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Results of Butterfly Counts for Olmsted County (Rochester, MN)
See stats from 2023 and previous year's counts (Open Document Format )
2023 Results
Our 2023 Annual Butterfly Count was held Saturday, July 22
It was an excellent day (at least weather-wise) for our 25th Annual Butterfly Count in the Rochester area. Temps ranged from the 70s - mid 80s and it was sunny with a light breeze. Later in the day we got some much needed rain (and even some hail in spots), but we finished the count well before that happened.
We surveyed Chester Woods, Quarry Hill, Willow Creek, Essex Park and several smaller areas where we've had success in the past. Unfortunately the extreme drought conditions this summer may have affected our count. Butterfly numbers were very low nearly everywhere we searched. Many flowering plants that should be blooming had already gone to seed. Our volunteers did their best to search out every butterfly they could find and all combined we totaled 26 species and 451 individuals. For comparison, last year we found 32 species and 713 individuals.
Monarch numbers were quite low again this year - we only found 48. This is the 2nd year in a row that we've found fewer than 50 Monarch on count day. Hairstreaks are never abundant here, but this year we didn't find a single one of the 4 species normally found in our area. No Painted or American Ladies, only 4 Eastern Commas and very few Skippers were located. Cabbage Whites, Clouded Sulphurs, Summer Azures, Common Wood Nymphs and Great Spangled Fritillaries were seen in good numbers so that is hopeful. Every year is different and all we can do is hope for and end to the drought and better conditions next year.
We couldn't do this without our volunteers. Many thanks to Sandy Hokanson, Joel Dunnette, Anna Lovrien, Ruthann Yaeger, Jerry Pruett, Jim Peterson, Greg Munson, Peggy Menzel, John Weiss, Patty & John Trnka, Steve Dietz, Rose Braus, Bob Jessen, Greta G, Roberta Bumann, Joyce & Terry Grier, Sara Locher, Sue Wieseler and Eric Matteson. Also thanks to Chester Woods Park for the use of a Gator to get back to some of the remote areas of the park.
Here's what we found:
Black Swallowtail 9
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 13
Cabbage White 107
Clouded Sulphur 45
Orange Sulphur 11
American Copper 5
Gray Copper 1
Eastern Tailed Blue 6
Spring/Summer Azure 78
Great Spangled Fritillary 49
Aphrodite Fritillary 1
Pearl Crescent 6
Northern Crescent 10
Eastern Comma 4
Mourning Cloak 1
Red Admiral 6
Common Buckeye 1
Viceroy 4
Hackberry Emperor 1
Northern Pearly Eye 4
Eyed Brown 2
Little Wood Satyr 3
Common Wood Nymph 21
Monarch 48
Silver Spotted Skipper 2
Fiery Skipper 1
Unidentified Coppers 4
Unidentified Skippers 4
Unidentified Crescents 4
If you want to help butterflies, please consider creating a native plant garden in your backyard and refrain from using pesticides which kill all insects.
Photos contributed by: Sandy Hokanson, John Trnka, Terry Grier, Jerry Pruett, John Weiss
2022 Results
Our 24th Annual Butterfly Survey encountered some challenges. First we had to reschedule as stormy (very stormy!) weather on the original date of July 23rd meant we couldn't count that day. Then one counter had to bow out due to a sprained ankle, and another couple contracted covid (mild cases, thankfully - and one of them was able to count fully masked and isolated from others). Finally, yet another counter became dehydrated and couldn't finish their territory. But our remaining counters rallied and headed out with clip boards in hand.
Temps were in the 70s, the sun was out and we enjoyed a cool northerly breeze - a nice change from the hot humid weather the previous week. We identified 30 species with a total of 460 individuals. (To compare, last year we found 32 species and 713 individuals - so this year's number are on the low side.) Over the past 24 years we've cumulatively found 68 species in our little corner of SE Minnesota, but never more than 42 in a single year (2007). Monarchs were scarce this year with only 45 seen. On average we find 110 monarchs each year, though in 2018 we found 313. Numbers were low for many species. But Viceroys, Clouded Sulphurs, Northern Pearly Eyes, Eastern Tailed Blues and Azures all had count numbers close to average. Some great news - Terry Grier found a new species for our count this year - a Common Checkered Skipper - which isn't very common in our area - or maybe we just haven't been looking in the right places!
