National Butterfly Center, 6/13/26

After a few days of editing photos I needed to get out and sweat so I ran over to the National Butterfly Center.  I was welcomed by this oddly marked Coyote (Skinner's) Cloudywing.  New for the June Big Board.  #77!

Only three species of hairstreaks today.  Here's a Dusky-blue Groundstreak.

Not a lot else going on in the front garden except for this Brazilian Skipper, my first for the year and #78 on the Big Board which is pretty good for June.

Again there were lots of Mexican Crescents around and no Vestas.  Something's going on.

In the back garden there were plenty of Mexican Bluewings.  Good to have them back in numbers.

Elada Checkerspots are back in their usual location around the restrooms.

And finally the Curve-winged Metamark show continues.  I saw seven today.

Supposed to be getting a good dose of rain in the next few days.  We can use it.

Today's list of 44 species.

• Pipevine Swallowtail 1
• Giant Swallowtail 4
• Checkered White 3
• Great Southern White 20
• Cloudless Sulphur 2
• Large Orange Sulphur 15
• Lyside Sulphur 25
• Little Yellow 8
• Dainty Sulphur 3
• Western Pygmy-Blue 1
• Cassius Blue 6
• Ceraunus Blue 2
• Red-bordered Metalmark 1
• Red-bordered Pixie 2
• Curve-winged Metalmark 7
• American Snout 2
• Gulf Fritillary 6
• Zebra Heliconian 1
• Bordered Patch 6
• Elada Checkerspot 10
• Texan Crescent 6
• Pale-banded Crescent 100
• Phaon Crescent 5
• White Peacock 4
• Mexican Bluewing 10
• Hackberry Emperor 1
• Queen 6
• Soldier 4
• White-striped Longtail 2
• Brown Longtail 6
• Coyote Cloudywing 1
• White Checkered-Skipper 5
• Tropical Checkered-Skipper 12
• Laviana White-Skipper 3
• Julia's Skipper 1
• Clouded Skipper 6
• Double-dotted Skipper 4
• Southern Skipperling 5
• Whirlabout 6
• Southern Broken-Dash 8
• Celia's Roadside-Skipper 4
• Eufala Skipper 5
• Brazilian Skipper 1
• Mexican Crescent 10

Resaca de La Palma St Park, 6/27/25

I've been spending more of my time lately on the west end of the Rio Grande Valley so today I decided to head east to Resaca de la Palma State Park.  The butterfly garden was a bit dry but the Ebony Grove Trail looked good.  I got some of the area specialties and missed some.  This Band-celled Sister was oviposting on Randia rhagocarpa.

I had a few frustating glimpses of Boisduval's Yellow but finally got one ovipositing on Senna pendula.  I always suspected that was the host plant but this is my first time to get visual confirmation.

The third local specialty was Mazan's Scallopwing.  Only males today.

Female Mexican Bluewings were busy laying eggs on Vasey's Adelia.

A Marcellina Sulphur (southwestern version of Cloudless) oviposited on Senna pendula.

I rarely see the Eastern Cicada Killer Wasp so it was unusual to see at least a dozen today.  This giant wasp had staked out a territory right in front of the visitors center.

Here's today's list of twenty species.

• Giant Swallowtail 3
• Giant White 1
• Cloudless Sulphur 10
• Large Orange Sulphur 1
• Lyside Sulphur 6
• Boisduval's Yellow 2
• Little Yellow 3
• Dusky-blue Groundstreak 2
• Clytie Ministreak 3
• Rounded Metalmark 1
• American Snout 1
• Phaon Crescent 1
• Band-celled Sister 1
• Mexican Bluewing 5
• Queen 2
• Mazans Scallopwing 3
• Sickle-winged Skipper 5
• White Checkered-Skipper 2
• Tropical Checkered-Skipper 25
• Celia's Roadside-Skipper 1

Vicroy's Ministreak and lots more at NBC, 2/18/25

One last warm breezy day before four cold days means the National Butterfly Center has the the potential to be hopping.  Bug of the day goes to this Vicroy's Ministreak found by Jeff Bryant, only the second I've ever seen.  BOA refers to it as Pebbly Ministreak.  Long though of as a varient of Gray Ministreak, the green eyes and pebbly scales are quite distinctive.  Jeff Glassberg described the new species and named it after his wife who passed away a few years ago, Ministrymon janevicroy.

Jeff Bryant also found this worn Mexican Crescent, the first one to be found since the freeze.

Chris Balboni found this female Silver Emperor, it's been years since I've seen one.

Two Mourning Cloaks would normally been the major find.  One was really fresh.  And one not so much.

Lots of Common Streaky-Skippers around lately.

My first Double-dotted Skipper since the freeze.

Desert Checkered-Skippers were out today.

The requisite Mexican Bluewing photo.

Here's today's list of 43 species which is pretty amazing for February.  The NBC list for the month is up to 73.

