Took a little stroll in Ramsey Park the other day and if I didnt' know better, I would have thought it was Spring! Everything was in bloom - and the butterflies were this - Sulfers, Queens and many like the picture below.
I think this butterfly is a Bordered Patch,
Chlosyne lacinia. According to the
National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Butterflies, it is the most widespread and abundant "checkerspot" of the Americas. Its range is SE California east to Texas and south to Argentina. Habitat is subtropical thorn forests, desert hills, weedy edges of agricultural fields, river bottomlands, pinyon pine and oak woodlands, parks and gardens - in other words, just about everywhere there are plants!
I can usually find any Valley native plant I'm looking for in
Trees, Shrubs, & Cacti of South Texas, by Everitt & Drawe - the not this pretty white flower. I'm a huge fan of white flowers - they don't photgraph worth a darn, but they sure are beautiful at dawn and dusk.
The
RGV Master Naturalists always have a booth at the
RGV Birding Festival. They are certain to know this plant!
And of course, there was lots of Turks's Cap. The Turk's Cap,
Malvaviscus arboreus var. Drummondii, inspired me so that we went straight to Grimsell's to pick up a few pots for my garden. I can't decide whether I was blown away by the number of blooms or the number of butterflies!