Garden Canyon, Ft. Huachuca — A Naturalist’s Paradise

(click on a photo to enlarge)

Last Saturday I tagged along on an Arizona Native Plant Society field trip to the famous Garden Canyon on the Ft. Huachuca Army installation. Well known for its fabulous birding, the Canyon is also a mecca for naturalists interested in just about any type of flora or fauna. For most of the group it was plants, for me it was bugs and birds although birding is pretty slow when you don’t start until 10 AM. Our first stop was the grasslands along the road leading up to Garden Canyon.

There were abundant flowering plants in the grasslands and they were rich with insects. I first noticed hundreds of Bordered Patch (Chlosyne lacinia) butterfly caterpillars on the yellow sunflowers.

Several interesting beetles were seen such as this Blister Beetle (Megetra sp.) found only in the Chihuahuan Desert,

as well as this oddly named Pleasing Fungus Beetle (Gibbifer californicus).

Tucked in among the grass stalks were several pair of mating Robber Flies. At least I think they were mating. Being carnivorous, the bottom one might just be a meal!

Of course this is but a small sampling of the insect life in the grasslands.

Next we began the somewhat bumpy but beautiful drive up Garden Canyon. Oaks were joined by sycamores, madrones, junipers and pines. It’s easy to see how this canyon got its name — perennial streams feed the canyon and keep it lush and green year-round.

Clouds began to roll in and by mid-afternoon the skies were gray and some distant thunder was heard.

Fortunately the rain held off and the sun peeked in and out for the remainder of the day. My target insects in the canyon were butterflies and I was not disappointed. This is a great spot for Arizona Sister (Adelpha bredowii), a beautifully patterned large butterfly in the Brushfoot (Nymphalidae) Family. They are often seen “puddling” at the edge of wet mud which is usually the easiest way to photograph them.

Arizona Sister (Adelpha bredowii)

Arizona Sister (Adelpha bredowii)

Another beautiful large butterfly is the Two-tailed Swallowtail (Papilio multicaudata). One of its caterpillar hostplants is Arizona Sycamore which is plentiful in the canyon. The much sought after Elegant Trogon (Trogon elegans) also nests in these sycamores although none were seen on this day.

Two-tailed Swallowtail (Papilio multicaudata)

Two-tailed Swallowtail (Papilio multicaudata)

A major highlight for me were the two “life” butterflies I found. The first was the largest spread-wing skipper I’ve ever seen — the brilliantly marked Dull Firetip (Pyrrhopyge araxes) which is anything but dull when you see the underside of its wings. This butterfly was especially common wherever Mexican Star Thistle (Centaurea rothrockii) was in bloom. The larvae of this butterfly feed on Arizon White Oak and other oaks.

Dull Firetip (Pyrrhopyge araxes) on Matchweed (Xanthocephalum gymnospermiodes)

Dull Firetip (Pyrrhopyge araxes) on Mexican Star Thistle

My second great find was a single, slightly worn Zela Metalmark (Emesis zela).

Zela Metalmark (Emesis zela).

My butterfly list for the day tallied 26 species including Nabakov’s Satyr, Red-spotted Purple, American and Painted Lady, Spring Azure, Ceraunus and Reakirt’s Blue, Orange Sulphur and Tailed Orange.

What’s not to like about Garden Canyon?!

Published by Arlene Ripley on August 26th, 2008 Tagged Arizona, Birds, Butterflies, Cochise County, Insects, Nature, Plants, Wanderings