An Incredible Day at the National Butterfly Center
Mission, TX, Hidalgo County Lower Rio Grande Valley of South TX, near the border with Mexico 11/08/2025
This visit to the Valley was especially to pick up some butterflies that are rare in the U.S. The NBC is right next to the Rio Grande, so very close to Mexico. November is a great time to pick up some rare species, though October is the best month for numbers.
* are Lifers (for the U.S.) and Bold are rare species.
Mexican Bluewing
Malachite*
Silver Emperor
Soldier* (mimics the poisonous Queen butterfly)
Guava Skipper*
Orange-barred Sulphur (rare for this location, more common in South FL)
Tropical Leafwing
Red-bordered Pixie (becoming more common in Soutth TX)
Bordered Patch
Theona Checkerspot
photographs by Paxon Kale CC (I was using an iphone)
The rare butterfly that I was unable to get a photo of was the Ruby-spotted Swallowtail*.
photograph via: South Coast Botanic Garden
Birds:
Nothing too exciting to report, typical of most trips, we saw Plain Chachalacas, Green Jays, Long-billed Thrashers, lots of various hawks, Caracaras, and a pair of Green Kingfishers!
Mammals:
JAVELINAS!!!
