A Burst of Color, Part 2

Building on yesterday's post, there are many pollinators, including butterflies, able to survive our rather unpredictable winter weather. Daily average temperatures don't mean a lot here except as a benchmark. The average high temperature for yesterday (December 19) is 63º (F), the actual high was 77º and the record high was set last year at 82º. The record low temperature for yesterday was 18º set in 1996.

There are also a few flowers that survive our winters. The point is, where there are flowers, especially during winter in South Texas, there will likely be butterflies:

In the first two photos, a Little Yellow stands out with a beautiful color contrast to the Mealy Blue Sage. In the other five photos, a Sachem was more difficult to see, but spent a much longer time feeding on the sage's nectar.

This set of photographs was taken along the San Antonio River Mission Reach on Wednesday, December 4, 2013.

Awestruck Amongst a Multitude of Mariposas

Thursday, May 3, 2012

I have genuinely reached the point where I am at a total loss for words. I have even been struggling with how to best organize and present the photographs I have been producing on my walks. I have been truly blessed with the experience of nature's extraordinary abundance and diversity. This is especially true most recently when it comes to the butterflies.

The following photographs were taken on my walk in the Medina River Natural Area this past Friday, April 27:

Many of the common names for butterflies, or mariposas as they are beautifully referred to in Spanish, are as interesting as the insects themselves. In the order of their appearance as best as I can identify them, these are:

Pearl Crescent

White Checkered-skipper

Tawny Emperor

Tawny Emperor

Pearl Crescent

Pearl Crescent

Funereal Duskywing

Tawny Emperor

Funereal Duskywing

Little Yellow