• Pipevine Swallowtail 1
• Orange Sulphur 1
• Southern Dogface 3
• Lyside Sulphur 12
• Little Yellow 3
• Sleepy Orange 1
• Gray Hairstreak 5
• Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak 3
• Dusky-blue Groundstreak 3
• Western Pygmy-Blue 3
• Ceraunus Blue 3
• Reakirt's Blue 5
• American Snout 20
• Variegated Fritillary 1
• Bordered Patch 2
• Texan Crescent 1
• Vesta Crescent 1
• Mexican Crescent  1
• Phaon Crescent 5
• Mourning Cloak 2
• American Lady 1
• Red Admiral 5
• Mexican Bluewing 2
• Tropical Leafwing 5
• Silver Emperor 1
• Queen 1
• Funereal Duskywing 6
• White Checkered-Skipper 20
• Tropical Checkered-Skipper 5
• Desert Checkered-Skipper 2
• Laviana White-Skipper 3
• Common Streaky-Skipper 5
• Clouded Skipper 1
• Double-dotted Skipper 1
• Southern Skipperling 2
• Fiery Skipper 5
• Whirlabout 1
• Sachem 1
• Common Mellana 1
• Nysa Roadside-Skipper 2
• Celia's Roadside-Skipper 2
• Eufala Skipper 2
• Vicroy's Ministreak 1
• 
  

Just a normal December day at the NBC, 12/14/24

Warm breezy days in December and visiting butterfly watchers always make a good recipe for rare butterflies in the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas.  So I ran over to the National Butterfly Center hoping for something good; maybe the Barred Yellow seen yesterday.  There was nothing earth shattering but some pretty uncommon butterflies posed nicely for photos like this Blomfild's Beauty.

At the same bait log was this striking Question Mark.

Uusally Malachites are found at the bait logs so it was nice to find one nectaring of the purple Duranta.

Still a few Mexican Bluewings around.

Tailed Orange feeding on a flame acanthus.

The normally common Dusly-blue Groundstreaks have been hard to find this year.

We have still not had a strong cold front yet this winter.  Lowest temperature has been about forty so butterfly so butterflies are still on the wing and no real cold is in the forcast for the next ten days.  It is prime time for more rarites to show.

National Butterfly Center, 11/6/24

Yesterday someone photographed a beat up Starred Skipper at the National Butterfly Center south of Mission, Texas.  This is a Mexican butterfly species I have never seen so I raced over this morning hoping for a lifer.  Lots of visiting butterfly watchers are in the Valley now as it is vagrant season and so far it's been pretty good.  So old butterfly friends and I spent a lot of time periodically checking the crucita patch in front of the restrooms.  It was good to see them though we never refound the Starred Skipper.

But all the eyes were sure able to find other good stuff, like this Blomfild's Beauty.  It's been a few years since I have seen this large showy Mexican species.  Sometimes they get friendly.

Nearby a Gray Cracker posed on a pale patch of fungus.  I'm not sure abouts its camouflage strategy.

The shady patches of white plumbago were popular.  This worn Two-bared Flasher spent the morning there.  It's going to take me a while to start calling it Qian's Flasher.

Other butterflies enjoying the plumbago included Coyote Cloudywing, Large Orange Sulphur and a White-striped Longtail.

Here's the obligatory Mexican Bluewing.

Up front a Marius Hairstreak was in the crucita.  It's been a good fall for them.

I have a lot more photos but you get the idea.  I saw 69 species of butterflies today but I felt like I left a few on the table.  I later found out Linda Cooper saw 76 species.  Things are flying!

• Pipevine Swallowtail 12
• Giant Swallowtail 8
• Checkered White 5
• Orange Sulphur 3
• Southern Dogface 10
• Cloudless Sulphur 5
• Large Orange Sulphur 25
• Lyside Sulphur 5
• Tailed Orange 3
• Little Yellow 5
• Mimosa Yellow 1
• Dainty Sulphur 3
• Marius Hairstreak 1
• Silver-banded Hairstreak 1
• Gray Hairstreak 4
• Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak 10
• Dusky-blue Groundstreak 1
• Ceraunus Blue 8
• Fatal Metalmark 1
• Red-bordered Metalmark 1
• Red-bordered Pixie 1
• American Snout 20
• Gulf Fritillary 3
• Zebra Heliconian 6
• Variegated Fritillary 2
• Mexican Fritillary 3
• Bordered Patch 2
• Elada Checkerspot 5
• Texan Crescent 2
• Phaon Crescent 8
• Pearl Crescent 2
• Question Mark 2
• Red Admiral 1
• Common Buckeye 2
• White Peacock 5
• Common Mestra 5
• Gray Cracker 1
• Blomfild's Beauty 1
• Tropical Leafwing 10
• Hackberry Emperor 2
• Empress Leilia 2
• Tawny Emperor 100
• Carolina Satyr 2
• Queen 40
• Soldier 1
• White-striped Longtail 3
• Zilpa Longtail 1
• Long-tailed Skipper 4
• Dorantes Longtail 3
• Brown Longtail 3
• Two-barred Flasher 1
• Coyote Cloudywing 1
• Sickle-winged Skipper 4
• Funereal Duskywing 1
• White Checkered-Skipper 12
• Tropical Checkered-Skipper 3
• Desert Checkered-Skipper 1
• Laviana White-Skipper 8
• Fawn-spotted Skipper 1
• Clouded Skipper 10
• Double-dotted Skipper 15
• Southern Skipperling 1
• Fiery Skipper 50
• Whirlabout 3
• Sachem 20
• Common Mellana 5
• Eufala Skipper 8
• Brazilian Skipper 1
• Purple-washed Skipper 1