After seeing a blooming elbo bush coverd with butterflies at the National Butterfly Center and Cats Facebook photo of an Erichson's White-Skipper at her ranch, I decided I needed to make a run up to the Teniente Tract in Willacy County to see how the spring butterflies were doing. Rains have been spotty this winter so you never know what you are going to find. Well it turned out to be pretty dry up there but there were a few tiny things blooming alomg CR 30 and then I found a good spot with some blooming elbo bush and bladder mallow. Best butterflies were these two Red-crescent Scrub-Hairstreaks who use the bladder mallow as a host plant. They have been absent for a while.
Another bladder mallow butterfly is the Erichson's White-Skipper.
Usually the Desert Checkered Skippers outnumber the White Checkered-Skippers along CR 30 but not today. This was my only Desert Checkered-Skipper.
This Turk's-Cap White Skipper was ovipositing on some kind of a mallow.
I really like this Gray Hairstreak on the elbo bush.
Not far away was a Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak.
Most of the butterflies on the ebo bushes were American Snots but there was a Red Admiral. They have been abundant this winter.
This Common Buckeye was really dark below. Seems like a lot of winter butterflies have a little extra pigment. My guess is it's from the darker pigments that some plants have during winter.
So considering how dry it's been, 30 species is a pretty good total.
- Black Swallowtail 1
- Checkered White 2
- Southern Dogface 8
- Large Orange Sulphur 1
- Lyside Sulphur 8
- Little Yellow 10
- Sleepy Orange 1
- Dainty Sulphur 30
- Gray Hairstreak 6
- Red-crescent Scrub-Hairstreak 2
- Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak 1
- Western Pygmy-Blue 1
- Ceraunus Blue 1
- Reakirt's Blue 2
- American Snout 200
- Gulf Fritillary 3
- American Lady 4
- Painted Lady 3
- Red Admiral 2
- Common Buckeye 1
- Queen 3
- Funereal Duskywing 1
- White Checkered-Skipper 10
- Desert Checkered-Skipper 1
- Erichson's White-Skipper 1
- Laviana White-Skipper 2
- Turk's-cap White-Skipper 1
- Southern Skipperling 2
- Whirlabout 1
- Eufala Skipper 6