We found the following species in 2022:
Black Swallowtail - 4
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail - 3
Cabbage White - 86
Clouded Sulphur - 51
Orange Sulphur - 7
American Copper - 5
Coral Hairstreak - 1
Edwards Hairstreak - 2
Eastern Tailed Blue - 39
Spring/Summer Azure - 40
Great Spangled Fritillary- 16
Meadow Fritillary - 3
Pearl Crescent - 2
Northern Crescent - 21
Question Mark - 2
Eastern Comma - 5
American Lady - 2
Painted Lady - 2
Red Admiral - 6
Buckeye - 9
Viceroy - 14
Northern Pearly Eye - 21
Eyed Brown - 6
Common Wood Nymph - 43
Monarch -45
Silver Spotted Skipper - 2
Peck's Skipper - 1
Dun Skipper - 1
Delaware Skipper - 1
Common Checkered Skipper - 1
We'd like to thank Chester Woods Park for the use of a Gator to get to some of the remote areas of the park. Thanks also to our Citizen Science volunteers including: Anna Lovrien, Ruthann Yeager, Terry Grier, Sarah Locher, John Weiss, Joel Dunnette, Peggy Menzel, Sue Wieseler, Steve Dietz, Rosemary Braus & Sandy Hokanson.
2021 Results
Saturday, July 17, 2021 - 23rd Annual Butterfly Count
Several teams of volunteers spent the day walking through meadows, prairies, glens, fens and wooded areas around the Rochester area - all searching for as many species of butterflies as we could find in a single day. We had great weather for our 23rd Annual Butterfly Count and found a total of 32 species (713 individual butterflies).
Monarchs, Cabbage Whites, Great Spangled Fritillaries & Common Wood Nymphs were found in good numbers. Hairstreaks, Sulphurs, and Red Admirals were hard to come by and Anglewings were downright scarce. In fact we only found one Eastern Comma - a low number indeed! On the other hand, 3 Aphrodite Fritillaries were spotted and we haven't seen any of those since 2014. We really wanted to find the Baltimore Checkerspot that had been seen just a few days earlier in the Chester Woods fen - but we weren't able to relocate it. (Still, it's nice to know it was there as we haven't seen one on a count day since 2005). Read John Weiss' article about the count - it appeared in the Rochester Post Bulletin on July 22, 2021.
Species List:
Black Swallowtail - 16
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail - 2
Giant Swallowtail - 1
Cabbage White - 139
Clouded Sulphur - 14
Orange Sulphur - 8
American Copper - 10
Acadian Hairstreak - 1
Coral Hairstreak - 1
Banded Hairstreak - 6
Edwards Hairstreak - 1
Eastern Tailed Blue - 16
Spring/Summer Azure - 11
Great Spangled Fritillary - 90
Aphrodite Fritillary - 3
Meadow Fritillary - 6
Pearl Crescent - 6
Northern Crescent - 26
Eastern Comma - 1
Mourning Cloak - 1
Painted Lady - 1
Red Admiral - 3
Red Spotted Purple - 2
Viceroy - 12
Northern Pearly Eye - 29
Eyed Brown - 5
Little Wood Satyr - 2
Common Wood Nymph - 75
Monarch - 208
Silver Spotted Skipper - 6
Least Skipper - 1
Peck's Skipper - 1
We'd like to thank Chester Woods for the use of a Gator to get to some of the remote areas of the park. Thanks also to all of our Citizen Science volunteer counters including: Anna Lovrien, Jerry Pruett, Jim Peterson, Ruthann Yeager, Terry Grier, Joyce Grier, Patty Trnka, John Trnka, Sarah Locher, Roberta Bumann, John Weiss, Joel Dunnette & Sandy Hokanson.
2020 Results
Friday, July 17, 2020 - Annual Butterfly Count
Due to COVID 19 pandemic restrictions, we had only small groups (often just 1 or 2 people) going out this year. And with very hot and humid weather predicted for the planned day (July 18), we moved the count ahead a day. So we had many fewer overall participants. But our usual core of 12 counters did very well, finding a good number of species (34) and individual butterflies (783). These rank as the 5th highest numbers of the 22 years we have done this count. We did not see any new species this year. Notable this year were the lack of grass skippers (we did look!). This year's count sites included Chester Woods, Quarry Hill, Essex Park, Northern Hills, Eastside WMA, the Silver Creek and Willow Creek Reservoirs, Haverhill, and the Autumn Ridge / History Center area -
More photos on our FB album here.
