Washington Area Butterfly Club

Events Archive

1998 Butterfly Events



April 1998

April 28 (Thursday) -- Annual Pot Luck and Field Trip Planning Meeting
7:30 p.m. Long Branch Nature Center. Bring your calendar.

May 1998

Saturday, May 2 and Sunday, May 3

Native Plant Sale at the Audubon Naturalist Society
10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. - Admission fee on Sunday for the May Fair. There will be native butterfly nectar and host plants there for sale, supplied by Denise Gibbs' nursery "Wings & Wildflowers". Included will be a special selection for monarch lovers with several different species of milkweeds including: plenty of common milkweed, swamp milkweed, tropical milkweed, and a limited supply of purple milkweed, blunt-leaved milkweed and poke milkweed. For information call Judy at (301) 652-9188, extension 3016.

Potomac Overlook Park Open House

Monday, May 4

Afternoon Butterfly Walk with Dr. Robert Michael Pyle, America's leading Lepidopterist
1:30 to 5:30 p.m. - Co-sponsored by Audubon Naturalist Society and Washington Area Butterfly Club. Dr. Pyle is author of the Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Butterflies, the Handbook for Butterfly Watchers, and many other books, including Wintergreen, which was awarded the John Burroughs Medal in 1986 as the year's best natural history book.  [Flyer]

Saturday, May 9

Prince William Chapter of Virginia Native Plant Society's Plant Sale
9 a.m. to Noon - Bethel Lutheran Church, Manassas. A chance to pick up some plants for your Butterfly Garden. Call Helen Walter, 703-330-9614 for information.

Monday, May 11

Butterfly Flowers for Children
2:30 to 3:30 p.m. - Ages 6 to 8 years, Green Spring Gardens Park. $2.50 per child. Reservations required; call 703-642-5173.

Saturday, May 16

The annual plant sale at Green Spring Gardens Park
10 a.m. to 3 p.m. - Wildflowers and native plants will be sold by the Potowmack chapter of the Virginia Native Plant Society. Call Green Spring at 703-642-5173 for information.

Saturday, May 30

Successful Butterfly Gardening, Green Spring Gardens Park
1 to 2 p.m. - Horticulturist Cathy Strager will discuss plants to attract butterflies. Class is held outside. Free, but limited to 25; register by calling 703-642-5173.

June 1998

Thursday, June 4 and Saturday, June 6

Introduction to Butterfly Studies, taught by Mark Garland
7:30 to 9:30 p.m. (Thursday) - Audubon Naturalist Society members $30; nonmembers $42. Call (301) 652-9188, extension 3006 for more information.

Sunday, June 14
Drawing and Painting Butterflies
For ages 12 to adult. Artist/entomologist Kandy Phillips. Black Hill Visitor Center, Boyds, Maryland. Fee: $4. Registration required. Call 301-916-0220.

Saturday, June 20

Baltimore Checkerspots and Other Butterflies of Frederick County's High Country. WABC Trip
10 a.m. to 3 p.m. - Led by Dick Smith. [Details]

Butterfly and Plant Relationships, Manassas National Battlefield Park, with Alonso Abugattas
8:00 a.m to Noon - $30. For information call Alonso at (703) 490-0455.

Tuesday, June 23 to July 18

Butterflies, A Two-credit USDA Graduate Course (ENATH 275)
6:00 to 8:00 p.m. - taught by Nate Erwin. South Agriculture Building, downtown DC. Field trips June 27, July 11, and 18. Tuition: $134. Call USDA Graduate School at (202) 720-5885 for more information.

Friday, June 26

Annual Little Bennett Regional Park Butterfly Count
Clarksburg, Md. Ages 16 to adust. Leader: Denise Gibbs. Fee: $2. Call (301) 916-0220.

Saturday, June 27

Flutterbys, led by Danielle Miller
1:30 to 2:30 p.m. - for children ages 4 to 6 with an adult. Audubon Naturalist Society members pay $8 per child; nonmembers $10 per child. Call (301) 652-9188, extension 3006, for information.

