MV NATURE
butterflies in july story and photos by Matt Perry July is a highly active month in nature. Traditionally it is the best time of year to see butterflies in our region. Although in the Mohawk Valley, butterflies of several species are encountered in the other warm months, most do not enter their adult stage (flighted stage) until late June. Finding butterflies entails visiting the habitat where they feed and breed. When looking for them it is wise to take a path that traverses a variety of habitat types since different species have different habitat requirements. I try to take paths that have woods or wetlands on one side and meadow on the other. Paths like these may be used by butterflies that live in both habitats. I look for the plants that provide nectar and also plant species that butterflies lay their eggs on. These are called “host plants.” Most butterfly host plants are common species that grow with little coaxing. Most occur naturally in the environment in areas that are unspoiled or left fallow. Common plants such as violets, nettles, elm, cherry, and willow are important host plants for native butterflies. Fritillaries like the Great Spangled Fritillary will lay their eggs on violets, often those growing right in and along a meadow
path. A Red Admiral butterfly may lay its eggs on Wood Nettle plants which grow along woodland trails. American Lady butterflies lay their eggs on composites and, in our region, they seem to prefer the composite species called Pearly Everlasting. The Baltimore checkerspot butterfly usually lays its eggs on Turtlehead. Turtlehead is a native plant that inhabits wetlands and streamsides in our region. At our nature preserve, one of my favorite places to check for butterflies is a wetland we call Winterberry Swamp. Besides the shrub called Winterberry, the wetland contains many plants that can be found nowhere else at the preserve including ferns species usually associated with the Adirondacks. In July it can be an especially good place to find butterflies. When I come into the swamp, I am looking specifically for two species known to breed there. One, the Baltimore Checkerspot butterfly, lays its eggs on leaves of Turtlehead plants
Baltimore Checkerspot which grow in the swamp; the other, the Eyed Brown butterfly, lays its eggs on sedges that grow in and around the wetland pools. Other butterfly species come to the swamp to feed on the various wildflowers. One of the showier plants is called Swamp Milkweed. It grows taller than common Milkweed and its flowers are redder with a flatter top. Monarch butterflies, checkerspots, fritillaries, and swallowtails enjoy sipping nectar from these natural feeding stations in the swamp. Back in late May, I had encountered the black and orange hairy caterpillars of Baltimore Checkerspots feeding on the leaves of turtlehead plants in this swamp. Now those
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