2019 Results
Sunday, July 21, 2019 - Annual Butterfly Count
Stormy weather on Saturday forced us to change our count day from Saturday the 20th to Sunday the 21st - which was actually a much nicer day with sunny skies, pleasant temps and much lower humidity. Monarchs, Great Spangled Fritillaries, Red Admirals, Azures, and Northern Pearly Eyes were fairly numerous. Surprisingly, we saw very few Eastern Tiger Swallowtails, and Cabbage Whites were also quite scarce. Overall, despite limited coverage due to the change of date (and less availability of observers), and also due to very wet conditions which prevented us from visiting several areas, this year's count came out as pretty average. We found and identified 29 species, with 633 individual butterflies sighted. This compares to our 20 year average of 29.4 and 619 respectively.
2018 Results
Saturday, July 14, 2018 - Annual Butterfly Count
The day started cloudy and cool, with some fog. It took an hour or more before the butterflies started becoming evident. Late morning through afternoon was mostly sunny, warm and humid. We saw no new species for the count which is unusual. Observers said numbers were lower than expected, but totals were about average for both number of individual butterflies and number of species. But we do have more observers with experience now. Notable was the high number of Monarchs (313). A total of 733 individual butterflies were seen by our volunteers. Thanks again to our volunteers and to Chester Woods for the loan of two Gators to get around the park.
View photos on our FB page here.
2017 Results
Saturday, July 22, 2017 - Annual Butterfly Count
The morning was overcast and wet, in the high 70s and low 80s with very high humidity. We did not see many species on the morning rounds. The skies cleared off for the afternoon and numbers vastly improved throughout the afternoon.
Thirty different species of butterflies were identified during the count including 1 new species - a Leonards Skipper - that we had never seen in the area before. Four species we couldn't identify were also found. A total of 768 individual butterflies were seen by our volunteers. Many thanks to Joel Dunnette for organizing, to Chester Woods for the loan of a Gator to get around the park, and to all the volunteers who walked the fields and tallied up their sightings
2016 Results
Our 2016 count was held on July 9th, a warm, sunny day in the upper 70s. The count was led by Joel Dunnette. As this year's count was about two weeks earlier than last year, we may have hit a different portion of some species (such as Monarchs) life cycle. Our total identified species this year was 39 species (which is our second best year – best year being 42 – digital cameras are really helping with IDs) ... and the total number of individuals counted (580) is slightly better than an average year The monarch count was down from 153 individuals in 2015 to just 36 individuals this year. The highest count for monarchs we’ve had in the 18 years of doing the survey was 233 in 2007. The lowest count was just 11 in 2004. The average over the years has been in the 60s.
2015 Results
Our 2015 count was held on July 19th and led by Joel Dunnette. It was postponed from day before due to hot humid weather. We had good weather, decent butterfly numbers and with good effort by several independently operating volunteers, good variety of butterflies. Of note were the very good numbers of Monarchs, but low numbers of skippers and crescents. Variety of hairstreaks was good. Following a butterfly watching class in June, we had several new volunteer watchers. We did have some equipment problems with the off-road vehicles at Chester Woods – the 4 seater would not start, and then we lost the key for another out in the field, which cut short some potentially good counting.
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2014 Results
Our 2014 count was held on July 26th and led by Joel Dunnette. We started at Quarry Hill Nature Center but had with overcast skies and even a few sprinkles, our morning count was low. Things improved in the afternoon when the sun came out. Our count sites also included the RCTC Smart Garden, Lawler Prairie, Eastside Marsh, Chester Woods and a few other places. We believe we found three new species this year, bringing our species count over the past 16 years up to 64. New species this year were: a Silver Bordered Fritillary, a Peck's Skipper and a Little Glassy Wing Skipper (being confirmed).
2013 Results
Spring and summer were slow to come in 2013. The scarcity of butterfly numbers may partly be due to that. We know also that the 2012 drought took Monarch numbers to historic lows. But there had been decent warm weather in June and July 2013, and a few species had good flights - more Mourning Cloaks than usual, a good flight of Hackberry Emperors. But those flights were over by count day. The species count of 31 was about average. The total number of individual butterflies of 475 was a bit below the median for the history of the count. Every observer remarked that they had to work hard to find what they did. So the numbers being as good as they are is a tribute to the skill and perseverance of the observers. We were happy to find two new species for the count - Meadow Fritillary and Crossline Skipper.
