UNI student helps return cropland to native prairie Article from The Gazette

Researchers assessing benefits of converting grasses to biofuel

WASHBURN — University of Northern Iowa professor Mark Myers considered it a “theoretical exercise” when he assigned his wildlife ecology and management students to develop a habitat management plan for a local site.

But, said Myers, Jarrett Pfrimmer, 25, of North Liberty, “took the assignment to heart,” and a year later, prairie grass was growing on 20 acres of former cropland along a Cedar River tributary.

“I did not think he could make it happen in that short a time,” said Myers, who is working with Pfrimmer on another major project with the potential to restore natural functions of the Cedar River watershed — research to determine the feasibility of native prairie as a biofuel.

Pfrimmer, who will complete work on his master’s degree next month, said he worked with the Black Hawk County Soil and Water Conservation District to line up cost-share funding for the stream buffer project.

The Boone native said he also took advantage of expertise at UNI’s Tallgrass Prairie Center to plan and execute the 120-foot wide buffer strips on both sides of Dry Run Creek, which flows past the UNI campus en route to the Cedar River.

Seeded a year ago, the native vegetation will become well established next year, greatly reducing erosion from the former farm fields, improving the quality of the water flowing into the Cedar and providing habitat for songbirds, pheasants and other wildlife.

The absorbent grass also will play a small role in reducing the crest of future Cedar River floods.

“Every little bit helps” when it comes to watersheds’ ability to store and slowly release floodwaters, said State Sen. Rob Hogg, D-Cedar Rapids, a leader in legislative efforts to improve watershed management.

Small-scale improvements like the two Black Hawk County projects can help create a mindset and policies “that will help buy down flood peaks for those of us downstream,” Hogg said.

In addition to the Cedar Falls stream buffer project, Pfrimmer has worked with Myers and others to assess the benefits of converting cropland into a prairie biomass production site at the 593-acre Cedar River Natural Resource Area about 10 miles south of Waterloo.

On flood plain land that had formerly been leased for row crop production, the researchers established 48 test plots, each seeded with one of four types of native vegetation ranging from switch grass alone to a mix of 32 species of grasses, legumes, forbs and sedges.

Those plantings were equally distributed among three distinct soil types, enabling the researchers to control all key factors contributing to the productivity of native grass not only as a source of energy but also as habitat for birds, butterflies and other wildlife.

The research got off to a rocky start with the historic Cedar River flood of 2008 wiping out the initial seeding. The plots were reseeded in 2009, burned in 2011 and finally harvested in April, compressed into 550-pound rectangular bales, with an average yield of 4 tons per acre.

About 150 of those bales were later pelletized for an upcoming test burn by Cedar Falls Utilities. “We’re looking to find out how well it burns for energy generation,” said Daryl Smith of the UNI Tallgrass Prairie Center, a partner in the research.

Researchers have suggested that cultivation of low-input, high-diversity grassland biomass could have significant energy and environmental advantages over corn-based ethanol, according to Myers.

While it remains to be seen whether the energy yield would justify conversion of marginal farmland to production of native vegetation for use as an energy source, biofuel production with diverse mixtures of native prairie vegetation “contributes to the maintenance of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes,” the researchers concluded.

Grassland birds and butterflies quickly found and colonized the test plots, according to Myers.

Pfrimmer, who has led bird data collection efforts, will soon complete his master’s thesis on “Bird Use of Heterogenous Native Prairie Biofuel Production Plots.”

In each of the past two years, he has found at least 100 delicate nests hidden among the grass stems by species such as the sedge wren, dickcissel, grasshopper sparrow and lark sparrow. Pheasants and turkeys also have moved into the grass, he said.

“We are starting to see different bird communities established in the plots in accordance with their preferences for the vegetation mix and even the soil types,” Pfrimmer said.

Article taken From The Gazette Newspaper

[IOWA-INSECTS] Monarch butterfly research story-Where Are They?

