Central Meadow

Over the past several years, the Friends of Greenview and Pioneer Nature Area have been restoring the meadow at Greenview. Annual controlled burns and other methods are being used to eradicate invasive species and woody shrubs. This combination of management techniques has reduced the decades-old populations of persistent woody invasive shrubs, and native wildflowers and grasses have begun to reclaim this open spaces.

The Central Meadow is now a vibrant habitat featuring many native wildflowers such as Mountain Mint, Ironweed, Black-eyed Susan, several types of goldenrod, aster, milkweed, and coneflower. These native forbs and grasses attract many types of birds and insects, including many species of butterflies and moths.

Four native grasses can be found growing in the meadow: Big Bluestem, Indian Grass, Little Bluestem, and Switchgrass. These grasses provide important food and shelter for birds, small mammals, and many insects.

Butterflies

More than 50 species of butterflies have been observed at Greenview. Butterflies found at the meadow include Cabbage White, Little Wood Satyr, Pearl Crescent, Clouded and Orange Sulphur, Monarch, Black Swallowtail, Eastern Tailed-Blue, and many types of skippers.

Butterfly and Wildflower Tour

Friends of Greenview organize an annual Butterfly and Wildflower Tour at the nature area. Local guides, including members of the North American Butterfly Association, lead the tour and facilitate the observation of butterflies and wildflowers.

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Butterfly Study

For more than 20 years, Dr. John Swales and other members of the North American Butterfly Association have conducted annual butterfly counts in the meadow areas at Greenview. The annual studies report that butterfly populations observed from year to year at Greenview are fairly stable. However, continued meadow management is important to prevent the encroachment of woody invasives.

Greenview Butterfly Survey

Greenview Nature Area Butterflies 2024

John Swales

We made 20 visits to Greenview this year (about average), starting on April 10 and finishing on October 3. We had better coverage than usual in 2024, as Mary Breslow and I were often accompanied by Judith Lobato, William Sverdlik and Atticus Tanguay. This allowed for more than one group in the field, which more than compensated for my limited mobility.

In 2024, 32 species of butterfly were observed (9 below average) and 1439 individuals (about average, but a big improvement on last year). No new species were added to the cumulative list, which stands at about 54. One species with a dramatic increase was the tiny, golden Least Skipper, with an annual total of over 250 individuals. In contrast, and as elsewhere in the county, Monarch numbers were seriously down with only 14 tallied, as were the Tawny-edged Skipper (16) and the Common Wood Nymph (10). The county-wide crash this year of this last species is hard to explain. The big miss was the Great Spangled Fritillary, which we usually find in small numbers, often nectaring on Butterfly Weed. There was a substantial second brood of the Peck’s Skipper, 39 being found on August 8. Later in the season, two semi-regular immigrants from further south made their appearance—The Buckeye and the Fiery Skipper. In fact, the 18 Buckeyes found on October 3 is very probably a county record for this species. Species details follow.

*Species*	*Total*	*First date*	*Maximum*	*Last date*
Cabbage White	322	10-Apr	36 on 9/3	3-Oct
Least Skipper	253	23-May	67 on 8/8	3-Oct
Clouded Sulphur	161	2-May	34 on 9/3	3-Oct
Peck’s Skipper	160	23-May	39 0n 8/8	3-Oct
Checkered Skipper	77	23-May	10 on 9/5	3-Oct
Eastern Tailed-blue	53	10-May	7 on 8/1	19-Sep
Orange Sulphur	52	30-May	7 on 9/19	19-Sep
Little Wood Satyr	47	23-May	31 on 6/20	6-Jul
Pearl Crescent	45	2-May	11 on 5/23	19-Sep
Buckeye	44	25-Jul	18 on 10/3	3-Oct
Wild Indigo D-wing	39	27-Jun	6 on 7/11	12-Sep
Zabulon Skipper	31	27-May	7 on 8/8	12-Sep
Red Admiral	20	10-Apr	6 on 4/10	27-Jun
European Skipper	18	16-Jun	11 on 6/16	20-Jun
Tawny-edge Skipper	16	23-May	6 on 8/1	8-Aug
Monarch	14	23-May	4 0n 9/12	12-Sep
Summer Azure	13	6-Jun	5 on 7/11	19-Sep
Fiery Skipper	12	22-Aug	5 on 10/3	3-Oct
Ringlet	11	23-May	3 on 7/25	8-Aug
Baltimore	11	30-May	4 on 5/30	20-Jun
Tiger Swallowtail	8	23-May	2 on 5/23	8-Aug
Little Glassywing	4	27-Jun	4 on 6/27
Black Swallowtail	3	23-May	singles	11-Jul
Silver-spotted Skipper	3	23-May	singles	19-Sep