National Butterfly Center, 10/20/16

I've been birding a lot this year and then it was super hot and dry during the summer so I've neglected my butterfly duties.  But with the Texas Butterfly Festival coming up I thought I had better get over to the National Butterfly Center and put in a little practice.  Wow, have they added to the gardens!  And everything was in bloom and loaded with butterflies.  Nothing super rare today but plenty to see once I waded through the thousands of American Snouts, Lyside and Large Orange Sulphurs, Queens and Fiery Skippers.  Best was the Curve-winged Metalmark that has been present a few days.

This Two-barred Flasher was a nice one.

Glazed Pellicia was common last fall and I saw two of them today.

It was nice to see a few Mexican Fritillaries for a change.

Julia Heliconians have been reported all over Texas this year.

As have Crimson Patches.

I can't resist a sharp Gulf Fritillary.

Tails on Tailed Oranges varied from short to long.

This Giant Toad had found itself a perch next to one of the butterfly bait logs.

Toad licking is all the rage these days.

Here's today's list of 57 species.

Pipevine Swallowtail 5

• Giant Swallowtail 5
• Southern Dogface 6
• Cloudless Sulphur 5
• Large Orange Sulphur lots
• Lyside Sulphur lots
• Tailed Orange 4
• Little Yellow 5
• Sleepy Orange 2
• Gray Hairstreak 6
• Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak 1
• Cassius Blue 1
• Ceraunus Blue 5
• Fatal Metalmark 2
• Red-bordered Metalmark 1
• Curve-winged Metalmark 1
• American Snout lots
• Gulf Fritillary 10
• Julia Heliconian 1
• Mexican Fritillary 3
• Theona Checkerspot 1
• Crimson Patch 5
• Pale-banded Crescent 3
• Phaon Crescent 12
• Common Buckeye 4
• White Peacock 10
• Mexican Bluewing 6
• Common Mestra 1
• Tropical Leafwing 3
• Tawny Emperor lots
• Monarch 2
• Queen lots
• Soldier 4
• Long-tailed Skipper 1
• Dorantes Longtail 3
• Brown Longtail 4
• Two-barred Flasher 1
• Glazed Pellicia 2
• Sickle-winged Skipper 3
• White-patched Skipper 5
• Mournful Duskywing 1
• White Checkered-Skipper 5
• Tropical Checkered-Skipper 3
• Laviana White-Skipper 15
• Turk's-cap White-Skipper 1
• Julia's Skipper 1
• Fawn-spotted Skipper 1
• Clouded Skipper 8
• Southern Skipperling 2
• Fiery Skipper lots
• Whirlabout 15
• Southern Broken-Dash 6
• Sachem 6
• Common Mellana 12
• Celia's Roadside-Skipper 4
• Eufala Skipper 6
• Ocola Skipper 10