Another Royal Sighting

In the Order of Lepidoptera, there are two royal lineages. The best known is the Monarch. Then there are the Monarch's cousin, the Queen, and the royal wanna be, the Viceroy (really nothing more than a mimic). There are also the Emperors: the Tawny Emperor and its cousins the Hackberry Emperor and the Empress Leilia.

The larval host plants for both the Tawny and Hackberry Emperors are Sugar Hackberry and Netleaf Hackberry trees. Empress Leilia's larval host plant is Spiny Hackberry, more commonly known as Granjeno here in South Texas.

This Tawny Emperor was fluttering through the brush along the trail until it landed to bask in the warmth of the sun on a Velvet-leaf Mallow:

This set of photographs was taken on the Water Loop Trail at Hardberger Park on Monday, October 14, 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