Progreso Lakes, 10/19/17

Wow!  What a great day in our yard at Progreso Lakes.  I had to stay home for the plumber and started casually looking around the yard.  First good butterfly was a female Statira Sulphur.  I later found a male.

After dealing with the plumber, I went back outside and quickly found this ratty Mexican Yellow, yard butterfly #91.  I was expecting to get one sometime during the winter.  Now I wonder if I'll see a bunch of them.

Things slowed down a while and I was about to quit when this Dorantes Longtail popped in.

I had earlier gotten White-striped Longtail.

And as usual there were plenty of Brown Longtails.

This nice Double-dotted Skipper was an afternoon surprise.  I usually get them early in the day.

I made one more round of our one acre yard, checking the purple Duranta.  It's had few floweres lately.  I notice a boldly marked female White Checkered-Skipper and thought that it looked a bit like an Erichson's White-Skipper.  But it wasn't.  I was going to quit for the day and thought I should check the garden one last time.  And guess what I found.  Of all things, it was an Erichson's White-Skipper.  I could not believe it.  I thought it was a possibility for our yard but might take years to get one.  #92!

And for good measure I saw another little grass skipper that turned out to be Olive-Clouded Skipper.

Finished the day with another new high, 47 species.

• Pipevine Swallowtail 2
• Giant Swallowtail 1
• Cloudless Sulphur 10
• Large Orange Sulphur 3
• Statira Sulphur 2
• Lyside Sulphur 2
• Mexican Yellow 1
• Tailed Orange 1
• Little Yellow 6
• Mimosa Yellow 3
• Gray Hairstreak 1
• Rounded Metalmark 2
• Red-bordered Metalmark 1
• American Snout 1
• Gulf Fritillary 1
• Bordered Patch 3
• Phaon Crescent 8
• Pearl Crescent 2
• Painted Lady 3
• White Peacock 10
• Carolina Satyr 1
• Monarch 2
• Queen 30
• Soldier 3
• White-striped Longtail 1
• Dorantes Longtail 1
• Brown Longtail 8
• Mimosa Skipper 1
• Sickle-winged Skipper 3
• Mournful Duskywing 2
• Funereal Duskywing 1
• White Checkered-Skipper 8
• Tropical Checkered-Skipper 5
• Erichson's White-Skipper 1
• Laviana White-Skipper 6
• Turk's-cap White-Skipper 1
• Julia's Skipper 2
• Clouded Skipper 10
• Double-dotted Skipper 1
• Southern Skipperling 3
• Fiery Skipper 10
• Whirlabout 3
• Southern Broken-Dash 2
• Sachem 2
• Common Mellana 1
• Eufala Skipper 3
• Olive-clouded Skipper 1

National Butterfly Center, 10/17/17

I've been busy and have not got around to posting about the fun day I had at the National Butterfly Center with the Yukichs from Canada, Mike Rickard, John Rosford, Ken Wilson and Dave Hanson.  My goal was to see the Mercurial Skipper that had been present the two days before.  But alas, it was not meant to be and Mercurial Skipper continues as my nemesis butterfly (along with Emerald Aguna).  But we had a great day, finding some pretty good butterflies for each other.  Best
was my second ever Hermit Skipper.

Ken Wilson found this worn Gold-spotted Aguna.  It just barely had enough filed marks to be identifiable.

This Evan's Skipper wasn't much better.

And this Zilpa Longtail generated some debate.

I should write some more but I'm worn out.  Our list for the day held 65 species of which I saw all but four I think.

