09/28/2019 - 15:45

Submitted by Livewombat on Sun, 09/29/2019 - 06:04
Location: 
Species: 
Painted lady
Date and Time: 
Saturday, September 28, 2019 - 15:45
Number Observed: 
40
Type: 
Migrating individual(s)
Presence of butterfly in your area
Wind Speed: 
12
Flight Direction: 
180.00
Wind Direction: 
0.00
Description/Notes: 
This is a combination of observations. I spent most of the morning about three miles to the northeast of the indicated area and saw individual painted ladies in flight. For the first time in many days, the flag near that site was showing a strong wind toward the south. (I forgot to check the speed, and now all I can find online is future wind speed information). In working at a cycling program there and driving home and biking around southwest Minneapolis, I spotted individual painted ladies that appeared mostly to be flying south. I rode to the location on the map here, which is near my home, to see whether there were still painted ladies there. On the 27th, I had estimated the count to be over 50 in the morning, but it appeared to be less in the afternoon of the 28th, with an estimate of about 30. I didn't see any other large concentrations of Painted Ladies while biking past several other spots where they have been nectaring on zinnias. I also didn't see even one monarch of the large numbers that had been around in recent days. It certainly looks as if the favorable wind took a lot of butterflies south.