Here in SE MN I noticed the same lack of Monarchs in mid-summer.  We also had robust milkweeds with very few larvae.  I heard from (entomologically oriented) folks in NE MN that in June they saw far more Monarchs than usual, but with their relatively low population of milkweeds the Monarch seemed to overload the larval food plant.  Then in August the flight of Monarchs here in SE MN was the lowest I have every seen.

Joel Dunnette

On Tue, Nov 6, 2012 at 8:21 PM, Bruce And Georgeann wrote:
I have been following this topic and want to ask about another angle of the past summer's Monarch slump -at least it was in Nw Iowa.

The Monarch Butterflies, were a real concern here this year.  We had quite good numbers showing up in early spring - in fact the dates were record early arrivals for us.  And I witnessed egg laying in the pasture...even photographed eggs as they were so obvious.  But the thing that really puzzled and concerned me was we had no egg hatches and no caterpillars all summer!  I have never, in my life, "Not" seen a Caterpillar all spring, summer or fall!!!???!!!  Why after finding eggs, I could later not find larva?

Then the summer was "scant" as far as Monarchs were concerned.  Nearly none, just a handful all summer.  This should not have been the case here, we had the largest crop of Asclepias (milkweeds) that I've ever seen here...we had A. tuberosa(Butterfly Milkweed) in record numbers...they were stunning all over the county...even the area farmers were asking me what that "orange plant" is showing up everywhere!  We had way more A. syriaca (Common Milkweed) than I care to see here  - the neighborhood is coated with seed parachutes from our pasture...not a real "good neighbor" relations maker with the local farmers.  We also had a good share (but down slightly from past years) of A. verticillata (Whorled Milkweed) and a small compliment of A. incarnata (Swamp Milkweed) in the ditches out front.

I witnessed a lone Monarch laying eggs on some Common Milkweed outside the studio windows in late August and tried keeping an eye on them - they were gone after just 3 days!?  I don't know of "egg" eaters in the insect world but maybe something is going on?  I know of parasitic wasps in caterpillars - but saw NO CATERPILLARS all summer (as I said before).  I haven't the foggiest idea what is going on?

This fall we had virtually no Monarch roosts here - we usually have 150-500 individuals roost here each fall.  13 was our high number in a roost this fall..."6" was the other high day..."high" used very sarcastically...

Some folks following this have raised issue with the drought hurting the mid section of the continent's Monarch survival...I'm sure that has some bearing.  They also have raised issue with GMO crops.  But it does nothing to explain a local phenomenon like we've been experiencing here...eggs laid but no hatching, no larva...with an abundance of food source for larva and adult stages.  We do not spray insecticides here on the acreage, but I have no knowledge of GMO crops or spraying issues in the surrounding area, so I can't speak to that.

Am I imagining things or is there anyone else raising these kinds of observations or concerns? ...Bruce Morrison, SE O'Brien County

The Birth of a Butterfly You Tube Video by jamesmenful

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The Birth of a Butterfly You Tube Video

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Chip in for Monarch Watch! A Fundraising Campaign In Chip’s Honor

“Chip in for Monarch Watch” Fundraising Campaign
—————————————————————-
The 2012 “Chip in for Monarch Watch” Fundraising Campaign is now underway!
Please help us spread the word about this annual campaign which brings in
funds to keep Monarch Watch’s education, conservation and research programs
going…and growing!

If you are in a position to offer financial support to Monarch Watch (or if
you know someone who might be), please consider making a fully
tax-deductible donation of any amount during our 2012 “Chip in for Monarch
Watch” fundraising campaign.

Visit http://monarchwatch.org/chip/ for more information or to submit your
pledge and tax-deductible donation. Be sure to check out the comments and
photos submitted by other donors – we are continually amazed by the
connections that are made through monarchs and Monarch Watch.

Last year’s campaign was a huge success, raising more than $31,000 – think
we can top that this year? 

Thank you for your continued support!