• Pipevine Swallowtail 2
• Giant Swallowtail 1
• Florida White 2
• Giant White 1
• Southern Dogface 4
• Yellow Angled-Sulphur 1
• Cloudless Sulphur 2
• Large Orange Sulphur 8
• Lyside Sulphur 20
• Tailed Orange 4
• Little Yellow 5
• Sleepy Orange 3
• Dainty Sulphur 1
• Marius Hairstreak 1
• Gray Hairstreak 12
• Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak 4
• Ceraunus Blue 10
• Red-bordered Metalmark 1
• American Snout 25
• Gulf Fritillary 15
• Julia Heliconian 2
• Zebra Heliconian 1
• Variegated Fritillary 1
• Mexican Fritillary 3
• Bordered Patch 4
• Phaon Crescent 10
• Question Mark 1
• Painted Lady 6
• Common Buckeye 5
• White Peacock 2
• Mexican Bluewing 4
• Common Mestra 1
• Ruddy Daggerwing 2
• Tropical Leafwing 1
• Tawny Emperor 30
• Carolina Satyr 2
• Monarch 6
• Queen 300
• Soldier 10
• Zilpa Longtail 1
• Gold-spotted Aguna 1
• Long-tailed Skipper 1
• Dorantes Longtail 1
• Brown Longtail 10
• Sickle-winged Skipper 1
• Hermit Skipper 1
• Brown-banded Skipper 2
• White-patched Skipper 2
• Mournful Duskywing 1
• Funereal Duskywing 1
• White Checkered-Skipper 15
• Tropical Checkered-Skipper 5
• Laviana White-Skipper 20
• Fawn-spotted Skipper 5
• Clouded Skipper 30
• Southern Skipperling 5
• Fiery Skipper 80
• Whirlabout 15
• Southern Broken-Dash 15
• Sachem 40
• Common Mellana 10
• Celia's Roadside-Skipper 3
• Eufala Skipper 10
• Purple-washed Skipper 2
• Evans' Skipper 1

Progreso Lakes, 10/14/17

A warm humid day with a breeze but not the strong winds that we often get ahead of a cold front, turned out to be pretty good for butterflies in our Progreso Lakes yard.  Here's some photos.

Best butterfly goes to the two Giant whites.

I always like the crazy eyes on Red-bordered Metalmarks.

Looks like another Goatweed Leafwing to me.

A Western Giant Swallowtail oviposited on my Colima and then got harassed by amorous males.

Lots of common species helped run our yard total for the day to 45, a new high.

• Giant Swallowtail 3
• Giant White 2
• Cloudless Sulphur 8
• Large Orange Sulphur 2
• Tailed Orange 1
• Little Yellow 3
• Mimosa Yellow 2
• Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak 2
• Cassius Blue 3
• Ceraunus Blue 4
• Rounded Metalmark 2
• Red-bordered Metalmark 4
• Red-bordered Pixie 1
• Gulf Fritillary 1
• Bordered Patch 3
• Vesta Crescent 2
• Phaon Crescent 3
• Pearl Crescent 3
• Painted Lady 2
• White Peacock 7
• Goatweed Leafwing 1
• Carolina Satyr 1
• Monarch 1
• Queen 25
• Soldier 2
• Brown Longtail 5
• Mimosa Skipper 1
• Sickle-winged Skipper 6
• White-patched Skipper 2
• Mournful Duskywing 3
• White Checkered-Skipper 4
• Tropical Checkered-Skipper 6
• Laviana White-Skipper 6
• Turk's-cap White-Skipper 2
• Julia's Skipper 1
• Fawn-spotted Skipper 3
• Clouded Skipper 15
• Southern Skipperling 6
• Fiery Skipper 8
• Whirlabout 2
• Southern Broken-Dash 3
• Common Mellana 1
• Celia's Roadside-Skipper 3
• Eufala Skipper 5
• Olive-clouded Skipper 1

Pierids at Progreso Lakes, 10/8/17

A few weeks ago, right after Hurricane Harvey, the wind shifted from north to south and we had our first Yellow Angled-Sulphurs, Florida Whites and Giant White in our yard here at Progreso Lakes.  Well, Hurricane Nate just ran up through the Gulf giving us a northerly component to our winds and they shifted back to southerly again today.  And guess what shows up in our yard?

Yellow-angled Sulphur

Florida White

and Giant White.

