FWD: Banded Orange Heliconian - Recap

[Mike Quinn]

---FWD from TX-Butterfly Listserv---

Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999
Reply-To: Audubon Texas butterfly discussion <TX-BUTTERFLY at LIST.AUDUBON.ORG>
Subject:      Banded Orange Heliconian - Recap

Recap of last week's records in South Texas for the

BANDED ORANGE HELICONIAN *Dryadula phaetusa*

TEXAS: Hidalgo Co.,
Audubon Center @
12th & Texas Blvd, Weslaco
11 April 1999
Richard Lehman, Madge Lindsay - Observed

TEXAS: Hidalgo Co.,
Santa Ana NWR Butterfly Garden
7 miles south of Alamo
15 April 1999
Bill & Jane Ruffin - Photographed!!!

TEXAS: Cameron Co.,
woodlot on Campeche St.
South Padre Island
16-17 April 1999
Bob Simpson & Family, Robert Small, Ron & Sharron Smith - Observed

Notes:

These multiple sightings of the Banded Orange demonstrates the importance of
each and every piece of remaining South Texas habitat, no matter how small.
Two of the three sites were enhanced with butterfly attracting plants. All
the observers were birders/general naturalists, only Jane Ruffin had a
background in butterflies.

The Audubon Center will be formally open to the public in November. Until
then please contact Richard <rlehman at compuserve.com> for visitation
information. Many different species of butterfly attracting plants
including native passionvines have been established here. The Valley Nature
Center has a butterfly garden a few blocks away at 3rd and Border.

The Santa Ana NWR Butterfly Garden immediately north of the Visitors'
Center, was designed by Carrie Cate and planted in October 1997 with the
help of many volunteers. This garden was doubled in size in March 1999.
Over 30 species of butterflies were using this garden at any one time last
fall. Santa Ana's Butterfly Checklist lists approximately 300 species, more
than any other refuge in North America.

The handful of remaining small woodlots on South Padre Island are of
critical importance to migrating neotropical birds and other wildlife
including butterflies. The Valley Land Fund http://www.ValleyLandFund.com/
has been working diligently with several other organizations to acquire as
many of these remaining tracts as possible. To raise money, they hold the
world's richest photo contest biannually. <contest at valleylandfund.com>

One of the few previous North American records for this Heliconian was
right after the 1933 hurricane, one of the strongest hurricanes ever
recorded in the Gulf of Mexico. USGS has more information on the Banded
Orange Heliconian at:
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/distr/lepid/bflyusa/usa/59.htm It's
shown on plate 28 of the Peterson Field Guide to Eastern Butterflies.

Hopefully, the proposed North American Butterfly Association's Butterfly
Park http://naba.org/nababp.html will be equally successful. Mike Quinn,
Donna, TX

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Mike Quinn <MQnature at hiline.net> 1708 Hunt Ave. Donna, TX 78537-2924
Carrie Cate <ccspider at hiline.net>
NABA - South Texas - http://www.naba.org/chapters/nabast/index.html
NABA Butterfly Park - http://naba.org/nababp.html
TX-Butterfly Listserve - http://www.audubon.org/listserv/tx-butterfly.html
TX Butterfly Festival 1998 - http://www.mission.lib.tx.us/chamber/butter.html
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