Bee Crazy at National Butterfly Center, 3/27/26

The hot dry spring continues in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas.  Every day is low humidity with a high of around 90F.  Butterfly numbers have plummeted at the National Butterfly Center.  Instead of 50+ species, it's gettng hard to break twenty.  But the staff still keeps stuff watered and there is always something in bloom.  I finally got my first Black Swallowtail for the year.

This little Common Mestra deserves a shout out.  He has been faithfully patrolling his area for nearly a month.  Here are photos from 3/27, 3/22, 3/14 and 3/3.

Meanwhile the bees seem to be enjoying the dry spring conditions.  Bee of the day goes to this Spotted Wool Carder Bee, Anthidium maculosum.  Last spring I found one of these and couldn't identify it.  Paula Sharp came to the rescue and with some research discovered this species had not bee seen in Hidalgo County in eighty years.  Several others were later found scattered around the Valley.  I'm happy to see they are back for 2026.

The beautiful red flowered prickly pear was blooming and the leafcuter and cactus bees were havig a pollen orgy.

 

Looking like a green sweat bee this is actually a Cobalt Small Carpenter Bee.

Another tiny carpenter bee.  I think this is the Texas Small Carpenter Bee which is a lifer bee for me.  This bee measures maybe 5 mm.

All I can say about this one is it's in the genus Triepeolus.  It's some kind of a longhorn cuckoo bee.

The high pressure over the west may be breaking down in a couple of weeks.  Lets hope so.

Spring at National Butterfly Center, 3/5/26

Spring has sprung!  It is windy, dry and dusty in the Ruio Grande Valley of south Texas and trees are leafing out best then can despite the continuing drought.  The wind is screaming out of the south and the air is full of dust and pollen.  I'm itching all over, inside and out!  New arrivals today at the National Butterfly Center included this Florida White.  I think it's my first for the year.

Spreadwing skippers were abundant today.  Here's the first Sickle-winged Skipper I've seen in a while.

The four most common long-tailed Skippers popped in: Long-tailed Skipper (minus tails), Dorantes Longtail, White-striped Longtail and Brown Longtail.

And some of the little exotic spread-winged skippers:  Caballo Skipper, Common Streaky Skipper and Turk's-Cap White-Skipper.

Plenty of grass skippers too.  At least a half dozen Double-dotted skippers today.

Souther Broken-Dash has been numerous lately.

Here's a pair of cavorting Whirlabouts.

Finally got a Western Giant-Swallowtail.  Big butterflies ave been hard to come by,

An Elada Checkerspot was new but at the species' usual spot by the restrooms.  I am guessing this one hatched locally.  It's fun to speculate who is local and who blew in with the wind.

So I ran the Big Board species total up to 77 which is pretty good for five days into March.  Possible rain on the way!

• Giant Swallowtail 1
• Florida White 1
• Checkered White 1
• Southern Dogface 2
• Large Orange Sulphur 5
• Lyside Sulphur 3
• Little Yellow 5
• Mimosa Yellow 2
• Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak 1
• Dusky-blue Groundstreak 1
• Cassius Blue 2
• Ceraunus Blue 1
• Reakirt's Blue 1
• American Snout 12
• Gulf Fritillary 1
• Mexican Fritillary 1
• Bordered Patch 1
• Elada Checkerspot 1
• Texan Crescent 8
• Pale-banded Crescent 6
• Red Admiral 1
• Band-celled Sister 1
• Mexican Bluewing 1
• Common Mestra 3
• Tropical Leafwing 3
• Tawny Emperor 1
• Queen 1
• White-striped Longtail 2
• Long-tailed Skipper 1
• Dorantes Longtail 1
• Brown Longtail 1
• Coyote Cloudywing 1
• Potrillo Skipper 1
• Sickle-winged Skipper 1
• Tropical Checkered-Skipper 10
• Desert Checkered-Skipper 1
• Laviana White-Skipper 6
• Turk's-cap White-Skipper 1
• Common Streaky-Skipper 1
• Julia's Skipper 1
• Fawn-spotted Skipper 1
• Clouded Skipper 6
• Double-dotted Skipper 6
• Southern Skipperling 2
• Fiery Skipper 2
• Whirlabout 4
• Southern Broken-Dash 6
• Sachem 2
• Common Mellana 2
• Mexican Crescent 2