Another Mexican Crescent, Zapata, 10/13/25

I was going to stay home and work on stuff but it was a pretty day so what the heck.  I decided to run up to Falcon State Park and check the butterfly garden.  Well it was really disappointng.  Two weeks ago it was looking lush with lots of stuff blooming.  But in the interim there has been no rain with daily highs pushing 100F so things were looking a little fried with few butterflies.  Best thing I could scrounge up was this White-patched Skipper.

And a very intriguing Coelioxys cuckoo bee.  I'm still working on it.  Maybe zapotecus?

Little going on at the lake shore.  I had forgotten it was Columbus Day so there were more than the usual number of people fishing and few birds.  The only tiger beetles were the common Ocellated.

What to do?  It was only noon.  How about a run up to Zapata and check the city park?  Last time I was there I found some blooming wire weed and the trail usually has a few birds.  As it turned out it was also dry with nothing blooming.  This Clouded (Marcellina) Sulphur was about it.  But it was a new Zapata County butterfly for me.  Not saying much.

Hmmm....  Maybe I should just head home and check the river at Salineno on the way.  So as I left the park and pulled onto US 83 I found it...  the butterfly garden at the Zapata Museum of History.  I have vague memories of meeting someone somewhere...  maybe it was at the National Butterfly Center... who was going to work on a butterfly garden for the city of Zapata.  I had forgotten about that.

Well it was kind of a funky little garden, between the Museum and the highway, with a strange assemblage of native and exotic plants.  But it was well watered and blooming and had more butterflies than I had seen all day.  Lots of Queens.

So I started picking through things and building a list.  All common stuff like Fiery Skippers.

And Southern Dogface.

And then I fod a pretty good one.  My first Tailed Sulphur for Zapata County and my first for the fall.  The summer form doesn't have much of a tail on the wings.

And then a Mexican Fritillary.

There was other common stuff and then I foud a good one, Brown-banded Skipper.  As I expected it was a first record for Zapata County on iNaturalist.

I added a few more common butterflies to the day list like Funereal Duskywing and Huron Sachem.

All of these butterflies were in front of the Museum next to the highway.  So I walked around to the side of the building where they had a few more plants.  And there was my first Phaon Crescent of the day.  I fired a few shots.  Something's wrong.  It just didn't seem right.  Woops.  The tell tale spot was missing.  It was another Mexican Cresent!  And it was a beauty.

I put the word out on the Discord butterfly alert and Berry Nall soon replied.  He had been seeing Mexican Crescents all summer in Roma and Rio Grande City.  He asked if there was any Tridax around.  I answered yes.  He responded that all the local comunities with Tridax procumbens in disturbed areas probably have a population of Mexican Crescents.

So this begs the question "How long have these butterflies been here?"  They look like common Phaon Crescents so they could have been missed.  We just started seeing them last year with the Indiana Gang's discovery of them at the NBC and Javi Gonzalez's find in Rio Grande City.  Anyway it's nice to have them in the Valley.

Every time I head the name "Tridax" I think it sounds like something from Star Trek.

"Bones, give him a shot of Tridax."

"Jim, we don't know what Tridax will do to that green Vulcan blood."

25 species today at the Zapata Museum of History.

• Pipevine Swallowtail 1
• Southern Dogface 8
• Cloudless Sulphur 3
• Large Orange Sulphur 3
• Lyside Sulphur 6
• Tailed Orange 2
• Little Yellow 3
• Sleepy Orange 3
• Gray Hairstreak 3
• Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak 3
• Ceraunus Blue 6
• American Snout 1
• Gulf Fritillary 4
• Mexican Fritillary 2
• Theona Checkerspot 1
• Vesta Crescent 1
• Queen 20
• Sickle-winged Skipper 1
• Brown-banded Skipper 1
• Funereal Duskywing 1
• White Checkered-Skipper 1
• Fiery Skipper 20
• Sachem 2
• Eufala Skipper 3
• Mexican Crescent 1

Vicroy's Ministreak at La Puerta Tract, 5/7/25

Monday I was driving out to Salineno and Falcon to look for birds but I got a late start so as I approached Rio Grande City I thought why not check out the La Puerta Tract of the Lower Rio Grande NWR.  Turns out it was lush and birdy.  So yesterday I ran there again but it was less birdy and the sun was out and stuff was flying.  So I switched over to butterflies and bees and had a good morning.  Butterfly of the day was this pebbly little Vicroy's Ministreak, only my third and first self found.

Otherwise butterflies were numerous but with low diversity as has been the case since the freeze and flood.  There was lots of cenizo out there so a Theona Checkerspot was expected.

Best I can tell this is a Theona Checkerspot catepillar.

Lots of Western Giant Swallowtails.

And lots of sulphurs like this Southern Dogface.

This fresh Funereal Duskywing almost looks like a Mournful but not mottled enough on the interior forewing.