2012 Results
The 2012 count was held on July 14th. With the warm, early spring, there were hopes for really good butterflies this year. And we did have good number and variety in June. But the hot dry weather from late June into July seemed to make the butterfly (adults) disappear. So this year's count was a bit of a disappointment. We also had low turnout of counters. We found 357 butterflies, of 24 species. This is well below the 14 year averages of 631 and 28 respectively, and also lower than the 14 year medians of 500 and 31. The best find of the count were Fiery Skippers. We had never seen them before, and we managed to get pictures for positive ID. Thanks to Jerry Pruett, Ruthann Yaeger, Cliff Hansen, and Tony Stans for helping count, and for signing up as official observers. And thanks to county parks for the use of gators to get around Chester Woods; that allowed us to cover a LOT more ground than we would have otherwise! Maybe next year will be a big year and we can break some records.
2011 Results
The 2011 count was held on July 16th. Count Results have been posted on the data sheet.
2010 Results
Well, every year is different. The summer of 2010 has been quite warm, which we expect to be good for number of butterflies. And it was – we counted 1022 individual butterflies – tied for second most in the 12 years of the count. But the continued heat may have pushed flights of adults to earlier than normal, since our species count at 28 was middling, compared to our range from 20 to 41 in other years.
The heat also affected our ability (or willingness) to stay out in the heat; that may have somewhat limited what we saw. Thanks to the loan by Olmsted parks of gators, we were able to cover good amounts of Chester Woods. And thanks to folks who covered areas on their own – we found a lot more that way. We did find a new species – Little Yellows were seen at 4 different sites. They suddenly appeared in SE MN this year, coming in from the south, perhaps due to the sustained warmth and winds from the south. The most common butterflies seen were Orange Sulfur (329, thanks to alfalfa fields), Monarch (166), Clouded Sulfur (150) and Red Admiral (75). Lacking were hairstreaks and skippers, which would have increased out species count.
Next year we plan to have the butterfly walk for novices and children on a separate day, so we can focus on counting on count day.
2009 Results
The summer of 2009 had been remarkably cool, so butterfly numbers were lower than usual. And then the day of the count was cloudy, breezy, and even cooler than surrounding days. So we had to literally ‘kick up’ butterflies. They just were not flying much. We had several knowledgeable observers spending many hours, with relatively little to show for the effort. We found only 199 individual butterflies, well below the 11 year average of 630, and below the previous low of 350. We identified 20 species, the lowest ever by one, and well below the average of 29.
2008 Results
2008 has been a modest year for butterflies, with a cool slow spring and early summer. So butterfly numbers had been noticeably low. But our team of butterfly counters came through with a nice diversity and number of butterflies. We saw 38 species of butterfly – almost as good as last year’s record 41, and well above our 10 year average of 29. Nora found 1 new species, Hickory Hairstreak, bringing our composite 10 year total to 54 species. Having knowledgeable area leaders really helps!
Surprisingly, we had record high counts for quite a few species: Banded Hairstreak (16), Striped Hairstreak (8), Northern Crescent (4), Silvery Checkerspot (2), Eastern Comma (5), Mourning Cloak(18), Red-spotted Purple(5), Hackberry Emperor(100, Little Wood Satyr(12), Common Wood Nymph(146), European Skipper (85 – previous high 1!) and Delaware Skipper (5). Numbers were low for several common species. We saw a total of 737 individual butterflies. This is well below our smashing high of 1248 in 2007, but good enough for 3rd all time.
Thanks to Bill Bruins, Nora Dooley, Terry and Joyce Grier, Greg Munson, and Ruthann Yaeger for independently covering areas and leading novices.
2007 Results
This has been a very good year for butterflies, both in terms of numbers and in terms of diversity. The consistent warmth and relative dryness has helped their populations. And for this year’s Rochester count we covered more areas, and had more knowledgeable area leaders. The combination of factors led to us smashing our previous records.
We saw 41 species of butterfly – breaking our previous high of 31 species. We saw 4 new species, bringing our composite 9 year total to 53 species! The new species were Acadian Hairstreak, Gray Hairstreak, Silvery Checkerspot, and Gray Comma. Also new this year was the number of species documented with digital photographs – it is the way of the future!
We had high counts for 12 species, and tied the previous high for 3 others. Especially notable were large numbers of Monarchs (227), Eastern Tailed Blue (223) and Red Admirals (145). And although not as numerous, we had unusually high counts for American Coppers (22), Edwards Hairstreaks (13) and Common Buckeyes (26).
We saw a total of 1240 individual butterflies (excluding 6 caterpillars and 2 eggs spotted by younger folks with good eyes) easily breaking our previous high of 1022 in 2001. Thanks to Bill Bruins, Nora Dooley, Terry and Joyce Grier, and Greg Munson for independently covering areas and leading novices.
