Photo by Betsy Washington of a Painted Lady Butterfly on a Coneflower

As previously announced the Inaugural Northumberland-Lancaster Butterfly Count will take place on Tuesday 30 July. There will also be a workshop led by naturalist and photographer Teta Kain on 16 July at the Lancaster Community Library to help sharpen our ID skills. As a birder at heart I am still refining my skills at differentiating a Painted Lady - an amazing Butterfly - from a Painted Bunting - an amazing Bird. Teta Kain has agreed to straighten us out on the 16th. She is a known miracle worker.

I also recommend looking at the outstanding collection of photos of butterflies in Westmoreland County taken by Katharina Bergdoll that are posted in iNaturalist.

Many of our member’s such as Katharina Bergdoll, Porter Washington, Kyle Langford, Betsy Washington, Kevin Howe, and Ellen Crist to name a few (and I am sure a few others) have used photography to record and identify many of the insects and in particular the butterflies found in Virginia’s Coastal Plain and in the counties of the Northern Neck.

Photos by Betsy Washington and Kyle Langford

Some very good pictures of butterflies - with correct IDs and scientific names! - appeared in journals of students in the 2019 Basic Training Class (BTC).

See the events on the website which information will also be going to some of the local papers. I wanted to get the dates to all for the two events, so you will register for both events.