Progreso Lakes yard, 11/30/19

Another warm and windy day ahead of the approaching cool front.  The star today was this sharp Yellow Angled-Sulphur.  It's been two years since we have had any though they have been reported at other sites.

A few other butterflies were carried in by the wind like this beat up female Orange-barred Sulphur.

Empress Leilia is common at Santa Ana NWR twelve miles away but they are rare in our yard.  It's unusual to see one nectaring.

Another new arrival was this Dorantes Longtail.

Our local Double-dotted Skippers were in the same spots as yesterday.  They seem to like the white plumbago.

And the Guava Skipper was in the same spot.

After some cooler weather tomorrow, things should warm up again.  Over at Estero they had a Blomfild's Beauty and a Gold-spotted Aguna and over at Frontera they had a Red Rim so there's still some good stuff waiting to be seen in our yard.

Progreso Lakes yard, 11/29/19

Yesterday Thanksgiving was cool and good for birds but not so much for butterflies.  But the wind shifted around to the south today and though there was not a lot of sun, butterflies were on the wing.  This Cyna Blue, normally a spring time butterfly, was only the second ever for our yard.  Visiting butterfly watchers were happy to see it as it was a lifer for some.  I have a little of it's host plant, Snake Herb, but this female was ovipositing on Ruellia which is also an acanthus.

While trying to locate the Cyna Blue which would occasionally disappear, I found this surprise Boisduval's Yellow.  Normally you have to travel to Resaca de la Palma or Sabal Palm in Cameron County to see the Mexican pierid.  I thought it might take a while to get one if ever in our yard, butterfly #116.

Here's another Mexican Yellow.  It looks a lot like the Boisduval's but is mostly off white above while the Boisduval's is bright yellow.

Tomorrow is scheduled to be hot and windy ahead of a front so stay tuned.

Mexican Silverspot at Progreso Lakes, 11/27/19

Today was forecast to be warm and windy so I thought it would be a good opportunity to get some work done in our yard at Progreso Lakes.  After a couple of hours visiting butterfly watchers showed up and I used that as an excuse to stop working and have some fun.  We quickly discovered the stiff breeze was blowing in some good stuff.  First was this uncooperative Florida White.

A few minutes later a Mexican Yellow fluttered by.  We later found a second but I failed to get a great shot.

While I was trying to get them on the Florida White I caught a glimpse of a pale green sulphur with purple wing tips....Statira Sulphur!

At this point we had to get word out to other visiting lepidophiles who soon arrived only to find the Mexican Yellow but nothing else.  But they went to work and soon turned up this magnificent Mexican Silverspot, yard butterfly #115.  It's a been a few years since I have seen one.

Everyone loved the Guava Skipper as usual.

I don't get many Questionmarks.  Here's an unusual shot.

Then Linda Cooper's sharp eyes found us a Silver-banded Hairstreak.

Though I had not seen a Double-dotted Skipper in weeks, the group wanted one and so they found a couple.

I like Dorantes Longtails.  This one stayed for only a few seconds.

Not a butterfly but a cool day flying moth, this Saucy Beauty was a first for our yard.

So we found 48 species in the yard including some good quality bugs.  Meanwhile Blomfild's Beauties have been found at the National Butterfly Center and at nearby Estero Llano Grande State Park and Estero also had a Chestnut Crescent so things are looking up.

Pipevine Swallowtail 1

• Florida White 1
• Cloudless Sulphur 5
• Large Orange Sulphur 3
• Statira Sulphur 1
• Mexican Yellow 2
• Little Yellow 1
• Mimosa Yellow 2
• Dainty Sulphur 2
• Silver-banded Hairstreak 1
• Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak 2
• Dusky-blue Groundstreak 5
• Ceraunus Blue 2
• Reakirt's Blue 3
• Red-bordered Metalmark 1
• American Snout 1
• Gulf Fritillary 2
• Mexican Silverspot 1
• Texan Crescent 1
• Vesta Crescent 3
• Phaon Crescent 3
• Question Mark 1
• Painted Lady 1
• Red Admiral 1
• White Peacock 2
• Tawny Emperor 1
• Carolina Satyr 2
• Monarch 4
• Queen 10
• Soldier 2
• Guava Skipper 2
• Dorantes Longtail 1
• Brown Longtail 4
• Sickle-winged Skipper 3
• White Checkered-Skipper 4
• Tropical Checkered-Skipper 2
• Laviana White-Skipper 3
• Julia's Skipper 1
• Fawn-spotted Skipper 1
• Clouded Skipper 2
• Double-dotted Skipper 2
• Southern Skipperling 3
• Fiery Skipper 8
• Whirlabout 4
• Southern Broken-Dash 3
• Sachem 2
• Eufala Skipper 2
• Ocola Skipper 2