Progreso Lakes yard, 7/9/20

Hot, dry and windy at Progreso Lakes and it's going to get hotter and dryer.  Butterfly numbers seem to be on the decline but there were still three Yellow Angled-Sulphurs in the yard.

I put out some melon rinds which attracted a Questionmark.

And a couple of Tawny Emperors.

First thing this morning I went out of the back porch and found one of my Polydamas Swallowtails had eclosed.  I turned it loose and it spent the afternoon bopping about the yard.

Our first Common Sootywing of the year.

I had to work to get a poor shot of this Common Mestra.

Hot wind will dry stuff out but can also bring in butterflies from the south.  Stay tuned.

Progreso Lakes, 6/15/19

Well, it's been a long dry, boring spring but we got a little rain last week and a butterflies are starting to pick up at Progreso Lakes.  The big news is the giant Dutchman's pipe I planted last summer has finally attracted a Polydamas Swallowtail and she's been laying eggs.

I've been putting out banana brew the past week and have had a few Questionmarks show up.

And there's been more Tawny Emperors than I've seen in our two and a half years here.

We don't get many Varigated Fritillaries.

We get lots more Gulf Fritllaries.

First Soldier we've had in a while.

Plenty of Queens lately.

Not many yards can boast of Double-dotted Skippers but they are not rare here at Progreso Lakes.

This Red-bordered Pixie was ovipositing on our guamuchil before it landed in the bottlebrush.

Anyway things are looking up and I will try to post more often.  Still lots of butterflies out there to add to our yard list.

National Butterfly Center, 10/20/16

I've been birding a lot this year and then it was super hot and dry during the summer so I've neglected my butterfly duties.  But with the Texas Butterfly Festival coming up I thought I had better get over to the National Butterfly Center and put in a little practice.  Wow, have they added to the gardens!  And everything was in bloom and loaded with butterflies.  Nothing super rare today but plenty to see once I waded through the thousands of American Snouts, Lyside and Large Orange Sulphurs, Queens and Fiery Skippers.  Best was the Curve-winged Metalmark that has been present a few days.

This Two-barred Flasher was a nice one.

Glazed Pellicia was common last fall and I saw two of them today.

It was nice to see a few Mexican Fritillaries for a change.

Julia Heliconians have been reported all over Texas this year.

As have Crimson Patches.

I can't resist a sharp Gulf Fritillary.

Tails on Tailed Oranges varied from short to long.

This Giant Toad had found itself a perch next to one of the butterfly bait logs.

Toad licking is all the rage these days.

Here's today's list of 57 species.

Pipevine Swallowtail 5

• Giant Swallowtail 5
• Southern Dogface 6
• Cloudless Sulphur 5
• Large Orange Sulphur lots
• Lyside Sulphur lots
• Tailed Orange 4
• Little Yellow 5
• Sleepy Orange 2
• Gray Hairstreak 6
• Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak 1
• Cassius Blue 1
• Ceraunus Blue 5
• Fatal Metalmark 2
• Red-bordered Metalmark 1
• Curve-winged Metalmark 1
• American Snout lots
• Gulf Fritillary 10
• Julia Heliconian 1
• Mexican Fritillary 3
• Theona Checkerspot 1
• Crimson Patch 5
• Pale-banded Crescent 3
• Phaon Crescent 12
• Common Buckeye 4
• White Peacock 10
• Mexican Bluewing 6
• Common Mestra 1
• Tropical Leafwing 3
• Tawny Emperor lots
• Monarch 2
• Queen lots
• Soldier 4
• Long-tailed Skipper 1
• Dorantes Longtail 3
• Brown Longtail 4
• Two-barred Flasher 1
• Glazed Pellicia 2
• Sickle-winged Skipper 3
• White-patched Skipper 5
• Mournful Duskywing 1
• White Checkered-Skipper 5
• Tropical Checkered-Skipper 3
• Laviana White-Skipper 15
• Turk's-cap White-Skipper 1
• Julia's Skipper 1
• Fawn-spotted Skipper 1
• Clouded Skipper 8
• Southern Skipperling 2
• Fiery Skipper lots
• Whirlabout 15
• Southern Broken-Dash 6
• Sachem 6
• Common Mellana 12
• Celia's Roadside-Skipper 4
• Eufala Skipper 6
• Ocola Skipper 10

National Butterfly Center, 10/11/13

The crucita is starting to bloom and the wind was blowing from the southeast and that means butterflies at the National Butterfly Center south of Mission.  Nothing rare but lots of butterflies.  See how many species you can find in these two pics.

Skippers love the crucita, Eupatorium odoratum.  Here's a Fiery Skipper.

And a Whirlabout.

And a couple of Common Mellanas.

This Brazilian Skipper has bound a tasty bird dropping.

Tawny Emperors belly up to the bar!

And this is what happens after closing time.

These Mexican Fritillaries have the same idea.

Turk's-cap White-Skipper is uncommon compared to their Laviana cousins.

Several different species of wasp moth have been seen in the RGV.  But only the Texas Wasp Moth wears boots!

I can't resist a good Mexican Bluewing.

A pretty good look at the "dogface" on a Southern Dogface.