighted with an eastern woodchuck), three varieties of amphibians (e.g., Fowler’s toads and bullfrogs), and three types of reptiles (of which a colorfully patterned eastern garter snake may have been the star of the day). All in all, the full-day wildlife search was “just what the doctor ordered” as a pleasant diversion during these troubling times.

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