Observations & Meditations from the Garden- A Sky Full of Butterflies

Autumn is here.  The last few days  the sky has been full of migrating butterflies..  Aren't they wonderful as the flutter through the air by the dozens!

Those little butterflies that look like blowing leaves are American snouts or hackberry butterlies. In drought years they will migrate by the thousands (or more) looking for a new food source, the hackberry tree.  South Texas residents have been experiencing this invasion since August.  I guess they ran out of food and are now moving up to Central Texas.

In 1921 South Texans estimated the migration was 6 billion of the little fellas!!!

They're friendly little guys and if you're working in your garden as I was the other day, just stop a moment and they may land on you.  It would be nice to think they're just stopping to say "thanks for the flowers" but, in truth, they're sipping the sweat from your hard working gardeners' body!

 

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  • 21 Sep 2007, 8:30 PM Butch Segura wrote:
    What about Hummingbirds. My brother lives in Houston and goes to the hill county often. It looks like a nice place to visit or live.
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  • 28 Sep 2007, 6:22 AM jb wrote:
    Plenty of "hummers"! We've got Black-chins from March to October and the Ruby-throats migrate through spring and fall.

    The last two years I've had a few Rubies stay the summer with me.

    Activity really increases when the Ruby-throats are coming through. They're much more active than the Blacks.

    You'll have to come visit the Hill Country with your brother. You won't believe it in April!
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  • 29 Dec 2010, 2:29 PM montreal florist wrote:
    It must be beautiful with full of butterflies. Awesome!
    Reply to this

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