Sunday March 4, 2007 - The Lift Station Tour.I decided to focus this trip on the Lift Station area specifically to target 3 area/specimens. I wanted to see the activity around the Red Bud Tree, the telephone pole where I saw the Mourning Cloak and the patches of Southern Dewberry along the Lift Station trail. The day was mile high skies and slightly colder than the previous day. I believe the temperature was about 61 degrees Fahrenheit and very breezy at times.
The day started out very slow but very soon I began to notice some very interesting things in the air. The Red Bud was still a hotbed for the small Duskywing Skippers, but I soon noticed a few other butterflies coming in for a peek. These Skippers land in all sorts of interesting angles but almost always land with their wings facing the sun. It makes it real easy to get a picture since they are so well lit.
There was a patch of the Southern Dewberry right next to the tree and I captured an image of a relatively fresh Agraulis vanillae nectaring. This Butterfly, also known as the Gulf Fritillary uses Purple Passion Flower - Passiflora incarnata as it larval food plant and the adult females can be seen ovipositing on the passion flower stems in the summer and fall. This beautiful butterfly has silvery patches on the underside of its wings and looks quite amazing when at rest.
The next surprise came when I saw my first Red Admiral - Vanessa atalanta perched on the path. This is a simply stunning little Nymphalid and can be quite a territorial defender. I have watched the males go at each other with great gusto. They will take nectar from a wide variety of sources and are a delightful butterfly, swift on the wing and nearly too fast to net.
Low and behold, after 70 minutes of hanging out by the Red Bud Tree I finally saw what I came here for - An Elfin Butterfly. This little brown beauty was hanging around on the Red Bud, very small and hard to detect. If it hadn't shifted its position I would have missed it entirely. A quick drop of the camera and snatching my new Old Man Net Special I promptly caught and papered this gem. I did not pause for a photo as I was too afraid of losing it. I will post a picture of this beautiful specimen when it comes off pf the spreading boards. There are really only 2 species of Elfin in the Houston area and they are both hard to find, at least for us.
On the way out I encountered some local amphibious species in 2 very distinct life stages. The Tadpoles were unfortunately in a drying up mud puddle and will probably be dead within a day or so as the water vanishes. Next to the Water Lift Station itself, in a large puddle, I got a few shots of what appears to be Rana sphenocephala or the Southern Leopard Frog. This frog was content to lie motionless on the surface and wait for me to leave him in peace, which I gladly did.I decide to make one last trip down the path and I managed to capture another Elfin butterfly, this time fluttering along the side of the trail. I have no idea which Elfin this one is either, but I suspect it is Callophyrus niphon or the Pine Elfin. More . . . Later.
Species list:
- Vanessa atalanta - Nymphalidae - Red Admiral (S)
- Agraulis vanillae - Nymphalidae - Gulf Fritillary (S)
- Phyciodes speciosa - Nymphalidae - Crescent Butterfly (V)
- Zerene cesonia - Pieridae - Southern Dogface (V)
- Erynnis speciosa - Hesperiidae - Duskywing (S)
- Callophrys sp. - Lycaenidae - Theclinae - Elfin (V)
Thanks for reading
Bob
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