See stats from 2023 and previous year's counts (Open Document Format )
2023 Results
Our 2023 Annual Butterfly Count was held Saturday, July 22
It was an excellent day (at least weather-wise) for our 25th Annual Butterfly Count in the Rochester area. Temps ranged from the 70s - mid 80s and it was sunny with a light breeze. Later in the day we got some much needed rain (and even some hail in spots), but we finished the count well before that happened.
We surveyed Chester Woods, Quarry Hill, Willow Creek, Essex Park and several smaller areas where we've had success in the past. Unfortunately the extreme drought conditions this summer may have affected our count. Butterfly numbers were very low nearly everywhere we searched. Many flowering plants that should be blooming had already gone to seed. Our volunteers did their best to search out every butterfly they could find and all combined we totaled 26 species and 451 individuals. For comparison, last year we found 32 species and 713 individuals.
Monarch numbers were quite low again this year - we only found 48. This is the 2nd year in a row that we've found fewer than 50 Monarch on count day. Hairstreaks are never abundant here, but this year we didn't find a single one of the 4 species normally found in our area. No Painted or American Ladies, only 4 Eastern Commas and very few Skippers were located. Cabbage Whites, Clouded Sulphurs, Summer Azures, Common Wood Nymphs and Great Spangled Fritillaries were seen in good numbers so that is hopeful. Every year is different and all we can do is hope for and end to the drought and better conditions next year.
We couldn't do this without our volunteers. Many thanks to Sandy Hokanson, Joel Dunnette, Anna Lovrien, Ruthann Yaeger, Jerry Pruett, Jim Peterson, Greg Munson, Peggy Menzel, John Weiss, Patty & John Trnka, Steve Dietz, Rose Braus, Bob Jessen, Greta G, Roberta Bumann, Joyce & Terry Grier, Sara Locher, Sue Wieseler and Eric Matteson. Also thanks to Chester Woods Park for the use of a Gator to get back to some of the remote areas of the park.
Here's what we found:
Black Swallowtail 9
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 13
Cabbage White 107
Clouded Sulphur 45
Orange Sulphur 11
American Copper 5
Gray Copper 1
Eastern Tailed Blue 6
Spring/Summer Azure 78
Great Spangled Fritillary 49
Aphrodite Fritillary 1
Pearl Crescent 6
Northern Crescent 10
Eastern Comma 4
Mourning Cloak 1
Red Admiral 6
Common Buckeye 1
Viceroy 4
Hackberry Emperor 1
Northern Pearly Eye 4
Eyed Brown 2
Little Wood Satyr 3
Common Wood Nymph 21
Monarch 48
Silver Spotted Skipper 2
Fiery Skipper 1
Unidentified Coppers 4
Unidentified Skippers 4
Unidentified Crescents 4
If you want to help butterflies, please consider creating a native plant garden in your backyard and refrain from using pesticides which kill all insects.
Photos contributed by: Sandy Hokanson, John Trnka, Terry Grier, Jerry Pruett, John Weiss
2022 Results
Our 24th Annual Butterfly Survey encountered some challenges. First we had to reschedule as stormy (very stormy!) weather on the original date of July 23rd meant we couldn't count that day. Then one counter had to bow out due to a sprained ankle, and another couple contracted covid (mild cases, thankfully - and one of them was able to count fully masked and isolated from others). Finally, yet another counter became dehydrated and couldn't finish their territory. But our remaining counters rallied and headed out with clip boards in hand.
Temps were in the 70s, the sun was out and we enjoyed a cool northerly breeze - a nice change from the hot humid weather the previous week. We identified 30 species with a total of 460 individuals. (To compare, last year we found 32 species and 713 individuals - so this year's number are on the low side.) Over the past 24 years we've cumulatively found 68 species in our little corner of SE Minnesota, but never more than 42 in a single year (2007). Monarchs were scarce this year with only 45 seen. On average we find 110 monarchs each year, though in 2018 we found 313. Numbers were low for many species. But Viceroys, Clouded Sulphurs, Northern Pearly Eyes, Eastern Tailed Blues and Azures all had count numbers close to average. Some great news - Terry Grier found a new species for our count this year - a Common Checkered Skipper - which isn't very common in our area - or maybe we just haven't been looking in the right places!