Chip in for Monarch Watch:http://monarchwatch.org/chip/

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Monsanto Fails at Improving Agriculture Article

Help UCS Set the Record Straight by Sharing Our New Ad Campaign

Monsanto's advertisements tell an impressive tale of the agribusiness giant's achievements: Feeding a growing population. Protecting natural resources. Promoting biodiversity. 

It sounds wonderful, but unfortunately, there's a catch: These claims are often exaggerated, misleading or downright false. Monsanto's products—and the practices they promote—may sustain the company's profits, but the evidence shows that they stand in the way of truly sustainable solutions to our food and farming challenges.

In the ads below, we counter Monsanto's feel-good rhetoric with some facts gleaned from UCS analysis. Share them with friends, and spread the word:  when it comes to healthy farming, Monsanto fails!

(Click on the images to see full-size versions.)

#1: More Herbicide + Fewer Butterflies = Better Seeds?

Monsanto Says: "In the hands of farmers, better seeds can help meet the needs of our rapidly growing population, while protecting the earth's natural resources."

In Fact: Monsanto's Roundup Ready crops, genetically engineered to tolerate the company's Roundup herbicide,increased herbicide use by an estimated 383 million pounds between 1996 and 2008. And Monarch butterflies have laid 81 percent fewer eggs thanks to habitat loss since Roundup Ready was introduced.

#2: A Bumper Crop of Superweeds

Monsanto Says: "Our rapidly growing population is putting limited resources--such as land, water, and energy--under increased pressure."

In Fact: The challenge is real, but Monsanto's products aren't the answer. UCS analysis shows that GE crops have so far done little to improve yields in the U.S. Meanwhile—speaking of rapidly growing populations—overuse of Roundup Ready crops has spawned an epidemic of "superweeds," causing huge problems for U.S. farmers.

#3: All Wet on Drought Tolerance

Monsanto Says: "With the right tools, farmers can conserve more for future generations."

In Fact: If farmers want to conserve more water, Monsanto's DroughtGard corn isn't the right tool. A recent UCS study found that DroughtGard won't help farmers reduce water use—and its engineered drought tolerance will likely only be useful in moderate drought conditions. (Research has shown that organic farming methods could improve drought-year yields by up to 96%.)

Union Of Concerned Scientists Website

In Midwest, Butterflies May Be Far Fewer.

Rich Beauchesne/Portsmouth Herald, via Associated Press

HABITAT The use of a herbicide has taken away a home for monarchs.
By ANDREW POLLACK  Published: July 11, 2011

As recently as a decade ago, farms in the Midwest were commonly marred — at least as a farmer would view it — by unruly patches of milkweed amid the neat rows of emerging corn or soybeans.

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Janet Jarman for The New York Times

WINTER HABITAT Pupils from Angangueo, a mountain town in Michoacan state in Mexico, during a celebration of migration of the monarch butterfly.

