Washington Area Butterfly Club

Events Archive

1999 Butterfly Events



January 1999

Thursday, January 28

WABC Monthly Meeting — Butterflies of Rocky Mountain National Park: News from the 1998 Field Season
7:00 p.m., Long Branch Nature Center, Arlington. Rich Bray and Stephanie Mason will describe progress during the third year of Rich's five year Rocky Mountain Butterflies project, with slides and a discussion of pinning specimens. Alonzo Abugattas will feed his flying squirrels at 7 p.m. (come dressed for the weather), and the regular program will start at 7:30.

February 1999

Saturday, February 20

WABC Monthly Meeting — A Tour of the National Lepidoptera Collection
112 noon to 1 p.m., Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Led by Staff Entomologist Dan Harvey. (Snow date February 27.)

February 20 to 26

Monarch Tour to Mexico
Visit the Monarch's winter home in El Rosario, Michoacan, with Peter Korb's Migrate with the Monarch Tour. Limited to 7 people. Cost $600 double occupancy or $700 single. Includes hotel, ground transportation, admission fees, bilingual guide. Tour length 7 days and 6 nights. Contact Peter Korb, Mexico Monarch Tours, P.O. Box 5025, Appleton, WI 54913-5025, phone (920) 734-6595.

March 1999

Thursday, March 25

What butterfly is that? with Stephanie Mason. WABC Monthly Meeting
7:30 p.m., Long Branch Nature Center, Arlington. Stephanie Mason, Senior Naturalist with the Audubon Naturalist Society, will discuss the various field guides and manuals which can help identify butterflies seen in our area.

April 1999

Saturday, April 10

Butterfly Field Trip to the Great Dismal Swamp
Details to be announced. We hope to actually be able to have this trip this year, after its being rained out last year. Rain date is Sunday, April 11.

Thursday, April 22

WABC Monthly Meeting — Gardening to Attract Butterflies and Other Small Creatures
7:30 p.m., Long Branch Nature Center, Arlington. A presentation by Sherry Mitchell, author of Creating Sanctuary: A New Approach to Gardening in the Washington Metropolitan Area and The Townhouse Gardener: Distinctive Landscape Designs for Small Gardens in the Mid-Atlantic Region.

Our evening will also include a pot luck supper at which we will settle on locations and dates for the season's field trips. Please bring a dish for six people. Paper plates, napkins, eating utensils and soft drinks will be provided.

Sunday, April 25

Butterflies of Green Ridge State Forest
10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dick Smith will be leading this Audubon Naturalist Society trip to the dry ridge tops, open shale barrens, and rich streamside forests of Green Ridge State Forest, which supports populations of butterflies not commonly found in the Washington metro area. We might expect to see Olympia Marble, Silvery Blue, Pine Elfin, Henry's Elfin, Falcate Orange Tip, and the Cobweb Skipper, as well as the more familiar Pipevine Swallowtail, Spring Azure, and Juvenal's Duskywing. Stephanie Mason will be assisting in leading this trip. Carpools will leave Woodend at 8 a.m. $20 for members, $28 for nonmembers. Registration required. Call 301-652-9188 extension 3006.

May 1999

Sunday, May 2

Butterfly Plant Sale at Audubon Naturalist Society Fair
11 a.m. to 6 p.m., ANS headquarters at 8940 Jones Mill Road, Chevy Chase, Maryland. One day only. No pre-sales. Denise Gibbs will have a booth set up with butterfly plant seedlings for sale (several species of milkweeds, annuals, native perennials, etc). Each seedling will be sold for 50 cents. All of the proceeds will be donated directly to the funds for reforestation of Mexican monarch sanctuaries with Oyamel fir seedlings grown and planted by locals in Mexico. Every 50 cents will buy one fir seedling in Mexico. Denise is donating the plants and ANS is donating the booth. So here's a chance for members to buy some plants for their gardens at a reasonable rate and also support monarch conservation. ANS staff will also be at the booth, and will have a game/mural that children (and adults) may add to with every 50 cents they spend.

The Washington Area Butterfly Club will also have a booth at this fair.