Tenth Annual Western Montgomery County Butterfly Count
9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. - For information call Stephanie Mason at (301) 652-9188, or Denise Gibbs at (301) 253- 6903.

Fifth Annual Manassas/Bull Run Butterfly Count
8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. - For information, call Peter Stangle at (703) 281-3256.

Sunday, June 28

Butterflies of the Eastern Shore
Full-day field trip led by Dick Smith. Audubon Naturalist Society members $24; nonmembers $36. Call (301) 652-9188, extension 3006, for details.

Mondays, June 29 to August 31

Insect Life
Two credit USDA Graduate School course. Field trips: July 18, August 8 and 29. Woodend Sanctuary, Chevy Chase. Tuition: $164. Call USDA Graduate School, (202) 720-5885.

July 1998

Thursday, July 9, and Saturday, July 11

Advanced Butterfly Studies, led by Dick Smith
7:30 to 9:30 p.m. (Thursday) - $30 for Audubon Naturalist Society members; $42 for nonmembers. Call (301) 652-9188, extension 3006.

Thursdays, July 9 to August 13

Moths of the Capital Region
Two-credit USDA Graduate School course. National Museum of Natural History, downtown D.C. Field trips: July 11 and 18. Instructor: Dr. David Adamski. Call USDA Graduate School, (202) 720-5885.

Friday, July 10

Butterfly Walk and Garden Tour
Tour leader's Damascus, Maryland, butterfly garden and butterfly meadow, then carpool to nearby park to observe butterflies. Fee: $2. Leader: Denise Gibbs. Call (301) 916-0220.

Saturday, July 18

Annual Prince Georges County Butterfly Count, Patuxent River Park
Training session on July 16. For information and packet, call Jean Tierney at (301) 627-6074.

District of Columbia Butterfly Count
Start 11 a.m., Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. [Details]

Sunday, July 19

Northern Fairfax County/Arlington Butterfly Count
9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. - Call Alonso Abugattas at the Long Branch Nature Center, (703) 228-6535, for information.

Friday, July 24

Butterfly Walk and Garden Tour
Tour Montgomery County Master Gardener's Earth Garden, which includes extensive butterfly garden. Also nearby fields for abundant and uncommon species. Adults. Fee: $2. Leader: Denise Gibbs. Call (301) 916-0220.

Saturday, July 25

Bath County, Virginia, Butterfly Count, Warm Springs, VA
10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. - For information call Stephanie Mason, (301) 652-9188, Ext. 2036.

Annual Nassawango Creek Butterfly Count
Furnace, Md (Worcester County). Call Bill Bostian, (410) 546-8597.

Butterfly Program, Prince William Forest Park
9 to 10:30 a.m. Parking Area A, Prince William Forest Park, Park Entrance Road, Triangle, VA. Free. Reservations required. (703) 221-7181.

Sunday, July 26

Bees, Butterflies, and Blossoms, the Biology of a Partnership
9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. - Leader is David Flaim. $18 for Audubon Naturalist Society members; nonmembers $24. Call 301-652-9188, extension 3006, for details.

Second Annual Loudoun County Butterfly Count, Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy
9:00 a.m. Near Waterford. Participants will be teamed -- no experience is necessary. For information, call Joe Coleman at (540) 554-2542.

Butterfly Workshop and 5th Annual Census, Airlie Environmental Education Center, Warrenton, Virginia
Full day. Instructor: Nate Erwin, Manager of the Insect Zoo, Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. Classroom in the morning, butterfly count in the afternoon. Space is limited -- pre-registration for either the full-day or the count-only is required. $15 for full-day event, $5 for afternoon census only. For further information, call Donielle Rininger at 540-341-3239.

August 1998

Saturday, August 1 to Sunday, September 27

Annual "Flights of Fancy" Butterfly Exhibit, Brookside Gardens Conservatory, Wheaton, MD
Brookside Gardens will again turn their conservatory into a butterfly show. 18-20 butterfly species, possibly some moths -- in various stages of their life cycle, all U.S. natives.Admission: $3. Call (301) 949-8230 for details.

