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Post by LEPMAN on Jun 25, 2017 6:27:51 GMT -8
Hi all,
Next month I plan on travelling to South Carolina to do some butterfly collecting, and hopefully find Speyeria diana Does anyone have any idea of any locations where I could encounter some interesting butterflies?
Ed.
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Post by jshuey on Jun 26, 2017 6:15:32 GMT -8
I doubt that you will see S Diana in Charleston. I think of that as a western thing - like Ashville. North of Charleston - try Francis Marion National Forest
john
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Post by rayrard on Jun 26, 2017 7:40:14 GMT -8
I lived and collected from Charleston for years. You need to go to the Francis Marion SF and drive the forest roads in the longleaf pine savannas. You will not get any Speyeria anywhere near the coast. You need to go into the Piedmont for S. cybele and into the mountains of NC and GA for S. aphrodite and S. diana. You can get these in the SC mountain counties about 2-3 hours from Charleston, but they are not common and you would have to have a bit of luck.
The best butterflies near the coast are the skippers but July is in between broods of the good species. Of course if Gulf Fritillary and Palamedes Swallowtail are good butterflies for you, then you'll have a good time because those are very common
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Post by LEPMAN on Jul 2, 2017 5:54:23 GMT -8
Thankyou for your input!
Do you happen to know of any locations I may get hairstreaks at?
Ed.
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Post by jhyatt on Jul 2, 2017 16:03:26 GMT -8
Most of the good hairstreaks are long finished in coastal SC by now. You'd still find S. cecrops and S. melinus almost anywhere (try flowering roadsides, if they haven't allbeen mowed), but one needs to collect in mid-late May for the rarer things. There is a long-shot possibility of running across a worn A. halesus or P. m-album in midsummer, but they're kind of between broods now.
Best of luck, jh
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Post by LEPMAN on Jul 8, 2017 13:46:34 GMT -8
Thanks jhyatt, Ill have to give it a shot when Im in SC
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