Congaree Butterfly Count - 2008

The NABA sponsors yearly butterfly counts around this time of year; something we discovered last year, just in the nick of time. So, Saturday was our 2nd annual trip to the Congaree National Park's Butterfly Count. I took all the kids this time.

We counted 38 species in the morning walks and I got pics of some butterflies I have not seen previously - Zebra Swallowtail (pictured top) and Carolina Satyr (pictured below the ZS) for two of them.

Butterflies are my daughter's passion. She was the "expert" for our walking group - and at 9 yrs old, she impressed everyone (including me). As we walked into one meadow, she started naming species faster than anyone else could even find them.

The afternoon walk was stormed out. The clouds rolled in along with wind and driving rain and hail. Not a good environment for butterfly counters . . . or the butterflies.