Not anymore. Fields are now planted with genetically modified corn and soybeans resistant to the herbicide Roundup, allowing farmers to spray the chemical to eradicate weeds, including milkweed.
And while that sounds like good news for the farmers, a growing number of scientists fear it is imperiling the monarch butterfly, whose spectacular migrations make it one of the most beloved of insects — “the Bambi of the insect world,” as an entomologist once put it.
Monarchs lay their eggs on milkweed, and their larvae eat it. While the evidence is still preliminary and disputed, experts like Chip Taylor say the growing use of genetically modified crops is threatening the orange-and-black butterfly by depriving it of habitat.
“This milkweed has disappeared from at least 100 million acres of these row crops,” said Dr. Taylor, an insect ecologist at the University of Kansas and director of the research and conservation program Monarch Watch. “Your milkweed is virtually gone.”
The primary evidence that monarch populations are in decline comes from a new study showing a drop over the last 17 years of the area occupied by monarchs in central Mexico, where many of them spend the winter. The amount of land occupied by the monarchs is thought to be a proxy for their population size.
“This is the first time we have the data that we can analyze statistically that shows there’s a downward trend,” said Ernest H. Williams, a professor of biology at Hamilton College and an author of the study along with Dr. Taylor and others.
The paper, published online by the journal Insect Conservation and Diversity, attributes the decrease partly to the loss of milkweed from use of “Roundup Ready” crops. Other causes, it says, are the loss of milkweed to land development, illegal logging at the wintering sites in Mexico, and severe weather.
The study does not suggest the monarch will become extinct. But it questions whether the annual migration, the impetus for butterfly festivals around the United States and waves of tourism to Mexico, is sustainable.
Still, the paper does not present any data backing its contention that genetically engineered crops are reducing monarch populations. Some experts dispute that the monarch populations are declining at all, and say it is unclear whether the biotech crops are having an effect.
Andrew K. Davis, an assistant research scientist at the University of Georgia, said censuses of adult monarchs taken each fall at Cape May, N.J., and Peninsula Point, Mich., did not show any decline.
It could be that “even though the overwintering population is getting smaller and smaller, once they come northward in the spring they are able to recoup the numbers,” Dr. Davis said. His paper disputing that there has been a decline in the monarch population was published online by the same journal.
Leslie Ries, a research professor at the University of Maryland, said other butterfly counts she had examined also did not show a decline, but rather year-to-year fluctuations. Since milkweed populations are not likely to fluctuate as much, the milkweed is probably not the major determinant of butterfly populations, she said.
But two other researchers, Karen Oberhauser of the University of Minnesota and John M. Pleasants of Iowa State, cite other evidence for a decline: the number of monarch eggs in the fields of the Midwest.
“Monarch production has decreased significantly” Dr. Pleasants said. “The reduction is caused by loss of milkweed resources available to them.”
The two scientists have submitted a paper to a scientific journal and said they did not want to discuss their data before publication.
Roundup Ready crops contain a bacterial gene that allows them to withstand Roundup or its generic equivalent, glyphosate, allowing farmers to kill the weeds without harming the crop.
Because they make weed control much easier, the crops have been widely adopted by farmers. This year, 94 percent of the soybeans and 72 percent of the corn being grown in the United States are herbicide-tolerant, according to the Department of Agriculture.
That in turn had led to an explosion in the use of glyphosate, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. About five times as much of the weed killer was used on farmland in 2007 as in 1997, a year after the Roundup Ready crops were introduced, and roughly 10 times as much as in 1993.
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“It kills everything,” said Lincoln P. Brower, an entomologist at Sweet Briar College who is also an author of the paper documenting the decline of monarch winter populations in Mexico. “It’s like absolute Armageddon for biodiversity over a huge area.”
The amount of milkweed on farms in Iowa declined 90 percent from 1999 to 2009, according to Robert G. Hartzler, an agronomist at Iowa State. His study, published last year in the journal Crop Protection, found milkweed on only 8 percent of the corn and soybean fields surveyed in 2009, down from 51 percent in 1999.
Because of weed-control efforts, even before the advent of Roundup Ready crops, any one farm is not likely to harbor that much milkweed.
But the sheer amount of farmland in the Corn Belt has meant that farms, in aggregate, have accounted for a vast majority of monarch births, according to another study published by Dr. Oberhauser and colleagues in 2001. That study estimated that in Iowa, farms produced 78 times the number of monarchs as nonagricultural sites, and in Wisconsin and Minnesota, 73 times as much.
And while monarchs come from other parts of the country as well, the Midwest is widely believed to be where most of them are hatched.
Still, even Dr. Hartzler said in his paper that it was difficult to assess what impact the decline of Iowa milkweed was having on monarch populations.
A spokesman for Monsanto, the inventor of the Roundup Ready crops and the manufacturer of Roundup, agreed, saying “knowledge is still evolving about whether and how agriculture in Iowa affects monarch population biology.” And what is true of Iowa, he said, might not apply to other regions.
This is not the first time genetically modified crops have been thought to threaten the monarch.
In 1999, researchers at Cornell reported that monarch caterpillars could be killed if they ate milkweed onto which the researchers had dusted pollen from another type of engineered crop known as BT corn. That corn has a bacterial gene allowing it to produce a toxin that kills certain pests.
But subsequent research, financed in part by the biotechnology industry, found that caterpillars were not likely to be exposed to lethal amounts of BT corn pollen under actual field conditions. That concern has died down.
Scientists say it is not surprising that suppressing weeds would have an effect on insects, and probably not just the monarch.
The National Academy of Sciences discussed this in a 2007 report on bees and other animals that pollinate crops. The report cited a British study that found fewer butterflies in fields growing genetically engineered beets and canola than in fields growing nonengineered crops.
That raises the somewhat radical notion that perhaps weeds on farms should be protected. “There’s a change in agricultural thinking, because the weed-free field was the gold standard,” said May Berenbaum, head of entomology at the University of Illinois.
Still, she and other insect experts say it is unrealistic to expect farmers to give up the herbicide-tolerant crops — so efforts should be made to preserve or grow milkweed elsewhere, perhaps on farmland set aside for conservation. Monarch Watch is encouraging gardeners to grow milkweed.
Dr. Taylor of Monarch Watch offered a modest, possibly ironic proposal for biotechnology companies. “I would implore them to develop a Roundup-resistant milkweed,” he said.

