Teri and I headed over to Sabal Palms Sanctuary to look for birds, but they were few and far between. However the sanctuary has a small butterfly garden and we had good luck there.
Our best find was a beautiful Blue Metalmark. Like other Metalmarks it is small at less than an inch across. Only the male has the striking blue color. This butterfly just makes it into the United States in far South Texas.
 |
| Blue Metalmark |
 |
| Blue Metalmark - Underwing |
We saw another tropical species, the Zebra Heliconia, (aka Zebra Longwing).
 |
| Zebra Heliconia |
Yet another tropical species is the Common Mestra.
 |
| Common Mestra |
Much more widespread is the Queen. This one was feeding on a Blue Mistflower, which we have found to be the all-time best butterfly attracting plant!
 |
| Queen |
We also found two Crescents, a Phaon and a Texan Crescent.
 |
| Phaon Crescent |
 |
| Texan Crescent |
Just to show that all of the butterflies are not colorful, I've included pictures of the plainest butterfly I think we've ever seen, a Carolina Satyr. The underside is a bit more interesting than the top, but this is one plain bug!
 |
| Carolina Satyr |
 |
| Carolina Satyr - Underwing |
Mark
Have you come across the Mexican Blue yet? It's one of my favorites... but every one of you photos might make me rethink that! Remember the Blue Morpho in Costa Rica? I loved it! But my all time favorite butterfly is the malachite because I like the color green.
ReplyDeleteWe have seen the Mexican Blue once this year. And we absolutely remember the huge Blue Morphos from Central America. I have only seen one Malachite in Mexico and would love to get one here in South Texas. I've heard that they are "more common" this year...
DeleteMark