Sunday, August 2

Butterflying in Southern Maryland
1:00 to 4:30 p.m. - Led by Prince Georges County naturalist Lisa Bierer-Garrett. Meet at Cosca Regional Park/ Clearwater Nature Center's Butterfly garden at 1:00 p.m. We wll then travel to Cheltenham Wetlands and finish at the Suitland Bog. The Bog is on Suitland road by the Suitland psrkway and close to the beltway so it is easy to jump on it and head home. Lisa will also have an open tour on Sat. at 10:00 at Suitland Bog (but more plants/less butterfly emphasis). For information, call her at (301) 782-7344, or email her at CandLGarrett@webTV.net.

Saturday, August 8

Dragonfly and Butterfly Walk at Centennial Park

Howard County, MD, just north of Columbia. Sponsored by the Howard County Bird Club, a chapter of the Maryland Ornithological Society. Attendance free. Meet at 9:00 a.m. at the west end parking lot off Centennial Lane. The walk (about 1 mile) along park paths will cover lakeside, field, and a variety of marsh habitats with plentiful nectar plants such as Joe Pye, thistle, N.Y. ironweed, and swamp milkweed. Unexpected butterflies encountered last year were American Snout and Sleepy Orange. Will end around noon. Richard Orr and Dick Smith will be leading the dragonfly and butterfly ids. Binoculars recommended. For directions to park, and other details, contact Dick Smith [(240) 228-4973 (office, Laurel, MD) or (410) 997-7439 (home, Columbia, MD)].

Saturday, August 8, and Sunday, August 9

Wild America Video on Butterflies
Saturday, 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and noon; Sunday, 10 a.m. Half-hour video. Huntley Meadows Visitor Center, Alexandria. Free. 703-768-2525.

Friday, August 14

Butterflies and Bees Program
10 - 11:30 For ages 6 & up. Hidden Oaks Nature Center, Annandale, VA. $2. Call 703-941-1065 to reserve a spot.

Saturday, August 15

Butterfly Gardening Discussion and Tour
11:00 a.m. to noon. Green Spring Gardens Park, Alexandria. Free. Call 703-642-5173 to reserve a spot.

Banshee's Bugs Field Trip with the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy
9 a.m. A trip to Banshee Reeks. Meet at Simplson Middle School. Join Cliff Fairweather, naturalist for the Audubon Naturalist Society, on a a field trip exploring the world of summer insects. We'll likely see dragonflies, damselflies, assassin bugs, butterflies, and more. Registration required. Call Joe Coleman at 540-554-2542. (Piedmont Chapter, Virginia Native Plant Society)

Sunday, August 16

Washington Area Butterfly Club field trip to Naughty Pine Plantation
2 p.m. Jay McRoberts and his wife, Edie, currently have 2 butterfly houses in operation, one of which is 100 feet long. He has raised Baltimore checkerspots, mourning cloaks, question marks and more. At the time we spoke, they had 20 different species in various stages of development. [Details]

Saturday, August 22

Monarch Slide Presentation and Tagging
2 - 3 p.m., Hidden Oaks Nature Center, Annandale. Free. Call 703-941-1065 to reserve a spot.

Manassas National Battlefield Park Field Trip at Deep Cut Meadow on Featherbed Lane with Nicki Staunton
8:30 a.m. Take a two-hour loop walk to find butterflies and butterfly host plants in this rich wet neadow. For more information call Nicki Staunton at 703-368-9803. (Piedmont Chapter, Virginia Native Plant Society)

September 1998

Friday, September 4

Butterfly World Trip
10 a.m. to 3 p.m. $5 (includes transportation). A trip to the Brookside Gardens butterfly exhibit from the Clearwater Nature Center, Cosca Regional Park, Clinton, Maryland. Ages 6 and up. Led by Lisa "the butterfly lady". Call 301-297-4575 (TTY 301-699-2544) to register.