A version of this article appeared in print on July 12, 2011, on page D1 of the New York edition with the headline: In Midwest, Flutters May Be Far Fewer.

Thoughts From The Belly

Thoughts From The Belly
May 2009
By: Dan Mays – Ironbelly1@aol.com

Every year I am asked, “So what are you going to plant this year, Dan?” This question provides me with a perfect segue to launch into my personal campaign to improve the sorry state of Butterfly Gardens. I am certainly not discouraging folks from planting gardens with butterflies in mind. My hope is that I can encourage others to expand their focus to include the untapped possibilities of “what could be”. Establishing a few plants originally imported from China and watching a few monarch butterflies sipping nectar is setting a low bar indeed. In warmer climates (particularly in Great Britain), Butterfly Bush (Buddleia davidii) has proven to be an invasive thug. Planting something just because the horticultural mass-market industry dubbed this thing “Butterfly Bush” is not my idea of a sane approach. Following this magazine-promoted tack robs well-intentioned gardeners of an easily attainable bounty, simply for the sake of filling the marketing coffers.

It is true that this Chinese exotic draws adult butterflies to sip nectar – and that is largely the problem. The key word here is: “adult” – and only adult. What do the butterflies feed on prior to becoming adults? It certainly is not Buddleia davidii or most any other plant imported from foreign lands. While marketers harp about “clean foliage”, every gardener truly interested in Butterfly Gardens should translate this term to be “something my baby butterflies can’t or won’t eat”. Caterpillars don’t damage foliage – they are foraging.

Monarch butterflies flittering about are truly a delight to see. Instantly recognizable, they have a fascinating migratory habit. However, concentrating solely upon Monarchs is like dining exclusively on Big Mac’s for every meal. The world of butterflies and moths is a superbly rich place if only we will expand our knowledge a bit. Be careful … you might soon learn about skippers, blues, brushfoots, hairstreaks, etc.

The expanded world (egg, larva, pupa and adult) of butterflies includes general feeders and something called “obligates”. Obligates are essentially finicky eaters. In other words, if their favorite plant is not found to lay eggs on, that butterfly or moth species will not multiply. Regal Fritillary butterflies seem to have a distinct preference for Birdfoot Violet (Viola pedata). However, bear in mind that it is the immature stages that require native violets. The adult will sip nectar from a wide variety of plants. I guess this tips my hand as to the answer to the opening question: “So what are you going to plant this year, Dan?” The obvious answer is Birdfoot Violet. I have 100 of those plants on order from the Master Gardener plant sale.

