Trip report: Pivot Rock Canyon, 22 August 2026 by Ron Rutowski
Thursday, September 3, 2026
Ten of us searched for butterflies in Pivot Rock Canyon during the sunny and warm morning of 22 August. The canyon bottom was verdant and flowery indicating good monsoon rains, but there was disappointingly no surface water anywhere along the streambed we explored. Among the most abundant flowers were yarrow and fleabane, both of which were being used as nectar sources by butterflies and other insects. The butterflies were abundant, but not diverse. Arizona Sisters and Mylitta Crescents were particularly numerous with a few Sisters even landing on the skin, clothing, and packs of the participants (see photo)! This is our 4th year visiting this canyon and, it continues to show promise. Last year we saw a total of 12 individual butterflies in 6 species. We did better this year (dozens of individuals in 10 species) presumably because there has been more rain there.
Here are the species we saw: Clouded Sulphur, Unidentified White, Spring Azure, Ceraunus Blue, Painted Lady, Arizona Sister, Mylitta Crescent, Northwestern Fritillary, Tiny Checkerspot, Taxiles Skipper
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