2013: Slim Pickins

Where did all the Butterflies go?

That's a very good question.

The short answer is that perfect storms cut both ways. Conditions in 2012 were "just so", and resulted in good numbers for local species in Ontario as well as a tremendous influx of southern migrants. 2013 was also a perfect storm, but in a bad way.

Perhaps this should not have been a complete surprise. For some species, the 2012 season set the stage for the collapse of 2013. We must remember that some of the butterflies we were expecting to see in 2013 would have been caterpillars in 2012. If we think back to the drought we had in the summer of 2012, we may have part of our answer. If the plants those caterpillars were feeding on wilted in the drought, the caterpillars would not have been able to complete their life cycles. Not all species were affected equally, as some butterflies were not in the larval stage during the drought, or the plants the larvae were feeding on may not have been as badly affected as others.

In addition, the high numbers of butterflies in 2012 would have been a boon to predators and parasitoids. Good times for them spells bad times for their prey, and this might have helped to drive down butterfly numbers in 2013. Boom/Bust cycles like this are not unusual in the butterfly world.

The weather didn't help much either. The winter of 2012-2013 was a bit harsher than what we've seen in recent years, but it was probably about average in historical terms. There seemed to have been a lot of stormy weather in the US, which might have had an adverse effect on the migrant species. The weather around Ottawa in the spring of 2013 was less than ideal for our local species.

Taken together, all these different factors made for the proverbial "death by a thousand cuts". But it wasn't a complete disaster on all fronts. Some species turned up in reasonable numbers and several of the sedge skippers seemed to do fairly well. The Two-spotted Skipper, something of a rarity in many parts of the province ( including Ottawa ), saw a rise in the number of sightings reported. Good numbers of Hairstreaks were reported in some places as well. Reasonable rainfall levels saw vegetation recover as the summer wore on, and some butterfly populations bounced back in response. As long as we have reasonable weather over the coming winter and spring ( not too cold, and not too wet ), I think we can look forward to a good butterfly season in 2014. Naturally, the number of migrants we see will be dependent on conditions further south.

Here is a list of my 2013 “first of year” sightings for each species, listed taxonomically:

Skippers ( Hesperiidae )

  • Silver-spotted Skipper June 9 - Constance Bay, ON
  • Southern Cloudywing June 20 - Windsor, ON ( LIFER )
  • Northern Cloudywing June 8 - Nepean, ON
  • Dreamy Duskywing June 9 - Constance Bay, ON
  • Juvenal's Duskywing May 8 - Luskville, QC
  • Mottled Duskywing June 19 - Marmora, ON
  • Columbine Duskywing June 9 - Constance Bay, ON
  • Wild Indigo Duskywing July 25 - Cambridge, ON
  • Common Checkered Skipper September 14 - Kingsville, ON
  • Common Sootywing July 25 - Brantford, ON
  • Arctic Skipper June 9 - Ottawa, ON
  • Least Skipper June 19 - Toronto, ON
  • European Skipper June 20 - Windsor, ON
  • Fiery Skipper September 14 - Leamington, ON
  • Common Branded Skipper August 23 - Algonquin Provincial Park, ON ( LIFER )
  • Leonard's Skipper August 15 - Ottawa, ON
  • Indian Skipper June 8 - Nepean, ON
  • Peck's Skipper June 20 - Windsor, ON
  • Tawny-edged Skipper June 8 - Nepean, ON
  • Crossline Skipper June 26 - Shorthills Provincial Park, ON
  • Long Dash Skipper June 18 - Kanata, ON
  • Northern Broken-Dash June 26 - Shorthills Provincial Park, ON
  • Little Glassywing July 20 - Windsor, ON
  • Delaware Skipper June 25 - Shorthills Provincial Park, ON
  • Mulberry Wing June 30 - Limoges, ON
  • Hobomok Skipper June 10 - Portage-du-Fort, QC
  • Broad-winged Skipper July 5 - Limoges, ON
  • Dion Skipper July 6 - Perth, ON
  • Black Dash July 26 - Crief, ON
  • Two-spotted Skipper July 27 - Havelock, ON
  • Dun Skipper July 13 - Manion Corners, ON
  • Dusted Skipper June 22 - The Pinery Provincial Park, ON
  • Common Roadside Skipper June 22 - The Pinery Provincial Park, ON

Swallowtails ( Papilionidae )

