Joann Merritt's Essays

Spring Butterfly Observations
April, 1992

At the Lindsey Ranch south of Sheffield a small dark butterfly stopped to observe Don and me as we nectared on Van Camp Pork & Beans. He perched on a dead flower where the field marks that identify him as a Henry’s Elfin were visible. We found an Arizona Powdered Skipper and 12 other species. Don worked just as hard photographing these butterflies as if he actually had film in the camera!

Stopping at the Roadside Park northeast of Sterling City proved to be a rewarding experience for two MIDNATS. We saw deer drinking from a clear pool of rainwater in the canyon, a nearby gray fox calmly observing us, a flock of Cedar Waxwings at a puddle of water in a green meadow and then we followed a constantly moving dark brown butterfly with copper wing patches. We had no close-focusing binoculars, field guide or camera with us but we scrambled over the rocky hillside and through the junipers until we saw enough marks to determine later that it was a Red Satyr.

Happiness in the form of an Olive Hairstreak alighted on an Antelope-horns milkweed plant to nectar on a rounded cluster of blooms. This butterfly over winters as a chrysalis and had evidently just hatched as his green wings with rusty orange and white markings were as striking as a warbler’s spring plumage. We were on the Lindsey Ranch south of Rankin near a stand of large junipers which is the proper habitat for this Hairstreak. Pictures available upon request.

Thursday April 16th we were traveling on Loop 250 by Midland Airpark when we noticed hundreds of Lyside butterflies along the chain link fence. From what we could observe they appeared to be moving from north to south and all gathering at the fence. We learned later that all day on Friday Don Hunter had observed Lysides going south over his house. Field guides state that Lysides , which are residents of south Texas and Mexico, burst out of Texas to the Arkansas Valley and other watersheds of the Great Plains. The conundrum is why they were heading south into a rather brisk wind instead of going north with the wind if their purpose was to “burst out of Texas” to the Great Plains!”