LRV field report - 2/12-13

Mark Walker MWalker at gensym.com
Thu Feb 17 09:26:52 EST 2000


Well, it wasn't nearly as productive as my trip here last month - but I did
see many butterflies (which is something special for all who must endure
three more months of winter).  So, for whatever it's worth to anyone out
there, I will post my sightings once again.

The spiders not withstanding, this trip was largely uneventful.  There was
that moment on Sunday on the outskirts of Brownsville, when after a few
hours in the 90 degree F sunshine I returned to the rental car only to find
that I had locked the keys in the back seat.  This is a very bad situation.
It happens when one is in the habit of maintaining two sets of garments -
those that are used for driving and those that are used for trekking.  The
driving outfit consists of very little - sandals, shorts - that's about it.
The trekking outfit gets modified by climate, temperature, hostile flora,
and biting bug concentration.  The problem occurs when one becomes flippant
about the transition from one outfit to the other.  Especially when one
removes the car keys from the shorts and forgets to transfer them to the
bushwhackers (leaving them in plain view on the back seat of the rental
car).

So there I am, peering through the very tightly sealed window at my keys on
the back seat.  Of course, I'm in the middle of nowhere (the outskirts of
Brownsville can be pretty remote), and everything that I might ever need is
quite secure inside the vehicle.  Everything, except my butterfly net - of
course.

Well, I explored the area, looking for whatever device might be handy in the
thorn scrub that might be used to break into the car (preferably, without
breaking the windows).  Of course, you can only do some much with stalks of
grass and yucca shoots.  After much frustration, and a little prayer, it
finally occurred to me that the wire rim of my butterfly net might come in
handy.  And what do you know.  After pulling off the netting, I managed to
work the wire rim between the glass and the molding of the drivers side
window, rotate it a bit, and use it to push down on the automatic lock
button to unlock the door.  I had to reshape it a bit before re-dispatching
it as an insect trapping device, but yet another bullet dodged thanks to
this ever handy contraption.

I don't want to admit how many other similar predicaments I have put myself
into.  We'll just leave that one alone.

So here's what I saw - on two days in Brownsville, Las Palomas, San Benito,
and Armstrong, TX.

Papilio cresphontes (Giant Swallowtail)
Battus philenor (Pipevine Swallowtail)
Pontia protodice (Checkered White)
Ascia monuste (Great Southern White)
Ganyra josephina (Giant White)
Phoebis philea (Orange Barred Sulphur)
Phoebis agarithe (Large Orange Sulphur)
Phoebis sennae (Cloudless Sulphur)
Colias eurytheme (Orange Sulphur)
Zerene cesonia (Southern Dogface)
Eurema lisa (Little Yellow)
Nathalis iole (Dainty Sulphur)
Strymon columella istapa (Columella Hairstreak)
Strymon melinus (Gray Hairstreak)
Calycopis cecrops (isobeon?) Red Banded (or Dusky Blue) Hairstreak
Hemiargus isola (Reakirt's Blue)
Hemiargus ceraunus (Ceraunus Blue)
Calephelis nemesis (Fatal Metalmark)
Phyciodes phaon (Phaon Crescentspot)
Phyciodes texana (Texan Crescentspot)
Junonia coenia (Common Buckeye)
Junonia genoveva (Tropical Buckeye)
Agraulis vanillae (Gulf Fritillary)
Euptoieta claudia (Variegated Fritillary)
Chlosyne lacinia (Bordered Patch)
Vanessa cardui (Painted Lady)
Anartia jatrophae (White Peacock)
Anaea andria (Goatweed Leafwing)
Hermeuptychia hermes (Southern Satyr)
Danaus plexippus (Monarch)
Danaus gilippus (Queen)
Pyrgus communis (Common Checkered Skipper)
Pyrgus oileus (Tropical Checkered Skipper) 
Lerodea dysaules (Olive Clouded Skipper)
Hylephila phyleus (Fiery Skipper)
Copaeodes minima (Southern Skipperling)
Chioides catillus (White Striped Longtail)
Amblyscirtes sp? (unid'd Roadside Skipper)
Urbanus procne (Brown Longtail)
Pholisora catullus (Common Sooty Wing)
Erynnis funeralis (Funereal Duskywing)

Mark Walker.


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