There's obviously some kind of a pattern here.  Meanwhile Jon McIntyre saw a Tailed Orange up at Falcon yesterday.  I had not seen one in months and then we get this summer form Tailed Orange today, yard butterfly #87.

Another butterfly I had not seen around for weeks was Orange-barred Sulphur.  This female was ovipositing on the neighbor's Golden Rain Tree (Cassia sp.)

Of course we had Large Orange and Cloudless Sulphurs but I could not find a Statira.  35 species seems about the norm lately.

• Pipevine Swallowtail 2
• Giant Swallowtail 1
• Florida White 2
• Great Southern White 1
• Yellow Angled-Sulphur 2
• Cloudless Sulphur 10
• Orange-barred Sulphur 1
• Large Orange Sulphur 4
• Tailed Orange 1
• Little Yellow 5
• Sleepy Orange 1
• Cassius Blue 5
• American Snout 1
• Bordered Patch 2
• Vesta Crescent 1
• Phaon Crescent 2
• Pearl Crescent 5
• Painted Lady 1
• White Peacock 6
• Queen 5
• White-striped Longtail 1
• Brown Longtail 3
• Sickle-winged Skipper 2
• White-patched Skipper 1
• White Checkered-Skipper 3
• Tropical Checkered-Skipper 6
• Laviana White-Skipper 5
• Turk's-cap White-Skipper 1
• Clouded Skipper 10
• Southern Skipperling 2
• Fiery Skipper 3
• Whirlabout 1
• Southern Broken-Dash 3
• Common Mellana 3
• Olive-clouded Skipper 1

Gold-spotted Aguna at Progreso Lakes, 10/3/17

Well, I got started a little late in the yard today.  It was cloudy with a threat of rain.  But it didn't take long to pick up a new yard Butterfly, Olive-clouded Skipper.  I found a second better looking one a little later.

I saw some more butterflies after the sun popped out and spent some time birding. Then it got cloudy again so I checked out the purple Duranta wondering what might appear before the approaching rain.  I saw a spreadwing skipper with a white band and recognized it as an Aguna.  I was hoping for Emerald but will be happy with Gold-spotted, a very good yard butterfly.

Then the rains came and I noticed a Queen sitting on the coral bean.  'Cept it wasn't a Queen, It was our yard first Soldier, bringing our yard total to 83.

Other good stuff during the morning included a Double-dotted Skipper with it's long proboscis.

And a couple of Turk's-cap White-Skippers.

The Cassius Blues were a little dark today but they're not Marines.

A nice looking Southern Skipperling.

If I look hard enough I can just about always find a Mimosa Skipper in the yard.

A new butterfly for the yard yesterday was this ratty Brazilian Skipper.

And the day before that we added a not so rare Rounded Metalmark.

And the good butterfly season is just getting started.

Giant Swallowtail 1

• Cloudless Sulphur 8
• Large Orange Sulphur 4
• Little Yellow 4
• Mimosa Yellow 1
• Sleepy Orange 1
• Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak 1
• Western Pygmy-Blue 1
• Cassius Blue 5
• Ceraunus Blue 5
• Gulf Fritillary 2
• Vesta Crescent 1
• Phaon Crescent 1
• Pearl Crescent 2
• Painted Lady 2
• White Peacock 5
• Tawny Emperor 1
• Queen 2
• Soldier 1
• Gold-spotted Aguna 1
• Brown Longtail 2
• Sickle-winged Skipper 4
• Mournful Duskywing 1
• White Checkered-Skipper 3
• Tropical Checkered-Skipper 8
• Laviana White-Skipper 4
• Turk's-cap White-Skipper 2
• Fawn-spotted Skipper 2
• Clouded Skipper 12
• Double-dotted Skipper 1
• Southern Skipperling 2
• Fiery Skipper 1
• Whirlabout 2
• Southern Broken-Dash 1
• Common Mellana 1
• Celia's Roadside-Skipper 2
• Eufala Skipper 1
• Olive-clouded Skipper 2