My interest in butterflies was stirred to life last year when I visited the 20 acre Duke Prairie. It lays a few miles north of the Quad Cities, just southeast of Grand Mound in Clinton County. I was meeting up with a group from the Quad Cities Native Plant Society for a field trip and arrived a little early. At first glance, the place was full of interesting plants. However, the thing that seized my attention was the profusion of butterflies. They were everywhere! Curiously, most were species I rarely see. Many (and I emphasize many) were butterfly and moth species I had never seen before. The place shamed the meager butterfly garden “how-to” attempts advocated in popular magazines. Coincidentally, there was not a “required” Buddleia in sight. Why was this? Why was there so much abundance and diversity?

Upon further research and lots of questions, the obvious answer surfaced. There was food – their food. The kind of food the individual butterfly species needed for their young. I liken this phenomenon to people. If you serve jalapeño peppers, the Hispanics show up. Serve pasta and the Italians show up. Serve sauerkraut and the Germans show up. Serve a big, long buffet and everybody (even the “kids”) will show up.

There remains much to be learned in the field of insect/faunal relationships. For further study, I recommend Doug Tallamy’s book, Bringing Nature Home. It is an enlightening, enjoyable read. AND … do check out the new Iowa Butterfly Forecast website. It will help put your butterfly garden efforts on steroids!

Butterfly Forecast For Central Iowa for Aug 1-15th 2008

Reprinted by Ion Exchange with permission. Forecast for Central Iowa August 1, 2008-August 15, 2008

Butterfly numbers and diversity are at their peak right now. Diversity will continue to be at a peak until about the middle of September. Numbers will remain high after that—possibly as late as the end of October depending on the weather. However, by that time the diversity will have crashed and only a few species will be represented.
Many of the butterflies you see at this time of the year are newly emerged, but some, particularly the larger butterflies, may be individuals who have lived for several weeks. If you have appropriate habitat you may see the same individual eastern tiger swallowtail or great spangled fritillary over several days. Butterflies can become quite raggedy over a period of time, but can still survive.
There can be some unexpected butterfly watching opportunities at this time of year. A few years back I went on a ride on the Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad (Boone, Iowa). The ride goes for several miles, and there are wooded stretches and areas with some prairie plants. I got great looks at lots of butterflies, especially eastern tiger swallowtails and giant swallowtails. The northwestern part of the route, near Fraser and Holst State Forest had very large populations of giant swallowtails.
Rides on bike paths can be quite good as well. You might need to keep the ID books at home and just concentrate on the ride, however.
If you happen to pass a hay field you might see clouds of butterflies—clouded and orange sulfurs in numbers much greater than you will see elsewhere. Puddles near a hay field may yield hundreds of these butterflies which all fly up at the same time.
Watch the white butterflies at this time of year. Cabbage whites are common, as are white forms of clouded and orange sulfurs. If you look closely, you can tell them apart quite easily—the forewings of cabbage whites coming to a point instead of being rounded, and lacking the black border. You may see a white butterfly that is clearly different from either—one that is very white with no border, but which has more dark spots on it than the cabbage white. That will be the checkered white, which is a migrant that comes in to the state late in the summer.
In normal years we would be seeing great numbers of little yellows about now. However, I have not seen any yet this year. There have been huge numbers of summer azures, however—many more than normal, and flying about 3 weeks after one would expect their peak.
The American snout is a distinctive butterfly with a long nose. It can form huge swarms in Texas, where certain forms of hackberry tree are found.
In Iowa it is found in smaller numbers. I usually see only a few individuals each year.
Cloudless sulfurs can sometimes be seen late in the summer. Once again, they are quite common in the south but not so common in Iowa. Cloudless sulfurs resemble the more common clouded and orange sulfurs but are quite a bit larger. Look for fiery skippers to be fairly numerous as well.
Some species are found here pretty much all summer but reach fairly high numbers late in the year. They include before mentioned clouded and orange sulfurs, eastern tailed-blues, pearly crescents, and silvery checkerspots.
Black swallowtails, painted ladies, red admirals and monarchs may be found in fairly high numbers in prairie and old-field areas, and hackberry and tawny emperors can be found in the woodlands.
Summer is flying by (in more ways than one). Make the time to enjoy the show.