Sunday, September 6

Butterfly Walk at Centennial Park
9:30 a.m. to 12 noon. Howard County, MD, just north of Columbia. Local butterfly expert Dick Smith will lead a one-mile walk along park paths through lakeside, field, and marsh habitats with plentiful nectal plants, such as Joe-Pye Weed, thistle, New York ironweed, and swamp milkweed. Unexpected butterflies encountered last year: American Snout and Sleepy Orange. Binoculars recommended, although closer examination is expected. Meet at the west-end parking lot off Centennial Lane. Sponsored by the Howard County Bird Club, a chapter of the Maryland Ornithological Society. Free. For more information contact Dick -- Office (240) 228-4973, Home (410) 997-7439.

Butterflies of Soldiers Delight Serpentine Barrens

Baltimore County, MD, about 8 miles west of Baltimore Beltway. Sponsored by Soldiers Delight Visitors Center. Attendance free. Meet at 1:00 p.m. at the visitor's center off Deer Park Rd. Dick Smith will present a short slide intro (15 mins.) on the butterflies of the barrens and then will lead a walk (total about 1½ miles) through barrens to an open streamside habitat with abundant blazing star, N.Y. ironweed, and knapweed. A variety of skipper species, including the very colorful Leonard's Skipper, are common at the barrens in early September and have always been encountered on this annually scheduled outing. Will end around 4:00 p.m. Binoculars recommended. For directions to the Soldiers Delight Visitors Center, and other details, contact Dick Smith [(240) 228-4973 (office, Laurel, MD) or (410) 997-7439 (home, Columbia, MD)].

Friday, September 11 through Sunday, September 20

Annual Arlington Red Cross "Butterflies in Flight" Exhibit
Live butterflies and their host plants. Lee-Harrison Shopping Center at the corner of Lee Highway and N. Harrison Street, Arlington, VA. Admission: $5 adults, $4 seniors over 60, $3 children ages 2-12, free under 2 years old.

Sunday, September 13

Lookout for Butterflies. Point Lookout State Park (southern St. Mary's Co., MD)
(3/4 day field trip). With its southward pointing peninsular shape, Point Lookout in early fall is the nearest landshot at the mouth of the Potomac River for northward emigrating butterflies and also a concentration point and rest stop for clusters of southward migrating Monarchs. As well as Monarchs, past trips have encountered large numbers of buckeyes, painted ladies, gray hairstreaks, clouded and fiery skippers, sachems, and cloudless sulphurs. In most years, one is also likely to spot several sleepy oranges, long-tailed skippers, ocola skippers, and white-M hairstreaks. Bring binoculars although closer examination is expected. Local expert Dick Smith will lead the trip, assisted by Audubon Naturalist Society (ANS) Senior Naturalist Stephanie Mason. ANS members $24; nonmembers $36. For registration and specific trip details, contact the ANS Education Office at (301) 652-9188 x3006.

Sunday, September 20

Groundbreaking Caterpillar Research, a visit to the Georgetown University Biology Department
1 p.m. Led by Meg Jones. Shelter-building and predator-evading techniques of the Silver-spotted Skipper caterpillar are the subject of a study under Dr. Martha Weiss, Georgetown University Ecology Lab. Before this research is ended for the year, biology graduate student Meg Jones will lead a tour of the project for WABC. Directions: Enter the Georgetown campus at the Prospect Street entrance and proceed to Parking Lot #3, where we have permission to park. WABC member Alonso Abugattas will meet us at the lot at 12:45 p.m. to lead us to the lab. For more information, call Meg at (202) 687-2466.

Thursday, September 24

Washington Area Butterfly Club Meeting
First fall meeting. Long Branch Nature Center, Arlington. Tentative Program: Why Moths Come to Bed Sheets and Other Fascinating Moth Facts. Talk and Demonstration by David Adamski. Using black lights and sugar baits, Smithsonian Entomology Research Associate David Adamski will lure months from the night air, while entertaining us -- as only David can -- with interesting tidbits about the habits of butterflies' closest relatives. Come dressed for outdoors. To confirm the program, call Alonso Abugattas, 703-228-6535.

