Monthly Archives: June 2012

That Mystery Moth and More

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Greg Miller ID'd this mystery moth photographed on Thursday by Regina Geoghan as a Nessus Sphinx Moth, and it sure looks like he is right.

Turns out that another species of diurnal moth (below) was in the DeKorte Butterfly Garden the same day, and photographed by Sandy Sorkin. This guy appears to be a Hummingbird Clear-winged Moth.

We'll look for both these guys on our Butterfly Beginners Walk, beginning with a short talk and slide show at 1 p.m. tomorrow  (Sunday).

Great blog post on diurnal moths by moth expert/author Seabrooke Leckie is here.

SS7_9152 Hummingbird Moth

Butterfly Walk Preview

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Did a 30-minute walk through prime butterfly areas at DeKorte at lunch on Friday as a preview of Sunday, and I found: Monarch, Cabbage White, Orange Sulphur, Pearl Crescent (above), Red Admiral, Painted Lady (below) Summer Azure and Wild Indigo Duskywing. (Eight species.)  Other species have been seen recently as well.

Let's hope we are as fortunate on Sunday.

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Mystery Moth

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Regina Geoghan got this shot of a moth at the Butterfly Garden in DeKorte Park on Thursday. She thought this one was different from the typical Clear-winged Moths we get. So do we. Any theories?  (Thanks, Regina!)

Our Latest South Bergenite Column: Butterflies!

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Jim Wright, who keeps this blog for the Meadowlands Commission, also writes a twice monthly nature column for The South Bergenite. Here is his latest, on Butterfly Month at DeKorte Park.

This Sunday, the Meadowlands Commission is officially kicking off Butterfly Month at DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst with a free “Butterflies for Beginners” talk and walk, but we have been getting ready for months.

Butterflies are beautiful, ephemeral creatures, and you never really know whether it will be a good year for them until spring and summer unfold. But you can take several steps to improve your odds, and — with the help of the Bergen County Audubon Society — that’s exactly what we have been doing.

While Jill’s Butterfly Garden just outside the Meadowlands Environment Center in DeKorte Park remains the crown jewel and main attraction for butterfly aficionados, we have been adding all sorts of butterfly-friendly native plants, including milkweed and mountain mint, in the park and nearby Harrier Meadow.

Full story follows.

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Peregrine!

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Ron Shields writes:

This (double-banded) guy has been hanging around for a couple of weeks now.

You can always find him on top of one of the Saw Mill Creek Trail's towers like I did Sunday morning.

(Thanks, Ron!)