Saturday, September 10, 2011 I attended the annual Allens Pond Butterfly Census. This event is sponsored by the Massachusetts Audubon Allens Pond Sanctuary and is held on two consecutive weekends. The next will be Saturday, September 17 starting at 10 AM until 1 PM at the field station at 1280 Horseneck Rd., Westport, MA. It is open to butterfly watchers of all ages and from beginner to expert. Besides sanctuary staff there will be members of the Massachusetts Butterfly Club

to help identify the butterflies and provide leadership. It is advised that people with long pants, and bring water and a snack.
This event has been held for the past eight or nine years and helps with the monitoring of the different species of butterflies that are present at the sanctuary. It helps with the monitoring of the lifecycles and changes that occur in the environment.
The group was split into teams to cover different areas and habitats of the sanctuary. The group I was with contained a number of children, parents and grandparents.

Leader Lauren not only described and identified the butterflies but also taught the group about other insects, spiders and native plant life that were present on the walk.

Bumble Bee

Yellow Garden orb Spider
We saw a number of praying mantis, and the youngest girl,

untitled Praying Mantis -MSB_1449 September 10, 2011 NIKON D300S

who never seen praying mantises before, located some on her
own

Stinging nettle has a long medicinal history. In medieval Europe, it was used as a diuretic (to rid the body of excess water) and to treat joint pain.
Stinging nettle has fine hairs on the leaves and stems that contain irritating chemicals that are released when the plant comes in contact with the skin.
Besides the usual butterflies we did find an unusual species, the Fiery Skipper, which is a sub-tropical to tropical species that strays north.