We found the following species in 2022:
Black Swallowtail - 4
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail - 3
Cabbage White - 86
Clouded Sulphur - 51
Orange Sulphur - 7
American Copper - 5
Coral Hairstreak - 1
Edwards Hairstreak - 2
Eastern Tailed Blue - 39
Spring/Summer Azure - 40
Great Spangled Fritillary- 16
Meadow Fritillary - 3
Pearl Crescent - 2
Northern Crescent - 21
Question Mark - 2
Eastern Comma - 5
American Lady - 2
Painted Lady - 2
Red Admiral - 6
Buckeye - 9
Viceroy - 14
Northern Pearly Eye - 21
Eyed Brown - 6
Common Wood Nymph - 43
Monarch -45
Silver Spotted Skipper - 2
Peck's Skipper - 1
Dun Skipper - 1
Delaware Skipper - 1
Common Checkered Skipper - 1
We'd like to thank Chester Woods Park for the use of a Gator to get to some of the remote areas of the park. Thanks also to our Citizen Science volunteers including: Anna Lovrien, Ruthann Yeager, Terry Grier, Sarah Locher, John Weiss, Joel Dunnette, Peggy Menzel, Sue Wieseler, Steve Dietz, Rosemary Braus & Sandy Hokanson.
2021 Results
Saturday, July 17, 2021 - 23rd Annual Butterfly Count
Several teams of volunteers spent the day walking through meadows, prairies, glens, fens and wooded areas around the Rochester area - all searching for as many species of butterflies as we could find in a single day. We had great weather for our 23rd Annual Butterfly Count and found a total of 32 species (713 individual butterflies).
Monarchs, Cabbage Whites, Great Spangled Fritillaries & Common Wood Nymphs were found in good numbers. Hairstreaks, Sulphurs, and Red Admirals were hard to come by and Anglewings were downright scarce. In fact we only found one Eastern Comma - a low number indeed! On the other hand, 3 Aphrodite Fritillaries were spotted and we haven't seen any of those since 2014. We really wanted to find the Baltimore Checkerspot that had been seen just a few days earlier in the Chester Woods fen - but we weren't able to relocate it. (Still, it's nice to know it was there as we haven't seen one on a count day since 2005). Read John Weiss' article about the count - it appeared in the Rochester Post Bulletin on July 22, 2021.
Species List:
Black Swallowtail - 16
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail - 2
Giant Swallowtail - 1
Cabbage White - 139
Clouded Sulphur - 14
Orange Sulphur - 8
American Copper - 10
Acadian Hairstreak - 1
Coral Hairstreak - 1
Banded Hairstreak - 6
Edwards Hairstreak - 1
Eastern Tailed Blue - 16
Spring/Summer Azure - 11
Great Spangled Fritillary - 90
Aphrodite Fritillary - 3
Meadow Fritillary - 6
Pearl Crescent - 6
Northern Crescent - 26
Eastern Comma - 1
Mourning Cloak - 1
Painted Lady - 1
Red Admiral - 3
Red Spotted Purple - 2
Viceroy - 12
Northern Pearly Eye - 29
Eyed Brown - 5
Little Wood Satyr - 2
Common Wood Nymph - 75
Monarch - 208
Silver Spotted Skipper - 6
Least Skipper - 1
Peck's Skipper - 1
We'd like to thank Chester Woods for the use of a Gator to get to some of the remote areas of the park. Thanks also to all of our Citizen Science volunteer counters including: Anna Lovrien, Jerry Pruett, Jim Peterson, Ruthann Yeager, Terry Grier, Joyce Grier, Patty Trnka, John Trnka, Sarah Locher, Roberta Bumann, John Weiss, Joel Dunnette & Sandy Hokanson.
2020 Results
Friday, July 17, 2020 - Annual Butterfly Count
Due to COVID 19 pandemic restrictions, we had only small groups (often just 1 or 2 people) going out this year. And with very hot and humid weather predicted for the planned day (July 18), we moved the count ahead a day. So we had many fewer overall participants. But our usual core of 12 counters did very well, finding a good number of species (34) and individual butterflies (783). These rank as the 5th highest numbers of the 22 years we have done this count. We did not see any new species this year. Notable this year were the lack of grass skippers (we did look!). This year's count sites included Chester Woods, Quarry Hill, Essex Park, Northern Hills, Eastside WMA, the Silver Creek and Willow Creek Reservoirs, Haverhill, and the Autumn Ridge / History Center area -
More photos on our FB album here.
