Observation date: May 30, 2015
Submitted by: diwalks2@gmail.com
Specimen type: Photograph
Observation notes: on mud from week before's rain event. this day high of high 80's to low 90's. lots of red berry in area. chamise, buckwheat, some mustard. area has not burned for a long time. cedar fire missed this area, probably due to several factors, wind direction, cattle grazing, i-8 freeway. and amazing efforts of braze men and woman fighting this event. we saw around 10 individuals along a road cut through chamise, red berry, buckbrush, scrub, some scrub oaks. on the edge of a large ranching area or grasslands with large oaks. The Hermes spent little time on red berry, were mostly on buckwheat and mustard for nectar. they liked to perch on chamise. Just over a rise on a windy day fairly sheltered from the prevailing wind direction of north west. several seemed to want to chase each other away from this area. there was lots of red berry and nectar, but Hermes were only in the thick scrub and on the edge of road cut. This butterfly is much more beautiful than these photo's. its a must see. it would be nice to get a local company of San Diego and public money to preserve more area for this rare species! I also believe that ranching cattle would help slow down the fire storms that happen during Santa Anna conditions
Status: Resident
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: June 02, 2015
Coordinator notes: Great going!-Ken Davenport
