Interactive Butterfly CD
Butterflies of the
Carolinas & Virginias

We woke up very early in Homestead with hopes of making it to Stock Island by sunrise, but we didn't make it as the road was too busy with traffic already. So Our first stop was at Bahia Honda State Park a really nice place to butterfly and they even have a butterfly garden. The inner dunes were covered in Spanish Needles and blues were everywhere it seemed once it warmed up a bit.

The first excitement was a blue that wasn't cooperative at all. Then I spotted my first Hammock Skipper, then it was gone to fast for more than just a glance. While chasing some blues I spotted a hairstreak it turned out to be a Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak, soon we found 5 of them! All the while Roger had a large white that we both thought might be a Florida White, till we reviewed the digital photos we took closely.

Great Southern White, Ascia monuste on a leaf
from Bahia Honda State Park.

While walking the lower path over looking the ocean I spotted my first Large Orange Sulphur fly by then another, and another. OK we had a ball at Bahia Honda with 3 lifers in just 2 hours!

Once we headed south on US 1 I noticed a flurry of yellow butterflies along the roadside we stopped and counted over 100 Barred Yellows! Next we stopped at Big Pine Key and we found 100+ Eastern Pygmy Blues at one stop. I managed a photo of a mated pair. We walked the nature trail only to burn up in the 85 degree heat and to find only 2 Florida Duskywings and a Monk Skipper.

On to Stock Island Botanical Garden, what a wonderful place. First find is a pair of Malachites, then 2 pair of Giant Swallowtails. We walked the entire garden and in one clearing a super fast brown skipper buzzed us both for what seemed 10 minutes, not ever showing itself although we did find 2 fast flying longwing skippers it could have been a Zestos Skipper! Our last excitement before leaving was a upside down Mangrove Skipper on a Sea Grape leaf.

Mangrove Skipper, Phocides pigmalion
from Stock Island Botanical Garden near Key West Florida.

We headed back north on US1 and decided to hit Cactus Hammock on Big Pine Key as our last stop of the day. Well we certainly didn't expect 2 lifers just getting our of the van but we sure did! I spotted an Obscure Skipper next to the van and we both took photos. Then while waiting for Roger to finish with the Obscure Skipper I found a Martial Scrub-Hairstreak at the back of the van. We were delighted when this hairstreak opened its wings for excellent photos, we think it was a female as it had more orange than the next one we found that just had a little orange and Roger`s digital photo showed a scent patch confirming it was a male.

On our long ride back to Homestead we stopped just at sunset to eat at the Islamorada Fish Market Restaurant which was on the water, had fast service and very good food at great prices!

January 24, 2002 in the Florida Keys, Monroe County Florida Roger Rittmaster and I had these species:

Giant Swallowtail (1)
Great Southern White (100+)
Large Orange Sulphur (20)
Barred Yellow (100+)
Martial Scrub-Hairstreak (2)
Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak (5)
Eastern Pygmy Blue (100+)
Cassius Blue (25)
Ceraunus Blue (15)
Gulf Fritillary (40)
Zebra Helicon (50)
Mangrove Buckeye (60)
White Peacock (15)
Malachite (2)
Mangrove Skipper (1)
Hammock Skipper (1)
Longtailed Skipper (10)
Dorantes Longtail (15)
Florida Duskywing (2)
Fiery Skipper (4)
Southern Broken Dash (3)
Sachem (3)
Monk Skipper (1)
Eufala Skipper (1)
Obscure Skipper (1)

On to Day 3 Everglades National Park near Flamingo)
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Barred Yellow, Eurema daira courting
from along US1.
Cassius Blue, Leptotes cassius on a leaf
from Bahia Honda State Park.

Ceraunus Blue, Hemiargus ceraunus on a blade of grass
from Bahia Honda State Park.
Eastern Pigmy Blue, Brephidium isophthalma
from Big Pine Key in the Florida Keys.


Southern Broken-dash, Wallengrenia otho on a leaf
from Big Pine Key in the Florida Keys.

Obscure Skipper, Panoquina panoquinoides
found at Cactus Key in the Florida Keys.

All above photos were taken on January 24, 2002
in the Florida Keys. Monroe County Florida

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