Friday, September 25

Noontime Wild Walk Tour of the Smithsonian Butterfly Garden
12:30 p.m. Sponsored by the Audubon Naturalist Society. Meet at Freedom Plaza, 14th and Pennsylvania Ave. Use the Metro Center Station, 13th and G Street exit. For more information, call ANS at (301) 652-9188.

Saturday, September 26

Monarch Tagging at Clearwater Nature Center
1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Prince George's County. Leader: Lisa Bierer-Garrett. (Demonstration only Wednesday, September 23, 1 to 2 p.m.) For more information, call (301) 297-4575.

October 1998

Saturday, October 10

The Magic of Monarchs
1 to 2 p.m. Audubon Naturalist Society family program. Ages 6 to 8 with adult. $8 for members and $10 for nonmembers.

Monday, October 19

Lecture by Dr. Lincoln Brower, research professor of biology at Sweet Briar College
6 p.m at Carmichael Auditorium, National Museum of Natural History, 14th Street and Constitution Ave, NW. Dr. Brower, a well-known expert on Monarch migration, will describe more than twenty years of his studies. In this slide-illustrated talk, he will discuss the endangered Mexican migration phenomenon, the ecology of over-wintering sites in the high-altitude Oyamel fir forests of Central Mexico and what's known about how the butterflies navigate there. This is the first lecture of this season's Audubon Natural History Lecture Series. Tickets: $11 for members of Audubon Naturalist Society or Smithsonian Associates; $14 for others. To order, call 202-357-3030. Those who want to join club members and their guests afterward for dinner, please gather at the rear entrance to the auditorium.

Thursday, October 22

Major Efforts in the Eastern U.S. to Conserve Regal Fritillaries and Other Endangered Butterflies -- Slide lecture by Dick Smith.
7:30 p.m., Washington Area Butterfly Club Meeting, Long Branch Nature Center, Arlington. WABC's own expert on local butterflies, Dick Smith, will explain various laboratory and habitat approaches to conserving populations of locally and federally endangered butterflies, including the Regal Fritillary, Schaus Swallowtail, Karner Blue, Frosted Elfin and Persius Dusky Wing. Dick originally presented this paper last May for biologists and wildlife officials attending Maryland's Conference on Conservation of Biological Diversity. The striking Regal Fritillary was a poster species for the conference. A two-page excerpt from Dick's paper kicked off a series of articles on the conference beginning in the Summer 1998 issue of The Natural Resource, a magazine published by Maryland's Department of Natural Resources.

November 1998

Saturday, November 21

WABC Monthly Meeting: "Fall Harvest of Wings, Seeds and Goodies "
10 a.m., Audubon Naturalist Society Headquarters at Woodend Sanctuary, Gate House, 8940 Jones Mill Road, Chevy Chase, Maryland. This will be a time to recount your 1998 field and gardening experiences, share favorite slides and prints, exchange seeds and reconnect with other people who willingly broil in the hot sun to look at bugs.  [Details and Directions]

Tuesday, November 24

Maryland Native Plant Society Monthly Meeting: "Associations Between Maryland Butterflies and Native Plants" with Dick Smith
7:30 p.m., White Oak Library, White Oak, Maryland. Non-members welcome. Directions: From 495, take Rt. 650 (New Hampshire Ave.) north. The library is on the right, just beyond the intersection of Rts. 650 and 29. Park behind the library and enter through the upper level doors. Go downstairs to the meeting room on the right. For more information, call Dick at (work) 240-228-4973 or (home) 410-997-7439.

December 1998

Saturday, December 12

WABC Monthly Meeting "Cold, Cold World"
10 a.m., Main House, Audubon Naturalist Society, 8940 Jones Mill Road, Chevy Chase, Maryland. Cliff Fairweather of the ANS will lecture on Insects in Winter, followed by a walk around the grounds of the ANS to search for evidence of same. Wear warm clothes and bring a bag lunch.

Updated 10 February 2001