Insect Discovery Lab

Yesterday, the local library hosted the Insect Discovery Lab. The presenter brought a handful (!) of arthropods to show to the kids. In the picture, a student is holding a beetle. She also brought along walking sticks, hissing cockroaches, millepedes, grasshoppers, etc. Some kids were bored. Some didn't want to touch the insects. And some were fascinated. Of course, I was fascinated, especially since the presenter did such a great job, both with the animals and the kids. Very fun!

3D Movie at the Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin

While doing touristy stuff in Austin, I stopped in at the Bullock Texas State History Museum. When I noticed that they were showing a butterfly film, I had to see it. Wow! The Flight of the Butterflies is amazing. It seems like the butterflies are right there in the theater with you. I even flinched a couple of times; it seemed as if they were going to fly right into my face. The movie has a bunch of information about the Monarch and the entomologist who spend his life studying their migration patterns. Accurate, lovely and touching! Highly recommended!

Common Mestra

This is another butterfly I saw while visiting the Goat Cave Preserve in Austin, Texas. It is a bit like a Sara Orangetip, except it has orange at the bottom of the hindwings instead of the top of the forwings. The host plant is a euphorb. That is another plant with latex, like a milkweed. Maybe this butterfly is toxic, just like the Monarch.

Austin Art

Austin airport has some fun art. I saw a cork mosaic of a longhorn. And this wonderful white paper-like thing made out of milar with fridges and herringbone. This one caught my interest because of the Gulf Frittilary butterflies. "All we ever look for"? What does that mean? Humans only look for butterflies? Butterflies only look for trees? Neither of those make any sense, must be something else. Got any ideas?

Cloudless Sulphur

I took this picture on 12 November 2013 at the Lady Bird Johnson Center in Austin, Texas. It was a cold day and the butterfly was very cooperative. It just sat there for several pictures. They have a butterfly garden there, and an insectary, where they raise caterpillars.

Snout

Just got back from Texas on Wednesday. While we were there, we saw many snouts at the Goat Cave Preserve in Austin. Most of the kept their wings closed, but this butterfly allowed me to get a picture of the upper side of its wings. . It is called a snout because it looks like it has a snout. The big nose is formed by elongated mouthparts. This butterflies has such large migrations that it hits the news regularly. We saw a bunch of them, but most people probably wouldn't have noticed.