Tuesday, May 11

Slide-illustrated Lecture: Butterflies of Ecuador

7 p.m. at the Embassy of Ecuador, 2535 15th St., NW. The speaker is entomologist Xavier Silva del Pozo, coauthor of the book Butterflies of Ecuador and director of biodiversity information for Latin America and the Carribean for The Nature Conservancy. The lecture is sponsored by The Smithsonian Associates and the Embassy of Ecuador. Admission is $25 ($20 for Smithsonian Associate resident members). Tickets will not be sold at the door but can be purchased in advance by calling 202/357-3030 or by visiting www.si.edu/tsa/rap.

Sunday, May 16

Spring Butterflies of the Soldiers Delight Serpentine Barrens with Dick Smith

1:00-4:00 p.m. Free to general public. Meet at the Soldier's Delight Visitor's Center off Deer Park Rd. west of Owings Mills, Baltimore Co., MD. On a hike that will cover about 2 miles, we will attempt to encounter as many spring butterflies as the barrens has to offer in mid-May. The abundant field chickweed, rock cress, sandwort, blue-eyed grass, and remaining moss phlox that occur about the barrens at this time should draw in many spring-form Tiger and Spicebush Swallowtails and the rare, but locally frequent, Dusted Skipper. Also, female Cobweb Skippers and Pine Elfins should still be around. We should encounter American and Painted Ladies at this time, and the Pearl Crescents should be numerous. See you there!

Tuesday, May 18

Lecture: Phytochemicals: Plant Sex, Human Drugs, and Insect Rock and Roll
6:3- to 7:30 p.m. A Carnegie Science Lecture by May Berenbaum, Department of Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. How plants use biologically active substances to help defend against enemies and recruit allies to promote reproduction. Free, but arrive early as seating is limited. Allowing time for walking as there is very little parking in the area. Carnegie Institution, 1530 P Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. Call for reservations, call 202-328-6988.

Saturday, May 22

WABC Field Trip: Charles Schumoke (sp?) property
POSTPONED

June 1999

Saturday, June 5

1999 Butterfly Gardening Symposium at Asheville, NC

The North Carolina Arboretum will co-sponsor, along with the Carolina Butterfly Society, the third annual Butterfly Gardening Symposium. Novice and experienced gardeners will learn how to attract and feed butterflies from the egg through the mature stage through a series of presentations. Speakers will include Dr. Kenneth Bridle, Ron Lance and Bill Skelton. Specialized tours will be offered. Displays, seed exchanges, plant exchanges and a silent auction make for a full program. The cost is $20 per individual, $35 per couple and $10 for each additional child (8-12) and includes lunch and one information packet per family. For more information contact the arboretum at (828) 665-2492 or check their web site at http://www.ncarboretum.org/calender.htm#1999 Butterfly

Wednesday, June 16

Butterfly Gardening

10am-noon. Black Hill Regional Park, 20926 Lake Ridge Drive, Boyds, Maryland. Instructor: Denise Gibbs. Tour a butterfly garden then see a slide show to learn how to set up or enhance your own garden with butterflies' favorite plants. Take home a native nectar plant. Reservations and prepayment required. Phone Black Hill Visitor Center at (301) 916-0220. Fee: $4 (pay by 6/9)

Introduction to Butterfly Studies with Mark Garland
7:30 to 9:30 Wednesday evening and all day field trip Saturday, June 19. Taught by Audubon Naturalist Society senior naturalist and butterfly expert Mark Garland. Sponsored by ANS. Evening program at ANS' Woodend headquarters in Chevy Chase includes identification, butterfly natural history, butterfly gardening, caterpillar rearing, and butterfly photography. ANS members $30, nonmembers $42. For registration, call the ANS education office at (301) 652-9188.

Saturday, June 19

WABC Field Trip: Baltimore Checkerspots, Thurmont, Maryland
Led by Dick Smith. To see one of the most beautiful and increasingly rare butterflies of the region. To register, contact Dick at (240) 228-4973 or (410) 997-7439, email SmithRH1@central.SSD.JHUAPL.edu.

Wednesday, June 23

Butterflies and their Flowers (Van Trip)

9:30 - 1:30: Black Hill Regional Park, 20926 Lake Ridge Drive, Boyds, Maryland. Instructor: Denise Gibbs. We'll visit several local butterfly gardens and a native plant nursery to observe butterflies and their favorite nectar and host plants. Take home a native nectar plant for your butterfly garden. Reservations and prepayment required. Phone Black Hill Visitor Center at (301) 916-0220. Fee: $6 (pay by 6/16)

Friday, June 25

Butterfly Beauties of June

10am-noon: Instructor: Denise Gibbs. Late June is a peak time for butterflies. We'll observe common species and a few rarer ones that make a brief appearance during this time. Meet: Little Bennett Regional Park. Reservations required. Fee: $2 (pay upon arrival). Phone Black Hill Visitor Center at (301) 916-0220.

