During my recent trip to the Sinlahekin Wildlife Area, I discovered my first Monarch caterpillar! Shortly afterward, my mom found a second one nearby, which I brought home to rear, as it was slightly larger than the one I found and I didn't want to risk taking both if I couldn't find enough milkweed to keep them fed.
He has gone from just over 1/4 inch long to over 1 inch long in one week! Also while up north last week, I took advantage of being in the area and visited Long Swamp for the first time. It is a place I've been curious to see, especially as it hosts the Freija Fritillary, which is only recorded in a small area of northern Okanogan County in Washington (most of it's range is in Canada). Long Swamp is only about 15 straight-line miles from the Sinlahekin, but is at about 6,000 feet elevation, so has a suite of higher-elevation/sub-alpine butterfly species not found at the Sinlahekin. I was able to collect my first Freija Fritillary (
Boloria freija), a nice fresh male, and also saw numerous Vidler's Alpines (
Erebia vidleri) and Anna's Blues (
Plebejus anna).
I'm about to head down to the Lepidopterists' Society annual conference in Utah next week and don't have much time to report about my trip to the Sinlahekin just yet, so there will be lots to catch up on when I get back!
For now, here are some photos of Mr. (or Ms.) Bugaboo...
 |
| My first Monarch caterpillar! |
 |
| Mom's first Monarch caterpillar (the one I brought home) |
 |
| Mr. Bugaboo, three days after bringing him home (~3/4 inch) |
 |
| What he looks like today, at a little over 1 inch long |
Are there butterflies at Whipple Creek Park ? You could go have a look and get dirty at the same time.
ReplyDeleteJoin WTA for a 1/2 day of giving back to trails. We're offering a series of morning events aimed at engaging more youth and families in near-town stewardship projects. But the "Young at Heart" are welcome too! For this work party we're constructing a reroute through a tall Doug-fir forest alongside Whipple Creek. from: http://www.wta.org/volunteer/trail-work-parties
I saw this and thought of you. I'll likely be on a WTA trip along I-90.