Otherwise it was an amazing display of native bees like giant Glorious Protoxea.

And tiny Vireck's Nomad Cuckoo Bee.

Here are both of these rare bees together for a size comparison.

Hoping we can get some more rain to keep this stuff going or they're going to fry in the summer heat.

Natonal Butterfly Center, 5/1/24

It's been really dry this spring but there were still lots of butterflies at the National Butterfly Center.  But it's going to get really hot and number's will probably crash if we don't get rain soon.  Nothing really exciting today.  This Julia's Skipper had a contrasting ray on one side but it's not a Pale-rayed Skipper.

Elada Checkerspots were out in force.

As were Bordered Patches.

A good looking Funereal Duskywing.

The requisite Mexican Bluewings.

It's been a good spring for Long-tailed Skippers.

It's not very purple but I think this is a Purple-washed Skipper.  I forgot to put it on my list.

44 species is a pretty good haul for this time of year.

• Black Swallowtail 1
• Giant Swallowtail 3
• Checkered White 20
• Great Southern White 8
• Large Orange Sulphur 5
• Lyside Sulphur 20
• Little Yellow 8
• Mimosa Yellow 1
• Dainty Sulphur 2
• Gray Hairstreak 4
• Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak 8
• Cassius Blue 1
• Ceraunus Blue 1
• Reakirt's Blue 20
• Rounded Metalmark 1
• American Snout 1
• Gulf Fritillary 1
• Zebra Heliconian 1
• Variegated Fritillary 1
• Mexican Fritillary 2
• Bordered Patch 12
• Elada Checkerspot 8
• Texan Crescent 12
• Phaon Crescent 10
• Pearl Crescent 1
• Common Buckeye 1
• Mexican Bluewing 8
• Common Mestra 1
• Empress Leilia 2
• Tawny Emperor 20
• Queen 10
• Long-tailed Skipper 1
• Mournful Duskywing 1
• Funereal Duskywing 1
• White Checkered-Skipper 10
• Tropical Checkered-Skipper 20
• Laviana White-Skipper 10
• Julia's Skipper 1
• Clouded Skipper 8
• Southern Skipperling 2
• Fiery Skipper 2
• Celia's Roadside-Skipper 1
• Eufala Skipper 2

First Florida Purplewing at Progreso Lakes, 2/24/23

I was watching birds in the yard this morning (butterflies have been kinda scant lately) with plans to do yard work afterwards when I noticed a Julia Heliconian.  I took some photos and then saw something on my crawdad trap bait station that was bigger than a South Texas Satyr but smaller than a Red Admiral.  And I though I saw a flash of white spots.  I had a pretty good idea it might be a Florida Purplewing.  So I fired a couple of shots and I was right!  The purplewing then flew into the Mexican olive tree.  I watched for a few minutes and it didn't come back so I ran into the house for some more bait (a couple of oranges and melon rinds) and it came back in for a few shots.  Most years a Florida Purplewing will show up at the National Butterfly Center but it's always a big deal.  They are common as dirt in the Florida Keys.  Florida Purplewing is butterfly species #149 for our Progreso Lakes yard.

Here's the sharp Julia Heliconian.

At this point I thought to hell with the yard work.  Time to look for butterflies.  I had irrigated the back yard the night before so maybe that might attract some stuff.  Stuf like this Zebra Heliconian.

A big white flew by but no photo.  But later it was on the purple Duranta.  Warm south wind often brings a Giant White into the yard.

Here's a lazy Westerm Giant Swallowtail.

Double-dotted Skippers were showing a variety of dots.

First Celia's Roadside-Skipper for the year.

This Funereal Duskywing is all dressed up.

Here's today's list of 40 species which is pretty amazing for February.

• Pipevine Swallowtail 1
• Giant Swallowtail 1
• Checkered White 4
• Giant White 1
• Orange Sulphur 1
• Cloudless Sulphur 2
• Large Orange Sulphur 1
• Lyside Sulphur 1
• Boisduval's Yellow 1
• Little Yellow 5
• Mimosa Yellow 1
• Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak 2
• Dusky-blue Groundstreak 2
• American Snout 5
• Gulf Fritillary 5
• Julia Heliconian 1
• Zebra Heliconian 1
• Texan Crescent 10
• Vesta Crescent 10
• Phaon Crescent 3
• Red Admiral 1
• Florida Purplewing 1
• Common Mestra 1
• Tawny Emperor 1
• Carolina Satyr 12
• Monarch 1
• Queen 2
• White-striped Longtail 1
• Brown Longtail 2
• White-patched Skipper 1
• Funereal Duskywing 1
• White Checkered-Skipper 3
• Tropical Checkered-Skipper 12
• Laviana White-Skipper 1
• Julia's Skipper 2
• Clouded Skipper 6
• Double-dotted Skipper 2
• Southern Broken-Dash 1
• Celia's Roadside-Skipper 1
• Eufala Skipper 3

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