2019 Results
Sunday, July 21, 2019 - Annual Butterfly Count
Stormy weather on Saturday forced us to change our count day from Saturday the 20th to Sunday the 21st - which was actually a much nicer day with sunny skies, pleasant temps and much lower humidity. Monarchs, Great Spangled Fritillaries, Red Admirals, Azures, and Northern Pearly Eyes were fairly numerous. Surprisingly, we saw very few Eastern Tiger Swallowtails, and Cabbage Whites were also quite scarce. Overall, despite limited coverage due to the change of date (and less availability of observers), and also due to very wet conditions which prevented us from visiting several areas, this year's count came out as pretty average. We found and identified 29 species, with 633 individual butterflies sighted. This compares to our 20 year average of 29.4 and 619 respectively.
2018 Results
Saturday, July 14, 2018 - Annual Butterfly Count
The day started cloudy and cool, with some fog. It took an hour or more before the butterflies started becoming evident. Late morning through afternoon was mostly sunny, warm and humid. We saw no new species for the count which is unusual. Observers said numbers were lower than expected, but totals were about average for both number of individual butterflies and number of species. But we do have more observers with experience now. Notable was the high number of Monarchs (313). A total of 733 individual butterflies were seen by our volunteers. Thanks again to our volunteers and to Chester Woods for the loan of two Gators to get around the park.
View photos on our FB page here.
2017 Results
Saturday, July 22, 2017 - Annual Butterfly Count
The morning was overcast and wet, in the high 70s and low 80s with very high humidity. We did not see many species on the morning rounds. The skies cleared off for the afternoon and numbers vastly improved throughout the afternoon.
Thirty different species of butterflies were identified during the count including 1 new species - a Leonards Skipper - that we had never seen in the area before. Four species we couldn't identify were also found. A total of 768 individual butterflies were seen by our volunteers. Many thanks to Joel Dunnette for organizing, to Chester Woods for the loan of a Gator to get around the park, and to all the volunteers who walked the fields and tallied up their sightings
2016 Results
Our 2016 count was held on July 9th, a warm, sunny day in the upper 70s. The count was led by Joel Dunnette. As this year's count was about two weeks earlier than last year, we may have hit a different portion of some species (such as Monarchs) life cycle. Our total identified species this year was 39 species (which is our second best year – best year being 42 – digital cameras are really helping with IDs) ... and the total number of individuals counted (580) is slightly better than an average year The monarch count was down from 153 individuals in 2015 to just 36 individuals this year. The highest count for monarchs we’ve had in the 18 years of doing the survey was 233 in 2007. The lowest count was just 11 in 2004. The average over the years has been in the 60s.
2015 Results
Our 2015 count was held on July 19th and led by Joel Dunnette. It was postponed from day before due to hot humid weather. We had good weather, decent butterfly numbers and with good effort by several independently operating volunteers, good variety of butterflies. Of note were the very good numbers of Monarchs, but low numbers of skippers and crescents. Variety of hairstreaks was good. Following a butterfly watching class in June, we had several new volunteer watchers. We did have some equipment problems with the off-road vehicles at Chester Woods – the 4 seater would not start, and then we lost the key for another out in the field, which cut short some potentially good counting.
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2014 Results
Our 2014 count was held on July 26th and led by Joel Dunnette. We started at Quarry Hill Nature Center but had with overcast skies and even a few sprinkles, our morning count was low. Things improved in the afternoon when the sun came out. Our count sites also included the RCTC Smart Garden, Lawler Prairie, Eastside Marsh, Chester Woods and a few other places. We believe we found three new species this year, bringing our species count over the past 16 years up to 64. New species this year were: a Silver Bordered Fritillary, a Peck's Skipper and a Little Glassy Wing Skipper (being confirmed).
2013 Results
Spring and summer were slow to come in 2013. The scarcity of butterfly numbers may partly be due to that. We know also that the 2012 drought took Monarch numbers to historic lows. But there had been decent warm weather in June and July 2013, and a few species had good flights - more Mourning Cloaks than usual, a good flight of Hackberry Emperors. But those flights were over by count day. The species count of 31 was about average. The total number of individual butterflies of 475 was a bit below the median for the history of the count. Every observer remarked that they had to work hard to find what they did. So the numbers being as good as they are is a tribute to the skill and perseverance of the observers. We were happy to find two new species for the count - Meadow Fritillary and Crossline Skipper.
