Readers’ wildlife photos

January 25, 2018 • 7:45 am
Reader Karen Bartelt sent some lovely photos of butterflies, and also a “Festival of Ducks” that I’ll post soon.  Karen’s notes are indented:
Texas, Part III – the National Butterfly Center in Mission, TX
This is the Holy Grail for my entomologist husband. They maintain a variety of habitats, including a large well-watered butterfly garden.  There are a lot of species more common to Mexico and Central America.
Crimson patch (Chlosyne janais); wingspan about 2″:
Mexican bluewing (Myscelia ethusa); wingspan about 2.5″.  This was the butterfly we wanted to see, and though challenging to see, we saw about five individuals.
Guatamalan Cracker (Hamadryas guatamalena); wingspan about 3.5″.  When word spread of this butterfly on a tree, people came out of nowhere and converged on the tree.  There are few records of this butterfly in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, but I note that the North American Butterfly Association recently recorded a nearly identical photo in the same place a few days after I took mine.
Then two I forgot to send, not from the National Butterfly Association, but from the Los Fresnos, TX area.  White peacock (Anartia jatrophae); wingspan about 2.5″:
Red-bordered pixie (Melanis pixie), a metalmark with a wingspan of about 1.5″:

14 thoughts on “Readers’ wildlife photos”

  3. I am very happy to see these! I have been learning much about this amazing place (The National Butterfly Center) from here, and would very much like to go. Thank you for sharing.

  7. These are beautiful butterflies, especially the markings and coloring of the Mexican Bluewing and the Red-bordered pixie. I’d love to go to the Center to see them flit around.

  9. Beautiful butterflies, all of which are new to me. And thanks for including the size of their wing-spans; that’s good information. Whenever I see photos of small insects, I like to know their approximate dimensions.

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