  • Black Swallowtail May 7 - Burnt Lands Provincial Park, ON
  • Short-tailed Swallowtail August 1 - Gaspesie National Park, QC ( LIFER )
  • Giant Swallowtail June 12 - North Gower, ON
  • Eastern Tiger Swallowtail June 20 - Windsor, ON
  • Canadian Tiger Swallowtail June 9 - Ottawa, ON
  • Spicebush Swallowtail June 20 - Windsor, ON

Whites and Sulphurs ( Pieridae )

  • Mustard White May 5 - Nepean, ON
  • West Virginia White May 3 - Milton, ON
  • Cabbage White March 30 - Point Abino, ON
  • Olympia Marble May 6 - Constance Bay, ON
  • Clouded Sulphur May 17 - Ottawa, ON
  • Orange Sulphur June 21 - Point Pelee National Park, ON
  • Pink-edged Sulphur June 27 - Havelock, ON

Gossamer-winged Butterflies ( Lycaenidae )

  • Harvester July 9 - Manion Corners, ON
  • American Copper June 14 - Saint-Louis-de-Marsham, QC
  • Bronze Copper June 23 - Cambridge, ON
  • Bog Copper June 27 - Havelock, ON
  • Salt Marsh Copper August 3 - Forillon National Park, QC ( LIFER )
  • Acadian Hairstreak June 26 - Wainfleet, ON
  • Coral Hairstreak July 10 - Manion Corners, ON
  • Edwards' Hairstreak July 6 - Arden, ON
  • Banded Hairstreak July 6 - Arden, ON
  • Striped Hairstreak July 5 - Limoges, ON
  • Juniper Hairstreak June 14 - Eardley, QC
  • Brown Elfin May 1 - Wainfleet, ON
  • Hoary Elfin May 6 - Constance Bay, ON
  • Henry's Elfin May 5 - Nepean, ON
  • Eastern Pine Elfin May 6 - Constance Bay, ON
  • Gray Hairstreak September 14 - Point Pelee NP, ON
  • Early Hairstreak May 18 - Wilno, ON
  • Eastern Tailed-Blue May 20 - Kanata, ON
  • Northern Spring Azure May 3 - Milton, ON
  • Summer Azure June 19 - Marmora, ON
  • Silvery Blue May 17 - Ottawa, ON
  • Northern Blue July 31 - Gaspesie National Park, QC ( LIFER )

Brush-footed Butterflies ( Nymphalidae )

  • Variegated Fritillary September 11 - Almonte, ON
  • Great Spangled Fritillary June 20 - Windsor, ON
  • Aphrodite Fritillary July 10 - Manion Corners, ON
  • Atlantis Fritillary July 1 - Wilno, ON
  • Bog Fritillary June 14 - Saint-Louis-de-Marsham, QC
  • Silver-bordered Fritillary June 12 - North Gower, ON
  • Meadow Fritillary July 9 - Manion Corners, ON
  • Arctic Fritillary July 31 - Gaspesie National Park, QC ( LIFER )
  • Silvery Checkerspot June 10 - Portage-du-Fort, QC
  • Harris's Checkerspot June 14 - Luskville, QC
  • Pearl Crescent June 22 - The Pinery Provincial Park, ON
  • Northern Crescent June 9 - Ottawa, ON
  • Tawny Crescent June 8 - Nepean, ON
  • Baltimore Checkerspot June 14 - Luskville, QC
  • Question Mark June 20 - Windsor, ON
  • Eastern Comma May 1 - Wainfleet, ON
  • Green Comma July 30 - Rimouski, QC
  • Grey Comma April 22 - Manion Corners, ON
  • Compton Tortoiseshell May 4 - Gatineau Park, QC
  • Mourning Cloak April 8 - Dunrobin, ON
  • American Lady June 9 - Nepean, ON
  • Painted Lady September 17 - James N. Allan Provincial Park, ON
  • Red Admiral June 24 - Niagara Falls, ON
  • Common Buckeye September 14 - Leamington, ON
  • White Admiral June 9 - Ottawa, ON
  • Red-Spotted Purple June 20 - Windsor, ON
  • Viceroy June 8 - Nepean, ON
  • Hackberry Emperor June 30 - Orleans, ON
  • Tawny Emperor July 25 - Cambridge, ON
  • Northern Pearly-Eye June 25 - St Catharines, ON
  • Eyed Brown June 23 - Cambridge, ON
  • Appalachian Brown June 26 - Wainfleet, ON
  • Little Wood-Satyr June 8 - Nepean, ON
  • Common Ringlet June 8 - Nepean, ON
  • Maritime Ringlet August 6 - Saint-Omer, QC ( LIFER )
  • Common Wood-Nymph June 27 - Luskville Falls, QC
  • Monarch June 18 - Kanata, ON