I was looking for something and I found something, so I
guess I was somewhat successful. My
search was for an uncommon small brown butterfly known as Henry’s Elfin. Henry’s Elfin lays its eggs among the blooms
of the Redbud, so the best time to see them is at the peak of the Redbud
blooming season which happens to be right now.
I managed to see several small butterflies on the Redbud flowers, but
they were all Olive Hairstreaks as shown in the photo. Olive Hairstreaks are also an uncommon
species, so even though they weren’t my desired find, I was happy to see them.
Several factors increased the difficulty of my search. One was the sheer volume of Redbud
blooms. Every branch of every Redbud
tree is crowded with flowers, so the butterflies could be anywhere. This abundance may result in a larger than
average Henry’s Elfin population next year.
Most of that profusion of Redbud blooms is above my
head. I’ve seen several small
butterflies moving in the tree tops.
Unfortunately, I can’t confirm any of those as being Henry’s Elfin. The Olive Hairstreak may display some bright
colors on its lower wing surface, but the upper surface is brown. In flight, especially when viewed against a
bright sky, the Olive Hairstreak looks brown, so I may have been seeing more of
that species.
Butterflies were far outnumbered by foraging
Bumblebees. It’s easy for a small
butterfly to go unnoticed among the ever moving Bumblebee traffic.
The other consideration is the fact that I’ve never before
seen a Henry’s Elfin adult on a Redbud.
I know adults have been there, because I’ve found larvae on
Redbuds. Every Henry’s Elfin I’ve ever
found has been resting on the dead stalks of tall Prairie Grasses. In an effort
to help the Henry’s Elfin population, I favor Redbuds in my management efforts
and maintain that tree in large sections of the field edges.
I can’t help thinking that there’s some connection between
the Henry’s Elfin and the Xeric Limestone Prairie found at Blue Jay Barrens. For that reason, I maintain some Redbuds out
in the Indian Grass fields. I don’t know
if that helps, but the Henry’s Elfins are very plentiful in some years.
I’ll keep looking for the Henry’s Elfin.
It may be that they have not yet emerged.
In the mean time, I’ll enjoy the Olive
Hairstreaks.
If you believe my search is
doomed to failure, you can go back to an earlier post to get a look at a
Henry’s Elfin.
