Tis the season!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tis the season !!!!!!!!

Most folks think that butterfly season only runs from the last day of school until Labor Day. Frass! This is Butterfly Season. From mid-August until the end of September is the best time for butterflies in Bucks County. Everything is on the wing and in good numbers.

The best place to see a lot of butterflies right now is in farm fields. If you find a few acres planted with corn then you are in business. Usually the cornfields are separated by clover fields and it is the red clover that drives butterflies crazy at this time of year. They become butterfly buffets. So as part of your mental health program set some time aside to visit one of these locations.

On a sunny day there should be a good amount of wings over the meadows. If there is not just wait a minute and adjust your eyes. Gaze at the field but don’t look for what is suppose to be there, look for what is not suppose to be there. The clover fields will be dotted with various flowers of different colors, so trying to spot a sulphur on a yellow flower will be hard for the beginner. Rather than focusing too hard, watch for sudden movements and wing flaps. Even when resting butterflies will still flap their wings occasionally to keep them exercised. If you see a butterfly hovering on a flower and the wings never seem to stop flapping, then you probably got yourself a Spicebush or Tiger swallowtail. They are jumpy and never really seem to relax. For other butterflies, scan the blooms and watch for dark triangles hanging onto the flowers. They are the other butterflies that are busy nectaring. They will stay there for a while and then hop to the next flower. If you can afford the time walk through the field and you will most likely be amazed. With every other step butterflies will begin to spring up before you. I think you will be quite surprised how many are actually there but you had over looked.

A walk through the fields should produce good numbers of various Sulphurs and Whites along with Monarchs, Viceroys, Black, Spicebush and Tiger swallowtails. Keep an eye open for the absolutely beautiful Pipevine. When the sun hits their back wings just right their beautiful blue halo will rival any rainforest Morpho. There is a good number of Fritillaries out there right now so watch for the most obvious Great Spangled as well as Aphrodite and Variegated. Red Admirals and Painted Ladies will dot the landscape but most folks over look the metalmarks, hairstreaks, and blues. Perhaps the most over looked group are the Skippers. Usually brown and drab, they are usually thought to just be moths. Sure they may not as grandiose as the larger butterflies but they are just as interesting. It is probably because of this that the blues and skippers species are usually the most threatened. They are hard to notice so they go unnoticed. If you ever have the opportunity to see an Eastern Tailed blue at close range please do so. You will see that like the other they are a work of art. Actually the are masterpieces of color and design with tiny little tails.


Now is it necessary to know the names of what you are seeing in the fields. No not really.
Just walking through the fields and enjoying the sunshine and beautiful butterflies is its own reward. It will not only help you appreciate the natural world around you but appreciate being alive. That in it’s self will make you a nice person if you are not already.

If you want to identify what you have been seeing please visit;
http://www.butterflywebsite.com/gallery/index.cfm#swa
for a full gallery of what butterflies are out there.

Butterfly Rick

Big Butterfly Release!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fly Like A Butterfly! ~ ~ ~ Or come as close as you can!

I am very excited to announce that on Sunday July 15, 2007 we will be having a huge butterfly release at Shady Brook Farm 931 Stony Hill Road, Yardley, PA 19067. The Release will be part of Shady Brook’s annual Butterfly Festival and is sponsored by the wonderful folks at New Hope Academy. If you have never experienced a Monarch butterfly release this is the one you should see. At 3pm the attendees (That’s You) will release 150 magnificent Monarch Butterflies.
The sound of their wings as they flap around your head is quite impressive.
As the ancient legend goes, if you whisper a wish to a butterfly and then set it free, the butterfly will take your wish to Heaven where it will be granted!
Pretty Cool huh?

From 2 until 3 I will be explaining lot’s of stuff like the legend and helping you learn how to care for butterflies. They are great to raise with the kids or grand children. So I’ll show you how to do it with a lot of the household junk that’s only cluttering up your kitchen drawers. At worst, you may have to take a trip to the Dollar Store for some ‘Scientific Equipment’. And I guarantee that if you don’t break out laughing at least once, You’ll get your Admission fee back.


Admission is FREE and there will be tons of activities for the kids, and it won’t kill you at the gas pumps. So, bring a kid, bring a camera, and bring your sense of humor. To find out more please visit the good people at Shady Brook Farm at http://www.shadybrookfarm.com


I'll see you Sunday at Shady Brook Farm
Rick Mikula

Butterfly & Caterpillar ID Service

If you are in the Bucks County area and have a picture of butterfly that you have found and cannot seem to identify send a picture of it to Butterflyrick@hotmail.com and that gang at butterflywebsite.com will try to identify it for your. Caterpillars pix are welcomed too. Who know you may set a county, state or country record with your find! So send them in and we will see what we can do in id-ing them for you.
Butterfly Rick

MEET RICK MIKULA

MEET RICK MIKULA ~July 14th 3-4pm ~

I will be at the Tinicum Arts Festival July 14th from 3-4 pm in the Discovery tent. The Festival is great with plenty of art wrok and fantasic music, but if you are stopping by I would love to meet with you and autograph any books that you may have. So if you are looking for a really enjoyable place to be on July 14 stop on by and have a great time.
Butterfly Rick