Yturria Brush, 2/16/26

Recently Terry Mortier and Corrine McDonald each reported blooming Chomonque and a few butterflies at the Yturria Brush unit of the Lower Rio Grande Valley NWR west of La Joya so I thought it was time to make a visit.  I found the refuge extremely dry with many plants leafless.  A few were trying to sprout spring leaves and Huisachillo was starting to bloom.  As reported the Chomonques were in full bloom though looking ragged.  They had gotten enough rain last summer to pull off one last brave attempt to reproduce despite the dry fall and winter.  Though rather homely, this subtropical composite really attracts the butterflies.  Maybe because it's the only game in town.

Working the trail from the old parking lot by the freeway it didn't take long to find a Skinner's Cloudywing.

Chomonques are good at attracting hairstreaks but all I found were a few Gray Hairstreaks.

My targets for the day were Nysa Roadside-Skipper and Common Streaky Skipper.  I was hopeful when I spied a tiny brown butterfly flying low like a patrolling skipper.  Not my target but still pretty good, Texas Powdered Skipper.

Southern Dogfaces were out.

Then a couple more tiny brown guys.  Got my Nysa Roadside-Skipper!

My original plan was to go to the National Butterfly Center after lunch but things were going good at Yturria so I stayed for another perusal of the trail.  Another small brown skipper was feeding on Chomonque.  My first impression was another Texas Powdered Skipper but this one turned out to be a Caballo (the old name Potrillo is for the Caribbean taxon) Skipper.  First I've seen at Yturria.

Then a tiny black thing.  It's not every day you get a Common Sootywing at eye level.

Texan Crescents were a bit unexpected.

Variegated Fritillary is usually pretty common out in the desert.

It's hard to turn down a White-striped Longtail.

I didn't find the Common Streaky Skipper but still a good three hours with 22 species.

• Black Swallowtail 1
• Southern Dogface 10
• Cloudless Sulphur 1
• Lyside Sulphur 20
• Sleepy Orange 10
• Gray Hairstreak 3
• Reakirt's Blue 5
• American Snout 50
• Texan Crescent 8
• Vesta Crescent 3
• Phaon Crescent 1
• Empress Leilia 5
• Queen 1
• White-striped Longtail 1
• Coyote Cloudywing 1
• Potrillo Skipper 1
• Texas Powdered-Skipper 2
• Funereal Duskywing 1
• Laviana White-Skipper 1
• Common Sootywing 1
• Sachem 1
• Nysa Roadside-Skipper 2