2012 Results
The 2012 count was held on July 14th. With the warm, early spring, there were hopes for really good butterflies this year. And we did have good number and variety in June. But the hot dry weather from late June into July seemed to make the butterfly (adults) disappear. So this year's count was a bit of a disappointment. We also had low turnout of counters. We found 357 butterflies, of 24 species. This is well below the 14 year averages of 631 and 28 respectively, and also lower than the 14 year medians of 500 and 31. The best find of the count were Fiery Skippers. We had never seen them before, and we managed to get pictures for positive ID. Thanks to Jerry Pruett, Ruthann Yaeger, Cliff Hansen, and Tony Stans for helping count, and for signing up as official observers. And thanks to county parks for the use of gators to get around Chester Woods; that allowed us to cover a LOT more ground than we would have otherwise! Maybe next year will be a big year and we can break some records.
2011 Results
The 2011 count was held on July 16th. Count Results have been posted on the data sheet.
2010 Results
Well, every year is different. The summer of 2010 has been quite warm, which we expect to be good for number of butterflies. And it was – we counted 1022 individual butterflies – tied for second most in the 12 years of the count. But the continued heat may have pushed flights of adults to earlier than normal, since our species count at 28 was middling, compared to our range from 20 to 41 in other years.
The heat also affected our ability (or willingness) to stay out in the heat; that may have somewhat limited what we saw. Thanks to the loan by Olmsted parks of gators, we were able to cover good amounts of Chester Woods. And thanks to folks who covered areas on their own – we found a lot more that way. We did find a new species – Little Yellows were seen at 4 different sites. They suddenly appeared in SE MN this year, coming in from the south, perhaps due to the sustained warmth and winds from the south. The most common butterflies seen were Orange Sulfur (329, thanks to alfalfa fields), Monarch (166), Clouded Sulfur (150) and Red Admiral (75). Lacking were hairstreaks and skippers, which would have increased out species count.
Next year we plan to have the butterfly walk for novices and children on a separate day, so we can focus on counting on count day.
2009 Results
The summer of 2009 had been remarkably cool, so butterfly numbers were lower than usual. And then the day of the count was cloudy, breezy, and even cooler than surrounding days. So we had to literally ‘kick up’ butterflies. They just were not flying much. We had several knowledgeable observers spending many hours, with relatively little to show for the effort. We found only 199 individual butterflies, well below the 11 year average of 630, and below the previous low of 350. We identified 20 species, the lowest ever by one, and well below the average of 29.
2008 Results
2008 has been a modest year for butterflies, with a cool slow spring and early summer. So butterfly numbers had been noticeably low. But our team of butterfly counters came through with a nice diversity and number of butterflies. We saw 38 species of butterfly – almost as good as last year’s record 41, and well above our 10 year average of 29. Nora found 1 new species, Hickory Hairstreak, bringing our composite 10 year total to 54 species. Having knowledgeable area leaders really helps!
Surprisingly, we had record high counts for quite a few species: Banded Hairstreak (16), Striped Hairstreak (8), Northern Crescent (4), Silvery Checkerspot (2), Eastern Comma (5), Mourning Cloak(18), Red-spotted Purple(5), Hackberry Emperor(100, Little Wood Satyr(12), Common Wood Nymph(146), European Skipper (85 – previous high 1!) and Delaware Skipper (5). Numbers were low for several common species. We saw a total of 737 individual butterflies. This is well below our smashing high of 1248 in 2007, but good enough for 3rd all time.
Thanks to Bill Bruins, Nora Dooley, Terry and Joyce Grier, Greg Munson, and Ruthann Yaeger for independently covering areas and leading novices.
2007 Results
This has been a very good year for butterflies, both in terms of numbers and in terms of diversity. The consistent warmth and relative dryness has helped their populations. And for this year’s Rochester count we covered more areas, and had more knowledgeable area leaders. The combination of factors led to us smashing our previous records.
We saw 41 species of butterfly – breaking our previous high of 31 species. We saw 4 new species, bringing our composite 9 year total to 53 species! The new species were Acadian Hairstreak, Gray Hairstreak, Silvery Checkerspot, and Gray Comma. Also new this year was the number of species documented with digital photographs – it is the way of the future!
We had high counts for 12 species, and tied the previous high for 3 others. Especially notable were large numbers of Monarchs (227), Eastern Tailed Blue (223) and Red Admirals (145). And although not as numerous, we had unusually high counts for American Coppers (22), Edwards Hairstreaks (13) and Common Buckeyes (26).
We saw a total of 1240 individual butterflies (excluding 6 caterpillars and 2 eggs spotted by younger folks with good eyes) easily breaking our previous high of 1022 in 2001. Thanks to Bill Bruins, Nora Dooley, Terry and Joyce Grier, and Greg Munson for independently covering areas and leading novices.