Below are the highlight images from 2 days of butterflying in the Lower Rio Grande Valley.
On 07-Aug-2004 we were lucky enough to meet up with a few local Butterfliers! Gil Quintanilla (all day) and Jan & David Dauphin (part day) joined our "Indiana Group": Jim & Susan Hengeveld and Phil & Joanne Kelly. We had a BLAST! Thanks to the locals for showing us around to some great butterflying spots.
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This White-crescent Longtail was found by Phil Kelly at the "Magic Hedge" located along the eastern end of the Mission West RV park in Mission, Texas. (Anyone who has birded the Chicago Lakefront will understand why I call it the "Magic Hedge". The longtail was found at 7:49 p.m. on 07-Aug-2004. We had been walking the hedge for about 1.5 hours when it came in. It certainly wasn't there when we first arrived! Thanks to Gil for convincing us that we really DO need to stay a bit later at the Hedge to get the good ones.
The Hedge seems to exhibit the "Patagonia Roadside Table Effect" - rarities are found, others come to see the rarities, they don't always see them, but instead find other RARITIES!!
There has been some discussion that this longtail may NOT be Codatractus alcaeus and *MAY* be Codatractus carlos. As I am merely an amateur, I'll leave such discussions to those with much more experience!
This Tropical White (a.k.a. Florida White) was found by Susan Hengeveld at the "Magic Hedge" in Mission West RV Park. It was found in the mid-afternoon on 06-Aug-2004 at the north end of the hedge. It stayed up on the top of the hedge the entire time, only briefly dropping below 8 feet (when these photos were taken). It's about the size of a Large Orange Sulphur.
We were initially uncertain of the identification as it doesn't really match the photos in most of the guide books. After consulting with Jim Booker, Gil Quintanilla, and Jan & David Dauphin, they confirmed the I.D. (BTW, you shouldn't miss Jan's great Butterfly photos!
This very fresh White Scrub-Hairstreak was found in Allen Williams' yard on Sam Houston Avenue in Pharr, TX by Gil Quintanilla on 07-Aug-2004. (THANKS GIL!) This is the second White Scrub-Hairstreak that Gil has found in just over ONE WEEK! His first one can be seen here. We found YET ANOTHER on 08-Aug-2004!
The Falcate Skipper seen below was found by Phil Kelly at the "Magic Hedge" in Mission West RV park. It zoomed in for a VERY brief appearance. It was found at about 7:00 p.m. on 07-Aug-2004. It was seen low on the hedge at the far south end. Initial impression was like a Two-barred Flasher, but without the blue!
