Imagine my surprise when skimming through a Credit Valley Conservation news item to discover there is a Butterfly Blitz planned for the Credit River watershed for the summer of 2019. The training and kick off event is Saturday June 22 2019 from 9 till noon at the Riverwood Conservancy in Mississauga. I’ll be there for sure!
What Butterflies Might Seekers Find in Mid to Late June in Mississauga?
2019 has had a cold wet spring which has limited the chance to see butterflies but they are out there. Here are some of the ones I’ve found in the last week. Hopefully some will be showing on Saturday, too!
Silvery Blues look lovely from the top, but are easier to identify by the halo-ed dots on the underside of the wings, shown next:
Eastern Comma’s are noticeable with their flash of orange wings but the little white “comma” with the “fish hook” ends on the underside help in their identification.
Some, like the following one, have dark hind wings.
Little Wood Satyrs are the most commonly seen pale butterfly in June at Riverwood: They like to perch on leaves near the trails.
2019 has been a good year for migrating Red Admirals.
Monarchs are back at Riverwood but this one didn’t want to slow down!
I spend a lot of time being confused by butterflies: this is probably a Wild Indigo Duskywing. They eat the really common Crown Vetch not just the endangered Wild Indigo plant.
I was sure this was a Hobomok Skipper until I looked at the photos of Peck’s Skippers. Now I think I will attend the training session and hope that helps me figure out the differences!
And for those who aren’t big on butterflies, there’s always lots of wildflowers to admire at Riverwood, like this wild Red Columbine.
Where Can I Find More Info About the Credit Valley Butterfly Blitz 2019?
Related Reading
I found the following information about the Butterfly Blitz
Learn and Get Involved Become a Citizen Scientist
In the Hills Get Involved Article
Where in the Watershed are the Silver-Spotted Skippers?
And of course I have a not-very-up-to-date list of my sightings of butterflies in the area at
Join In
I hope some of you will be involved in the summer blitz. Comments are always welcome here too. (But please be aware that I can’t report them to eButterfly or iNaturalist as that is not the way those programs are meant to be used, so consider joining one yourself to report your Credit Valley sightings!)