Saturday, June 26

Annual 4th of July Western Montgomery County Butterfly Count

9:30-3:30: Counters are still needed for Black Hill Regional Park and Little Bennett Regional Park. Please contact Denise Gibbs at (301) 916-0220. Fee: $3 (pay upon arrival).

Sunday, June 27

Butterflies of the Eastern Shore with Dick Smith and Stephanie Mason

Full-day field trip, sponsored by Audubon Naturalist Society, members $24, nonmembers $36. For registration, call (301) 652-9188 x3006. Meet at Woodend at 7:30 a.m. Freshwater and salt marshes as well as numerous roadside drainage ditches in Dorchester Co., MD host a bounty of uncommon butterflies at this time of year. Butterflies we have a good chance of encountering during the day include Great Purple and Striped Hairstreak, Bronze Copper, and a variety of skippers including Mulberry Wing, Dion, Delaware, Aaron's, Broad Wing, Salt Marsh, and Rare Skipper.

Monday, June 28 - Thursday, July 1

Butterflies of the Maryland Piedmont - A summer course for teachers and other interested adults

9:30 am - 2:00 pm. Black Hill Regional Park, 20926 Lake Ridge Drive, Boyds, Maryland. Instructor: Denise Gibbs. This is a 4-day (16 hour) course and hands-on workshop for teachers to gain skills in butterfly identification and knowledge of the life histories of local butterflies. Emphasis will be on outdoor field study through visits to wild habitats in local parks, butterfly gardens, and a commercial butterfly farm. Participants will also gain skills in field techniques of: capturing butterflies in an insect net, safe handling of live butterflies for close examination, safe release of live butterflies, and tagging/scientific monitoring methods for migratory butterflies. NOTE: This course is accredited (one credit for MD teachers). Course fee: $110, includes all instruction, insect net, butterfly field guide, caterpillar rearing cage, resource notebook, and van transportation to field trip sites. Space is limited to 14 individuals (only a few spaces remain- call soon!) Reservations and prepayment required. Phone Black Hill Visitor Center at (301) 916-0220.

July 1999

Saturday, July 3

Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge Butterfly Count
8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. - For information, call Jim Waggoner at (703) 497-0506.

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. 26. Note that this one is an overnight trip from the Washington area.

July 6 to August 24

Butterflies — a comprehensive nine-week course
Tuesday evenings. Sponsored by Audubon Naturalist Society and the USDA Graduate School. Taught by butterfly expert Denise Gibbs, a park naturalist at Black Hill Regional Park. Butterfly identification, gardening, biology, life history, behavior, host plant relationships, conservation. Field trips: June 10, August 7, 24, and 29. Tuition: $169. Held at Brookside Gardens Visitor Center, Kensington. To register, call the USDA Graduate School at (202) 314-3320.

Thursday, July 8 through August 31.

Moths of the National Capital Region — a comprehensive 10-week course
Taught by moth expert Dr. David Adamski, research associate, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Sponsored by Audubon Naturalist Society and the USDA Graduate School. Identification, life cycles, ecology, morphology. Evening field trips: July 10 and 17. Tuition: $169. Held at the National Museum of Natural History, downtown DC. To register, call USDA Graduate School at (202) 314-3320, ext. 1.

Thursday, July 8 and Saturday, July 10

Advanced Butterfly Studies with Dick Smith

7:30-9:30 p.m. and all day Saturday. Sponsored by Audubon Naturalist Society, members $30, nonmembers $42. For registration, call (301) 652-9188 x3006. Evening course will cover identification of locally encountered skippers and hairstreaks. Field trip will cover especially productive butterfly trails in Little Bennett and Black Hill Parks in western Montgomery Co. Besides helping to hone identification skills, the field trip last year to these sites had unexpected encounters with a great many Olive and Banded Hairstreaks and numerous Wild Indigo Dusky Wings.

Saturday, July 17

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

Sunday, July 18

WABC Field Trip: Harry Pavulann Butterfly Garden, Herndon, Virginia
10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Harry's fabulous butterfly garden, rearing techniques, discussion about azures, lunch, field trip to nearly Runnymede Park. Please register no later than noon Friday, July 16. Email Harry at Harrypav@hotmail.com or Hpavulaan@aol.com, or call him at (703) 709-0124.

