March Manhattan butterflies

After a historically warm winter, butterflies are already on the wing in New York, with recent reports of Mourning Cloak, Eastern Comma, and Cabbage White in the city. Mourning Cloaks and Eastern Commas overwinter as adults (so do Question Marks) and emerge on warm days; Cabbage White overwinters in pupal form. American Lady is also possible in March, though whether they are individuals that overwintered or migrated from the south is apparently unclear.

Remarkably, an American Snout was photographed in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, on March 2: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/39470345

Keep your eyes peeled for early sightings of these species, especially as temperatures reach 50s and 60s in the city over the next few days.

And watch for any Celastrina azures -- so far, there are no iNaturalist records of this complex in March in Manhattan. If you come across one, try to get photographs showing as much detail of the wings as possible.

Here's @kasimac's photo of an Eastern Comma from Central Park on March 4, when temperatures hit 57 degrees:

Manhattan butterfly project is here https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/butterflies-of-new-york-county-manhattan, and checklist-in-progress is here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Y2mNKMNXqtk4Ms820YvKXaaTySSYoxtcGlq7znoCjtY/edit?usp=sharing

@kasimac @kenchaya @nycnatureobserver @nycbirder @pawelp @susanhewitt @spritelink

Posted on Μάρτιος 08, 2020 0253 ΠΜ by djringer