Page 2B
il orter
June 2019
MONROE OUTDOORS by Terry W. Johnson
One of tl e most possible to spot the butter-
beautiful but- fly anytime during this time
terries to grace of the year, there are occa-
Monroe County sions when you are hard-
is the pearl crescent. How-
ever, due, in large part to its
demure size, it is also one
of our most overlooked
butterflies.
The pearl
crescent has
a wingspan
ranging from
1.25-1.75
inches wide.
Females are
larger than
males. Look-
ing down on a
pearl crescent,
the butterfly TERRY W.
appears to be
tawny orange
and black. The butterfly's
wings are bordered in
black. Black splotches and
lines create an attractive
orange and black pattern.
The insect's underside is
much paler. Along the
trailing edge of the hind
underwing, a dark patch
is featured. This blotch
encircles a pale crescent.
The pearl crescent is named
for this tiny pearly-colored
mark.
The pearl crescent is
one of.our most common
butterflies. Here in Mon-
roe County it can be seen
from early spring into late
fall. During these many
weeks, it produces multiple
broods. However, while it is
pressed to find a single
one. When this occurs it is
usually because the but-
terfly is between broods. By
that I mean, as one brood
of pearl crescents
is slowly living out
its short lifespan,
another may have
not yet emerged to
replace it.
The pearl crescent
is arguably the most
successful mem-
ber of its tribe. For
certain, its success is
JOSN$ON closelylinked to the
fact that it is a con-
summate generalist;
it literally thrives in a num-
ber of different habitats.
Here in Monroe County it
can be seen flitting about
our yards, in dearcuts,
alongside our highways and
byways, along the edges of
forests, in utility right-of-
ways, you name it.
In addition, it will nectar
on a wide variety of plants.
I have seen them sipping
nectar from thebeautiful
orange blossoms of but-
terfly weed (better known
as a host plant for the
monarch). In my backyard,
I spot them on a number
of nectar plants including
butterflybush, coreopsis,
lantana, white dover and
blanket flower, to name but
II
The pearl crescent is tiny, but
can be seen from early spring
a few.
However, although the
pearl crescent lives in a va-
riety of habitats and nectars
on literally scores of plants,
it lays its eggs only on
asters. As such, ifyou don't
have asters growing in your
neck of the woods, you
won't see the pearl crescent.
Although you will rarely
e
it is one of the most common butterflies
to late fall. (Photo/Terry Johnson)
come across a large num-
ber of pearly crescents in
one location, if you do you
might have stumbled across
a puddle party. The pearl
crescent is one of several
species of butterflies that
convene on mineral-laden
mud or sand. They gather at
such locations to consume
the minerals concentrated
in Monroe County and
there.
Interestingly, should
you find such a gathering
chances are all of the but-
terries assembled there will
be males. This is true for
all butterflies that puddle.
In fact, since females are
so rarely seen at puddle
parties they are often called
bachelor parties.
The pearl crescent
displays an erratic, rapid "
flight. This makes trying
to identify it difficult when :
the butterfly is aloft. This
problem vanishes when it
lands and begins nectaring;
then you will be able to see
the distinctive color pattern
of its wings.
One behavior that will
help you identify a pearl "
crescent is its behavior
while feeding. Feeding pearl
crescents will continually -
open and close their wings
as they feed.
During the current
drought, the pearl crescent
has been one of the few
butterflies regularly visiting
my backyard. When I see
one, it is usually flying dose
to the ground. If it happens
to be a male, I know it is
spending most of its time
searching for a mate.
Keep your eyes peeled
for this dainty black and
orange butterfly. Once you
take the time to identify
one, you will not overlook
ttUs beauty again.
r
Terry Johnson is retired
Program Manager of the
Georgia Nongame-Endan-
gered Wildlife Program. He
has written the informative
column 'Monroe Outdoors'
for the Reporter for many
years. His book, "A
Journey
to Discovery," is available at
The Reporter. Email him at
tjwoodduck@bellsouth, net.
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Maynards Mill Road cattle farmer Joseph
Eglofftold commissioners on Tuesday, June 4
that he intends to complete his cattle processing
facility/slaughterhouse on Hwy. 42 South by mid
to late August.
Egloffthanked commissioners for approving
the slaughterhouse in November 2018 and said
he wants the facility to be a "shining star" in
Monroe County's cattle industry.
In other Board of Commissioners' news:
Monroe County Commissioners allowed a
Rivermist Road resident to have a 5-foot setback
from the south side of the property line.
Todd Ussery of 329 Rivermist Road asked
commissioners on Tuesday, June 4 for a condi-
tional use variance in residential zoning to allow
his home to be built within five feet of the vacant
south edge of the lot, less than the required 20-
foot setback, due to the narrowness of the lot.