Harlan Ratcliff


References:
Schlicht, Dennis, John C. Downey, and Jeffrey C. Nekola. 2007. The Butterflies of Iowa. The University of Iowa Press, Iowa City, IA.
Scott, James A. 1986. The Butterflies of North America. A Natural History and Field Guide. Stanford University Press, Stanford CA.
IA-BTRFLY: The Iowa Butterfly and Dragonfly list serve.
http://www.wisconsinbutterflies.org/ sightings page.
http://www.naba.org/ sightings page.
Ratcliff, Harlan: 2003-2007 Unpublished butterfly survey results.

Butterfly Forecast May 15-31, 2008

The Ion Exchange Inc is very happy to recieve Harlan's permission to print his Butterfly Forecast.
Butterfly Forecast for May 15-May 31, 2008 We are starting to get into a busier and more diverse part of the butterfly season. Butterflies will be present in small numbers, and there will be more variety than we have seen so far. Among the most conspicuous are the swallowtails. The eastern tiger swallowtail, black swallowtail, and giant swallowtail are all found in central Iowa and can be seen now. Three others--the zebra, spicebush, and pipevine swallowtails--are quite rare in Iowa. Theoretically they could be present in this time period but you are unlikely to see them.
Clouded sulfurs and orange sulfurs will be the most common easily seen butterflies. Two small blue butterflies will be common as well but being small they are easily overlooked. The first is the summer azure. (Iowa apparently has both the spring and summer azure, Celastrina ladon and C.
neglecta, although they are difficult to distinguish in the field. The individuals you see during this time period are most likely to be of the summer azure.) The second is the eastern tailed-blue. Iowa has other blue butterflies but they are quite rare in most of the state. There are also some hairstreaks that can be mistaken for blues. However, 99% of all the blues you see will be either a summer azure or an eastern tailed-blue. An easy way to distinguish them in the field is that the azure will fly up into the trees when approached, and the eastern tailed-blue will fly at ground level.
Other butterflies present now include common buckeyes, painted ladies, red admirals, pearly crescents, cabbage whites, monarchs, question marks, eastern commas, bronze coppers, red spotted purples, and hackberry emperors.
If you find a good bed of flowers now is a great time to enjoy and learn about some of the skippers. We have a small patch of dame¹s rocket (unfortunately not a native plant, but it was part of a ³wildflower mix² we bought some time back). Hobomok skippers chase each other around the flowerbed. They have courtship displays that usually involve three or more individuals. It is fun to watch them chase each other and make the little jet fighter pose where one set of wings is horizontal and the other pair is at about a 45 degree angle.
Of the skippers you see in flowerbeds, hobomoks will be the most conspicuous but the slightly smaller Peck¹s skipper may also be present.
Tawney edge skippers can also be seen at this time. You may run across a small skipper butterfly that can only be described as being a brilliant black with some small white spots. You are more likely to see it mudding than nectaring, at least in my experience. That is the common sooty-wing.
There are other skippers that are dark brown or nearly black but none as completely black as this one.
Watch for the small butterflies‹they are every bit as entertaining as the large ones.

Happy butterflying.

Harlan Ratcliff

References:
Schlicht, Dennis, John C. Downey, and Jeffrey C. Nekola. 2007. The Butterflies of Iowa. The University of Iowa Press, Iowa City, IA.
Scott, James A. 1986. The Butterflies of North America. A Natural History and Field Guide. Stanford University Press, Stanford CA.
IA-BTRFLY: The Iowa Butterfly and Dragonfly list serve.
http://www.wisconsinbutterflies.org/ sightings page.
http://www.naba.org/ sightings page.
Ratcliff, Harlan: 2003-2007 Unpublished butterfly survey results.