I have recently returned from the Anza-Borrego area of southern Calif. west
of the Salton Sea. The Painted Lady movements have been truly amazing. I
started taking "standardized" counts by looking down a highway and counting the
number crossing in a given direction. Starting in late Feb., I obtained counts of
about 50/min through March, with a high count of 300 on March 29.
Driving home through western Nevada, south of Fallon, I observed 100/min. on
April 5. I did not observe any farther north on April 6, but I started north
quite early in the morning.

Summer Painted Lady numbers are known to correlate with El Nino weather
conditions (Global Change Biology vol 9, pp. 785-790 (2003).
Although this winter was only weakly El Nino as indicated by Pacific Ocean
sea surface temperatures, continental climate in the southwest was very El
Nino-like, with the Anza-Borrego desert getting twice its usual rainfall and having
the best wildflower bloom in decades. Death Valley also had an exceptional
bloom.
Bob Vandenbosch
Seattle