Monroe County zoning officer Kelsey Fortner
said the county owns the adjacent property, "i
which was purchased after the Flood of 1994 as
part of a flood mitigation grant program admin- ":
istered by the Federal Emergency Management t':
Agency (FEMA). District 1 commissioner Larry
Evans said the county is not allowed to build
anything on its lot. ,'
No one opposed Ussery's request. The Monroe '.
County Planning & Zoning board previously '.
approved Ussery's request but mandated that
the setback be adjusted to 10 feet from the south
side property line. Commissioners had the final "1"
say at their June 4 meeting .
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Continued from Front
superstar he's been for the
past decade. And whether
he stays or leaves, the War-
riors will likely drift back
closer to the pack without
him in the lineup for at least
the early portion of next
season.
But let's look at the more
important impact of the
injury, the overall manner
in which sports fran-
chises do business. NBA
franchises are required to
provide daily injury reports
with Durant having been
listed as "questionable" with
a "right calf strain" prior
to Monday's game. These
reports are issued more for
Vegas betting lines than for
actual transparency; and
pro franchises have been
known to hide injuries
(cough, cough New Eng-
land Patriots). But the War-
riors never revealed much
information about Durant's
initial "calf" injur); a move
that reeked of gamesman-
ship. For the last month,
Warriors' opponents have
been scrambling to game-
plan not knowing whether
Durant would play, a sce-
nario obviously beneficial
to Golden State.
While Myers daimed that
he didn't think anyone was
to blame for Durant's injury,
I disagree. I think a whole
lot of people were to blame.
While I guess it's possible,
as Myers contende& that
Durant's Achilles injury
could be unrelated to a "calf
strain" on the same leg, that
seems like a tale that would
cause Pinocchio's nose to
grow. Was Durant's first
injury related to his Achilles
all along? If so, did the War-
riors hide it either to make
opponents think he would
be coming back sooner
than antidpated or did they
hide it to protect his big
payday in July? Or was the
initial injury misdiagnosed
all along?
These are all questions
that the Warriors' organiza-
tion needs to answer soon.
Here's a few more: Why did
Myers, head coach Steve
Kerr, owner Joe Lacob and
anyone else in the Warriors'
[There's no
facebook~m/
mamasktchn
organization with decision-
making power think it
was a good idea to put a
superstar in an NBA Finals
game who reportedly hadn't
even completed a single
5-on-5 practice? Why did
KD'S agent Rich Kleiman
not advise his soon-to-be-
superwealthy client to rest
a few more weeks until
the ink dries on that $200
million deal? And why
did ANYONE question.
Durant's heart, insinuating
he might actually sit out
an NBA Finals in which he
was healthy enough to play?
So here's the blame count
so far: Lacob, Myers, Kerr,
Warriors' doctors, Kleiman,
teammates who questioned
Durant's motives, media
members who questioned
Durant's motives, fans like
me who initially delighted
in a basketball villain's ap-
parent misfortune and, yes,
Durant himself.
Thanks to LeBmn James,
Kawhi Leonard and many
other superstar athletes, the
past decade will be remem-
bered as the one in which
players seized control. And
Durant should have exerted
his over the Warriors last
night. The one-time fan
favorite, who controver-
sially entrusted the War-
riors with his future in
2016 to the detriment ofhis
reputation, was thoroughly
let down by everyone as-
sociated with the Warriors
kitchen like
789 gS~41
on Monday night. With a *"
,
monster paycheck almost
,D"
completely in his grasp, he
never should have tried (or i.
felt pressured) to play on
a bum leg, no matter the
significance of the contest.
Barbaric sports fans and
media members, often
former athletes, criticize *.
modem athletes for not ,
being as tough as they were. "
The world needs to stop all
that nonsense. If a player
is hurt, he needs to sit out.
And Durant should have
listened to his body and
taken control of the situ-
ation before he suffered a
threatening injury. ""
career
Leonard took tack in
2018 for enlisting his own
medical team when he ,
disagreed with San Anto-
nio Spurs' team doctors
assessment of his quad
injury. As a result of the rift,
he demanded a trade and
ended up in Toronto, where
he is likely to win NBA Fi-
nals MVP in a few days. All
athletes who can afford to
do so need to go Leonard's
route and get independent
physicians, who aren't paid
by franchises, to evaluate
their injuries.
Who knows where this
story goes from here? Du- ,
rant could delay free agency ,
for a year and opt-in for
another year with Golden
State for $31 million. But -
why would he trust the
Warriors' doctors to handle
his Achilles rehab after they
(at the very least) errone-
ously advised him that his
injury couldn't worsen ffhe "
played on Monday?
And so, the NBA Finals
heads back to Oakland's
Oracle Arena for one final
well-deserved send-off on
Thursday night. The games
will go on, but they are
diminished. Kevin Durant
deserved better.
