May 25, 2025 – Indians!

Despite the less than optimal weather continuing here in Massachusetts, we took a trip to Myles Standish State Forest today in search of Indian Skippers. The weather was sun and clouds coming and going with temperatures in the upper 50’s. We decided on starting at the gas lines on Bare Hill Road and that made all the difference. Along the way, we were able to find 6 Indian Skippers! One was even cold enough to climb up on my finger for warmth. I find that on these cold days, you can usually coax some butterflies onto your finger if you are patient enough.

We continued on to the field that we usually see Indians at but it was really kind of dead there. Very little flying at all aside from dragonflies.

On the way back to the car, we went through another field to look for a Common Ringlet which are common there at around this time of year. We were rewarded with finding one and a Silver Spotted Skipper!

After this, we went over to another field in search of a Dreamy Duskywing. Although they aren’t super common in Myles Standish, we know a field where poplar is common. Being their host plant, it gave us the best opportunity to find one. We did find a couple Monarchs flying around and eventually finally found a textbook Dreamy Duskywing with the white spot and the longer palps. It was a really nice one!

In all, it was a chilly but rewarding day! Let’s hope tomorrow can be just as good.