Banded Patch at Falcon State Park, 9/26/25

After my big tiger beetle discovery of last week, I did a little research and came across a couple more possible rare RGV tiger beetles; Cazier's and Eastern Red-bellied Tiger Beetles.  Both of these are found on limestone rocky outcrops which is not easy to find in the Valley.  So I thought, why not go up to Falcon and check the rocky area below the picnic area?  So I did just that and spent two hours wandering the rocky outcrops and finding a few butterflies but no tiger beetles.  Then I realzied I had made a geological error.  This is not limestone or our Valley equivalent caliche.  This is sandstone!  Woops.  In the tiger beetle world it's all about substrate.  But I did find this nice little Desert Checkered-Skipper.

There was a rather homely plant which I was not familiar with that was attracting butterflies.  Well I'm glad I didn't investigate too closely.  I discovered on iNaturalist that it's called "stinging serpent" and is very painful to the touch.  

This Huron Sachem has a mouth full of stinging serpent.

Not the result I had hoped for but it was interesting couple of hours.  So I moved onto the butterfly garden.  A Black Swallowtail was a bit out of the ordinary.

And then I found a rare Banded Patch.  Jeff Glassberg says it is one of our least seen resident butterflies.  I think this is the fifth time I have seen one.  And even better, it was ovipositing on Small-flowered Carlowrightii.

Pretty good day.

Banded Patches at Yturria Brush, 6/6/23

Today was supposed to be the last "coolish" day before temps ramp up to the upper 90's and above.  So I decided to make a run up to Falcon State Park before it gets super hot.  With all the spring rain I was hoping to find some good stuff, maybe even a Banded Patch.  As I passed through La Joya, I wondered if I should check out the Yturria Brush Unit of the Lower Rio Grande NWR.  Last time I was there the entrance trail was grown up and it was really dry.  I pulled into the parking area and checked the start of the trail.  It was lush and I was welcomed by a Texas Powdered-Skipper.

Lots of blooming stuff but I was a little early and it was still cool.  The entrance trail was still overgrown and it was a thorny proposition getting to the main track that goes north.  There were a few Lyside Sulphurs and lots of Empres Leilias.

A late Eastern Kingbird was nice as was an immature singing Varied Bunting but butterflies were disappointing,  I made it to the lush monte about a mile up,  The vegetation along the track had been cleared by Refuge staff, probably at the bidding of Border Patrol and all of the good butterfly plants were chopped down.  Not good.  I walked a couple hundred more yards and I saw a dark patchy checkerspotty looking thing.  Wow!  It was a Banded Patch.

And then I found two more.

I started back towards the monte and found a very frest Banded Patch.  Unfortunately the camera wouldn't give me a sharp focus.

The walk back to the car turned up a few Desrt Checkered-Skippers.

And all three Fritillaries; Gulf, Variegated and Mexican.  Here's the Mexican Fritillary.

So the brush country is started to turn out some butterflies after the spring rain.  But 100 degree days with no rain are starting next week so We'll see how long the butterflies last.

• Pipevine Swallowtail 3
• Giant Swallowtail 3
• Checkered White 2
• Great Southern White 1
• Southern Dogface 2
• Large Orange Sulphur 2
• Lyside Sulphur 20
• Little Yellow 4
• Sleepy Orange 5
• Dainty Sulphur 12
• Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak 1
• Reakirt's Blue 1
• American Snout 2
• Gulf Fritillary 1
• Variegated Fritillary 1
• Mexican Fritillary 1
• Theona Checkerspot 8
• Banded Patch 4
• Texan Crescent 1
• Phaon Crescent 1
• Pearl Crescent 1
• American Lady 1
• White Peacock 1
• Common Mestra 2
• Tropical Leafwing 1
• Empress Leilia 40
• Texas Powdered-Skipper 3
• White Checkered-Skipper 1
• Desert Checkered-Skipper 4

 

Banded Patch at NBC, 4/8/16

A couple of days ago Chris Balboni found a Banded Patch at the National Butterfly Center and I was fortunate to refind it today.  It's been quite a few years since one has been seen in the Valley and it was a new one for me.

Nearby was my first Crimson Patch of the year.

A few Theona Checkerspots were in the front gardens.

The Double-dotted Skippers had not been reported for a few weeks but I found a worn one today.

Cyna Blues were in several different snake herb patches.

Here's an uncommon Hackberry Emperor.

I picked out a Mimosa Yellow among the many Little Yellows.

Last bug of the day was this bright White-patched Skipper.

Here's today's list of 57 species.

• Black Swallowtail 4
• Western Tiger Swallowtail 2
• Checkered White 10
• Southern Dogface 2
• Large Orange Sulphur 4
• Lyside Sulphur 20
• Little Yellow 6
• Mimosa Yellow 1
• Dainty Sulphur 6
• Great Purple Hairstreak 1
• Gray Hairstreak 3
• Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak 8
• Lantana Scrub-Hairstreak 1
• Cyna Blue 5
• Ceraunus Blue 2
• Reakirt's Blue 12
• Fatal Metalmark 1
• Red-bordered Metalmark 1
• American Snout 1
• Theona Checkerspot 2
• Bordered Patch 8
• Banded Patch 1
• Crimson Patch 1
• Elada Crescent 4
• Texan Crescent 5
• Vesta Crescent 4
• Phaon Crescent 25
• Pearl Crescent 1
• American Lady 1
• Red Admiral 4
• White Peacock 1
• Mexican Bluewing 1
• Hackberry Emperor 1
• Tawny Emperor 15
• Monarch 5
• Queen 75
• White-striped Longtail 1
• Brown Longtail 4
• Coyote Cloudywing 2
• Funereal Duskywing 1
• White Checkered-Skipper 10
• Tropical Checkered-Skipper25
• Laviana White-Skipper 6
• Turk's-cap White-Skipper 2
• Common Sootywing 2
• Julia's Skipper 5
• Fawn-spotted Skipper 2
• Clouded Skipper 15
• Double-dotted Skipper 1
• Southern Skipperling 6
• Fiery Skipper 6
• Whirlabout 2
• Southern Broken-Dash 10
• Sachem 1
• Common Mellana 1
• Celia's Roadside-Skipper 25
• Eufala Skipper 5