Ulster County’s “Field of Dreams” can be found in the native meadow trial areas and surrounding habitats at the Hudson Valley Farm Hub. An unusual influx of southern butterflies this summer has found desirable habitat for nectaring as well as appropriate host plants, such as partridge pea, for egg laying. It is likely that these butterflies are in fact breeding in these areas. Other habitats across the farm provide valuable sources of nectar for butterflies and, in some cases, food plants for caterpillars such as intentionally unmown edges, wet meadows, gravel pits, floodplain forests, and even landscaping near the main campus.
Our observations of these southern species began with an early arrival (most are fall occurrences) of a Little Yellow, a member of the Sulphur family, documented by Conrad Vispo of the Hawthorne Valley Farmscape Ecology Program, on July 3rd. It was observed to be a female. The hope was that it might lay eggs in a large patch of Partridge Pea on the farm.
Then, on August 13th, multiple Little Yellows were observed along with a larger Cloudless Sulphur. Finally, on August 22nd a field party of six staff and volunteers spent several hours looking for evidence of breeding by these two southern species. While no conclusive evidence, such as eggs or caterpillars, was found multiple “fresh” individuals of both species were found and photographed suggesting indeed that these, with high probability, had been born at the Farm Hub.
In addition, three other southern species, Red-banded Hairstreak, Common Buckeye, and Fiery Skipper were observed and photographed bringing the total species of butterfly for the day to 19. The total species list for the visit included: Black Swallowtail, Monarch, Viceroy, Cabbage White, Clouded Sulphur, Orange Sulphur, Little Yellow, Cloudless Sulphur, Gray Hairstreak, Red-banded Hairstreak, Eastern-tailed Blue, Great-spangled Fritillary, Pearl Crescent, Common Buckeye, Common Sootywing, Silver-spotted Skipper, Least Skipper, Peck’s Skipper, and Fiery Skipper.
These observations emphasize the importance of farmland in our region for butterfly conservation. Some farmland management techniques in wilder areas on farms, such as installing planted meadows, or leaving unmown edges intentionally encourage butterflies.
Other farm management practices in cultivated areas, such as planting flowering partridge pea, clover or buckwheat as a cover crop for soil health goals have the unintended additional wildlife conservation benefit of providing a nectar source to butterflies. Cover crops for caterpillar food (as opposed to nectar) can be quite complicated given that they are usually terminated as part of a crop rotation. The timing of this termination of the cover crop is often poor for caterpillars and their life cycles. Cover crops might provide a transient habitat for occasional migrants and allow them to complete a quick generation (as perhaps with Little Yellow and Cloudless Sulphur this Summer), but for species that might over winter, they could also be ecological traps that attract reproductive effort but then destroy the overwintering generation. While cover crops can potentially provide a benefit to butterflies, their use as part of a butterfly conservation strategy must be undertaken with careful consideration. Diversity of butterfly species has also been observed in certain types of pastures, specifically dry meadows (e.g., with little bluestem) and wet meadows (with ample sedges). Observations of butterflies in these habitats greatly depends on the intensity of use and the timing of farm activities.
Practices such as planted meadows, unmown edges and the planting of flowering cover crops can be deployed on farms in our region to encourage and support butterfly populations. In addition to butterfly conservation efforts, we will continue to document observations of southern butterfly species to better understand regional butterfly populations and occurrences.
Learn about butterfly conservation by visiting these resources from the Xerces Society and Wild Farm Alliance.