Northern Fairfax County Butterfly Count
Contact Alonso Abugattas at (703) 228-6535.

Saturday, July 24

District of Columbia Butterfly Count
For information, call Pat Durkin at (202) 483-7965.

Sunday, July 25

Inaugural Northern Shenandoah Butterfly Count
Covering elevations from the valley floor to over 3,000 feet, deep forest to riparian habitats and dry hillsides, this promises to be a fabulous count area. Meet at 10 a.m. at the McDonalds in Front Royal on route 55. Send an email to Scott Deuweke, at scott@butterflies.com to confirm or to get directions.

The Summer Meadow
8 a.m. to noon. An Audubon Naturalist Society course taught by senior naturalist Stephanie Mason. The "web of life" in wet and dry meadows, insect-plant relationships. ANS members $18, nonmembers $24. For registration, call the ANS education office at (301) 652-9188.

Thursday, July 29 and Saturday, July 31

Introduction to Dragonfly and Damselfly Studies
7:30 to 9:30 Thursday, evening, and all day Saturday. An Audubon Naturalist Society course taught by dragonfly expert Richard Orr. Evening lecture on identification, biology and behavior. Field trip to Patuxent Wildlife Refuge applies new skills. ANS members $30, nonmembers $42. For registration, call the ANS education office at (301) 652-9188.

August 1999

Saturday, August 7

Louduon Wildlife Conservancy Third Annual Butterfly Count
Contact Joe Coleman, President of the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy, at (540) 554-2542.

Saturday, August 21

Dragonflies at Centennial Park, Howard County, MD
Meet at 9:00 am at the west end parking lot of Centennial Park in Howard County, MD, just north of Columbia. For directions, see under the Butterfly Walk for Sept. 5. Sponsored by the Howard County Bird Club (HCBC), a chapter of the Maryland Ornithological Society. Free and open to general public. This trip will be led by dragonfly expert and HCBC member Richard Orr. For more information contact HCBC field trip coordinator Bonnie Ott at (410) 461-3361.

Sunday, August 29

Presentation on Barrens Butterflies and Butterfly Hike at Soldiers Delight Serpentine Barrens
1-4:00 p.m. Free and open to general public. Sponsored by Soldiers Delight Visitors' Center. Led by Dick Smith. Meet at Soldiers Delight Visitors' Center, Deer Park Rd., Owings Mills, MD. The Soldiers Delight Serpentine Barrens in western Baltimore County, Maryland, is the largest local area for viewing prairie-like grassland conditions and the many uncommon butterfly species associated with this unique habitat. In late August, the fields there are flush with grass-leaved blazing star that will attract uncommon skipper species and other late-summer butterflies for close observation. One example is the regionally rare and strikingly colored Leonard's Skipper, which is locally common at Soldiers Delight at this time of the year. The afternoon's activity will begin with a short slide presentation at 1:00 p.m. on the butterflies of the barrens. Directions to the Soldiers Delight Visitors' Center are as follows. Take west side of Baltimore Beltway (Rte. 695) north to Liberty Rd. (Rte. 26), Exit 18. Take Liberty Rd. west for about 5 miles and turn right onto Deer Park Rd. (just before the large water tower). Follow Deer Park Rd. for 2 miles to the Visitors' Center entrance on the left. For more details, contact Dick Smith (240) 228-4973 (office, Laurel, MD) or (410) 997-7439 (home, Columbia, MD); e-mail: Richard.Smith@jhuapl.edu.

September 1999

Sunday, September 5

Butterfly Walk at Centennial Park, Howard County, MD
Free and open to general public. Sponsored by Howard County Bird Club, a chapter of the Maryland Ornithological Society, 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon. Dick Smith will lead a one-mile walk along park paths through lakeside, field, and marsh habitats with plentiful nectar plants, such as Joe-Pye Weed, thistle, New York ironweed, and swamp milkweed. Unexpected butterflies encountered in previous years were American Snout, Sleepy Orange and Pipe Vine Swallowtail. Binoculars recommended, although closer examination is expected. Meet at the west-end parking lot off Centennial Lane. Directions to the parking lot are as follows. From Capital Beltway (Rte. 495) in Maryland, take Rte. 29 (Columbia Pike, Exit 30) north for about 15 miles to Rte. 108 (Clarksville Pike, Exit 21). Drive west on Rte. 108 for 2 miles, turn right at 3rd stoplight onto Centennial Lane. Follow Centennial Lane for 3/4 mi. to Centennial Park west parking lot on right. Meet at far (eastern) end of parking lot. For more information contact Dick Smith -- Office (240) 228-4973, Home (410) 997-7439); e-mail: Richard.Smith@jhuapl.edu.

