💾 Archived View for magda.cities.yesterweb.org › oblog › 2024-april-12.gmi captured on 2024-08-31 at 12:05:23. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
⬅️ Previous capture (2024-05-10)
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The first of the last two days with summer-like temperatures (17°C shortly before midday) and sunny conditions. The weak winds grew stronger at 11:42 AM, which cut this observation session short for Zone III in particular. Nevertheless, it was a perfect day for various species.
+-------------------------+---------------------------------+--------+ | Species | Location | Status | +-------------------------+---------------------------------+--------+ | Aglais io | Yard / Zone I / II / III | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Anthocharis cardamines | Mixed Field / Zone I / II / III | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Erynnis tages | Mixed Field | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Pieris napi | Mixed Field / Zone I / II / III | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Pieris rapae | Zone II / III | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Vanessa atalanta | Zone II | Adult | +-------------------------+---------------------------------+--------+
Similar to the last observation day, A. cardamines still is going strong, yet the most prominent species now is P. napi, which is present within all zones in respectable numbers – a stark contrast to last year, in which P. napi was considerably rare. E. tages making its first appearance of the year, with two individuals resting on the street next to the mixed field that now largely consists of alfalfa and dandelions, puts it on par with A. cardamines, which also started to appear nearly one month prior to the usual start of its season in May. Two butterflies quickly crossing Zone I were impossible to determine; one flying towards the cow pasture resembled E. tages from afar, while the other individual on the southern side of the cherry hill looked like C. pamphilus. Because I could not verify either one, the following day (13 April) will be spent searching for both. Especially the latter species would be notable, as it, just like E. tages and A. cardamines, would be appearing almost one month too soon.
Strangely, the only species I've yet to observe is A. urticae. My friend from Austria already has told me that he hasn't seen this species since last year, while A. urticae suddenly disappeared from my main study area around the early days of May, 2023. It briefly returned in June, yet made no further appearances after that. It remains to be seen whether its population will recover this year.
Speaking of "recovering population": Last year was a rather catastrophic season for the garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) and all individual plants were replaced by orchard grass (Dactylis glomerata), negatively affecting P. napi to the point I only managed to spot three individuals throughout the entire season. This year marks a plentiful return of garlic mustard in its old places likely due to this year's wet and mild winter. This species has also begun to claim new spots right between Zone I and the mixed field.
Another positive observation is Zone III becoming a permanent hot spot for native ladybirds. Almost all "red types" – I was able to count four different ladybird types with each presenting a different amount of dots, varying from five to 19 – were observed on the southern and eastern side of the pond. The hornet mimic hoverfly (Volucella zonaria) has become active in Zone I.
Unfortunately, strong winds made observations almost impossible and nothing but very few A. cardamines and P. napi near the mixed field and a lonely P. rapae in Zone I showed up.
Due to weather forecasts expecting the weather to get pretty bad starting tomorrow afternoon, there's one last chance for me to search for the suspected C. pamphilus before lunch, unless, of course, the winds remain as strongas they did today.
Well, it's even windier and cloudier than during the previous days. This means that the suspected C. pamphilus remains unconfirmed and thus will not be included in the list.