Starred Skipper at National Butterfly Center, 1/1/26

Happy New Year!  Well Dennis Vollmar did it again.  Because of our phenomenal butterfly fall in the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas, Dennis flew up from Florida a second time this season to look for vagrant leps.  Back on 12/28/21 I was present at the park when Dennis found the first US record for Tanned Blue-Skipper.  This morning he found another mega rare butterfly, Starred Skipper.  Back in October Terry Mortier found a worn Starred Skipper but no one else saw it.  However this fresh specimen put on a show for all who were in the park today.  It is a species I have long wanted to see and my 233rd for the RGV.

A bit earlier I thought the New Years bug of the day would be this Angled Leafwing.

This season bright male Pavon Emperors are not a big deal.

The same with Silver Emperors.

Young birder phenoms Ryan Rodriguez and Nolan Walker found a Guatemalan Cracker.

The Malachite a few inches away drew little fanfare.

The hairstreak show continued today with nine speces.  The rare Black Hairstreak returned and was the second best butterfly of the day.

Other hairstreaks included Marius and Silver-banded Hairstreaks and the charming Clytie Ministreak.

I forgot the beat up White Scrub-hairstreak.

This big Scolia guttata is a first for the RGV according to iNaturalist.

Warm weather continues.  Full steam ahead!

• Ruby-spotted Swallowtail 1
• Checkered White 1
• Giant White 1
• Orange Sulphur 1
• Large Orange Sulphur 4
• Lyside Sulphur 6
• Little Yellow 3
• Black Hairstreak 1
• Silver-banded Hairstreak 3
• Gray Hairstreak 1
• White Scrub-Hairstreak 1
• Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak 4
• Lantana Scrub-Hairstreak 2
• Dusky-blue Groundstreak 8
• Clytie Ministreak 3
• Western Pygmy-Blue 1
• Ceraunus Blue 6
• Fatal Metalmark 3
• Red-bordered Pixie 4
• American Snout 8
• Gulf Fritillary 5
• Zebra Heliconian 3
• Bordered Patch 1
• Texan Crescent 5
• Pale-banded Crescent 1
• Vesta Crescent 3
• Phaon Crescent 6
• Red Admiral 2
• Common Buckeye 1
• White Peacock 5
• Malachite 1
• Mexican Bluewing 1
• Common Mestra 1
• Guatemalan Cracker 1
• Tropical Leafwing 1
• Goatweed Leafwing 1
• Angled Leafwing 1
• Empress Leilia 2
• Tawny Emperor 1
• Pavon Emperor 2
• Silver Emperor 1
• Monarch 4
• Queen 25
• Soldier 1
• White-striped Longtail 3
• Dorantes Longtail 1
• Brown Longtail 2
• Starred Skipper 1
• White Checkered-Skipper 5
• Tropical Checkered-Skipper 5
• Laviana White-Skipper 5
• Clouded Skipper 6
• Southern Skipperling 1
• Fiery Skipper 2
• Whirlabout 2
• Southern Broken-Dash 1
• Common Mellana 3
• Celia's Roadside-Skipper 1
• Eufala Skipper 6
• Purple-washed Skipper 1
• Mexican Crescent 1

Hairstreak Extravaganza at NBC, 12/31/25

I thought I was done with the blog for the year, but 2025 held on one more day with an explosion of hairstreaks.  After a couple of days in the 50s and then warming up to 70 today lots of butterflies were enjoying the sun and looking for something to eat.  Jim Snyder from College Station found the bug of the day with our second Black Hairstreak for the December.

Second best were two Telea Haistreaks on the same frostweed.  These were both better than the scruffy one I found a couple of days ago.

Several Silver-banded Haistreaks were out.

Rare Red-lined Scrub-Hairstreaks continue.

Marius Hairstreaks seem to be increasing in numbers.

I saw only one Clytie Ministreak.

Gray Haistreaks have recovered after being rare for most of the fall.

Here is the common lowly Mallow-scrub Hairstreak.

And the even more lowly Lantana Scrub-Haistreak.  It doesn't even get to have a tail.

Finally the tenth haistreak species for the day was Dusky-blue Groundstreak.  My all time high is eleven in one day.  I missed White Scrub-hairstreak and Clench's Greenstreak that were both seen today.

The National Butterfly Center recorded 138 species in December after a record November total of 141.  Hot sunny weather ahead so we should get 2026 off to a good start.

Black Hairstreak at National Butterfly Center, 12/21/15

I took it easy this morning, thinking about where I might go today.  Chris Balboni had a pretty good report from Yturria Brush.  Or maybe I'll stay home and watch football.  It was warm and yesterday had a good south wind so I decided to just go over to the National Butterfly Center.  As I passed the front garden I noticed a Mallow Scrub Hairstreak and though maybe it'll be a good hairstreak day.

I checked in. and proceeded to the sunken garden.  Lantana Scrub-Hairstreaks continue.

I was disappointed to see little on the brush holly that was blooming so heavily just a couple of days ago.  They bloom out fast.  So I checked the blooming fiddlewoods and got a Dusky-blue Groundstreak.

It was getting close to luch time so I started to wander back to the visitor's center and noticed Chris Balboni and Ryan Shaw looking at the litte brush holly.  I yelled "What you got?"  Ryan shouted "Some weird hairstreak."  

I ran over and recognized it immediately.  Black Hairstreak!  I had been waiting for this Mexican visitor since I missed the last one ten years ago.  It just sat there feeding on the few brush holly flowers that were left on the plant.  I guess I had missed it just a few minutes earlier.  What a cool hairstreak.  The photos in the book didn't do it justice.  RGV lifer #230.

After lunch I found a Great Purple Hairstreak up high in the chomonque.

And then I found a Clytie Ministreak in a nearby fiddlewood.  This one is a beauty.

Finally John Rosford found my seventh hairstreak for the day, Marius Haistreak.  I missed common Gray and Silver-banded Hairstreaks. 

He also got me a lifer hemipteran which I haven't IDed yet.

Mimosa Skipper is uncommon at the NBC but easier to find at Santa Ana and Resaca de la Palma where the host Black Mimosa is more common.

Some visitng birders from my old stomping grounds at New Mexico State were happy to see a Red Rim.

There have been several reports of Mexican Silverspot in the Valley lately and people wanted to see one.  Jon McIntyre found this one today by the corky-steed passionvine where they have oviposited in the past.

Wow!  What a good day!  A big fresh Malachite wished me "Adios" as I left.

No cold weather in the forecast.  Dry and 80's.  More good stuff on the way.