Sunday, September 12, 1999

Charles Shoemake's Butterfly Haven
1 p.m. (raindate: Sunday, Sept. 19, 1 p.m.) Leader: Harry Pavulaan. Registration required. This historic, riverside property south of Fredericksburg, VA, has become one of butterfly expert Harry Pavulaan's favorite butterflying spots. Extensive gardens, natural habitat. Bring water, sunscreen, appropriate footwear. Long pants recommended. Register with Harry by noon, Friday, September 10. You may email Harry at Hpavulaan@aol.com, or call him at 703-709-0124. Directions: I-95 south from Washington, DC to exit 118/Thornburg (first exit past Fredericksburg). South on Route 1 about 1.5 miles. Right on Bear Lane. Approx. 800 feet, turn right on Iva Lane. Proceed to a complex of white buildings.

September 17 to 25

Butterflies of Southeastern Arizona, with Dr. Robert Michael Pyle and Mark Garland
Audubon Naturalist Society trip. Many distinct life zones converge in Southeastern Arizona, making this area one of the country's richest for wildlife studies. Butterfly diversity is especially high, and early autum is the time of greatest abundance. Registration required. Call 301-652-9188 extension 37.

Sunday, September 19

Lookout for Butterflies. Point Lookout State Park (southern St. Mary's Co., MD)
(full-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 on the large growths of seaside goldenrod. 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 (quite unexpectedly, multitudes of the latter were seen in 1998). Bring binoculars although closer examination is expected. Local butterfly expert Dick Smith will lead the trip, assisted by Audubon Naturalist Society (ANS) Senior Naturalist Stephanie Mason. ANS members $24; nonmembers $34. For registration and specific trip details, contact the ANS Education Office at (301) 652-9188 x14.

Thursday, September 23

WABC Monthly Meeting
7:30 p.m. Long Branch Nature Center, Arlington, VA.

October 1999

Thursday, October 28

WABC Monthly Meeting — "Monarchs in Mexico"
7:30 p.m. Long Branch Nature Center, Arlington, VA. A presentation by naturalist Suzanne Holland from Hidden Oaks Nature Center. Last winter Suzanne traveled to the Oyamel fir forests of centeral Mexico to see Monarchs by the millions at their over-wintering grounds. She's back with thoughts on her experiences, illustraed with slides and video. Please come promptly. We must be out of the building this time no later than 9:15 p.m.

November 1999

Thursday, November 18

Virginia Native Plant Society, Potowmack Chapter Monthly Meeting "Backyard Habitat," with Craig Tufts
7:30 p.m., Green Spring Gardens Park, 4603 Green Spring Road, off Rt. 236, Alexandria. Members interested in butterfly gardening will be interested in this talk on backyard habitat by well-known conservationist Craig Tufts, Chief Naturalist for the National Wildlife Federation. Craig authored a monthly, nationally distributed newspaper column on wildlife gardening that has been published as a book, The Backyard Naturalist. His second book, The National Wildlife Federation Guide to Gardening with Wildlife, co-authored with Peter Loewer, was published in 1995. Craig has appeared on a number of television programs, and currently co-hosts PBS's Birdwatch series. Reservations are not necessary, and the public is invited.

Saturday, November 20

WABC Monthly Meeting -- "Ecology and Evolution of North American Admiral Butterflies" Lecture by Bob Platt, Associate Professor, Biological Sciences, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Saturday, November 20 - 10:00 a.m.
Audubon Naturalist Society, Gatehouse Building
8940 Jones Mill Rd, Chevy Chase, Md.

Dr Platt's research involves sampling field populations of eastern and western admirals, rearing the insects in the laboratory, and cross-hybridizing them, in order to work out how the various species, subspecies, and forms are related genetically, and how they have evolved from a common ancestral form. He intends to bring hybrid specimens to show.

Updated February 10 2001