Things have been pretty slow at home lately so I made a run over to the National Butterfly Center south of Mission to see what might be about. They've gotten more rain than we have at Progreso Lakes and butterflies were numerous. I finished the afternoon with 39 species which is pretty good for June. While trying to get a photo of the Western Giant Swallowtails in the Mexican orchid bush, I accidentally got an Ornythion Swallowtail. But a second look at the photo showed an extra spot near the band on the fore wing. And the band was too wide and too yellow. It was a male Broad-banded Swallowtail, my third ever.
A short time later an Ornythion Swallowtail popped into the same bush. Not as rare as a Broad-banded but still my first for the year.
Earlier Mick Rickard found a Giant White in the same bush.
This Curve-winged Metalmark was also a first for the year.
Gee, I'm going to have to spend more time over there.
- Black Swallowtail 1
- Giant Swallowtail 5
- Ornythion Swallowtail 1
- Broad-banded Swallowtail 1
- Checkered White 10
- Giant White 1
- Large Orange Sulphur 8
- Lyside Sulphur 50
- Little Yellow 6
- Gray Hairstreak 3
- Dusky-blue Groundstreak 1
- Cassius Blue 2
- Ceraunus Blue 4
- Reakirt's Blue 8
- Fatal Metalmark 1
- Red-bordered Metalmark 1
- Curve-winged Metalmark 1
- American Snout 500
- Gulf Fritillary 1
- Bordered Patch 6
- Texan Crescent 6
- Pale-banded Crescent 1
- Phaon Crescent 8
- Question Mark 1
- White Peacock 6
- Mexican Bluewing 2
- Tawny Emperor 150
- Queen 60
- Brown Longtail 1
- Sickle-winged Skipper 1
- White Checkered-Skipper 8
- Tropical Checkered-Skipper 20
- Laviana White-Skipper 6
- Clouded Skipper 3
- Southern Skipperling 2
- Whirlabout 2
- Southern Broken-Dash 1
- Common Mellana 2
- Eufala Skipper 1
