National Butterfly Center, Mission Texas, a project of the North American Butterfly Association.

National Butterfly Center Team Wins the Great Texas Birding Classic’s Big Sit, Again!

(Mission, TX) – The National Butterfly Center’s team, Live 4 Birds, won the Big Sit Competition for the Lower Gulf Coast region in this year’s Great Texas Birding Classic with a total of 103 species, beating out tallies from teams representing world-renowned attractions, including the South Padre Island Birding and Nature Center, and Estero Llano Grande State Park and World Birding Center. This year’s count is two higher than last year’s and it is the second year in a row that the National Butterfly Center has won this competition.

In the Big Sit, teams of birders each select a 50’ circle from which to bird by sight and by ear. They do so for up to a 24-hour period between the dates of April 15 and May 15. Then they submit their checklist to Texas Parks & Wildlife Department for review, and the team with the highest species count within each geographical region wins.

Luciano Guerra, Outreach & Education Coordinator for the National Butterfly Center, is the organizer and captain for the center’s team.  Responsible for recruiting accomplished birders, selecting, preparing and supplying the circle site, and scheduling the day for the Big Sit, he says experience pays, when competing for this coveted title.

“This year, we changed the name of our team to honor Mary Gustafson, a giant in the birding world,” explains Guerra, “Mary was a good friend, a mentor and beloved member of the National Butterfly Center. While we felt her loss acutely during this year’s Big Sit, we also felt her presence in this victory!”

It takes several weeks to gear up for this “big day” in birding, so the entire staff contributes to the success of the National Butterfly Center’s team. They all share in this success, with the 21 team members who took shifts from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on May 6.

“If the annual Texas Butterfly Festival is our ‘Super Bowl’,” states Marianna Trevino Wright, executive director of the center, “The Big Sit is our all-star game. Although the species are different, it’s our chance to show we are truly exceptional in the Rio Grande Valley—a place known for being the best of the best in the U.S.A. for birders and butterfliers.  

With more than 240 species of butterflies and 300 species of birds documented at the center, it has earned its status as a world-renowned destination for naturalists and nature tourists, alike, who journey to Mission, Texas, for a special ‘safari’ experience on the banks of the Rio Grande River.

To learn more about the National Butterfly Center, and how you can join us, visit www.nationalbutterflycenter.org. Your annual membership or charitable gift impacts the beauty of our community and helps preserve the biologically diverse, natural treasures of deep South Texas. 

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The National Butterfly Center is committed to ‘Growing Connections’ between people, plants, and the winged wonders that pollinate and propagate all that grows around us. We do this through educational and environmental initiatives that cultivate meaningful understanding of the processes that create sustainable ecosystems. The Center is open to the public, for visitors and members, seven days/week.

Horned Lizard Conservation Grant Awarded to National Butterfly Center Employee

(Mission, TX) – Luciano Guerra, Outreach & Education Coordinator at the National Butterfly Center^TM in Mission, Texas, has been awarded a Wilson Seay Stout 2023 Horned Lizard Conservation Society grant for a population survey and photographic study of this species at the North American Butterfly Association’s latest land acquisition, Pixie Preserve.

In his regular duties at the Center, Guerra documents the wildlife present for posterity and public education. An award-winning conservation photographer, Guerra not only uses his images to teach others about photography, but also about the special creatures and features of the Rio Grande Valley, many of which are disappearing as the landscape is artificially altered. The Texas Horned Lizard, which is listed as Threatened by the State of Texas, is one of these.

“I remember being fascinated by ‘horny toads’ as a child,” states Guerra. “When I was growing up here, they were so plentiful we could find and play with them. The idea that one day they might vanish from most of the Valley is something that never occurred to my friends and me.”

With this grant from the Horned Lizard Conservation Society, Guerra will get to search for and interact with Horned Lizards, again, in furtherance of the goal of protecting them for future generations.

“Realistically, I know they will never be as abundant as they once were,” adds Guerra, “But if I can play a small part in reversing the trend that has resulted in such a drastic decline over the past thirty-plus years, I will feel that I have accomplished something worthwhile.”

At Pixie Preserve, 350 acres of habitat remains in permanent conservation easement for the Horned Lizard, along with lots of Harvester Ants, their preferred food. However, rapid residential development, heavy commercial traffic and substantial population increase in rural Hidalgo County jeopardize the health and safety of these miniature relatives of long-lost dinosaurs. For this reason, locating and observing them is the first step toward directly impacting their survival.

“Knowing how many Horned Lizard inhabit the Preserve and where they are more prevalent is critical to establishing a baseline for continued study of the species,” states Marianna Treviño Wright, executive director of the National Butterfly Center. “The data Luciano and his collaborators gather and record may be used to support future scientific research and repopulation efforts, including captive breeding and release programs, such as the one at the San Antonio Zoo.”

Other species surveys and scientific research conducted at the Center and the Preserve have involved mosquitoes, native bees, Rio Grande Coot, Grey Hawk. Monarchs and flea beetles.

To learn more about the National Butterfly Center, and how you can join us and support our good work, visit www.nationalbutterflycenter.org or call 956-583-4300. Your annual membership or charitable gift/bequest impacts the beauty of our community and helps preserve the biologically diverse, natural treasures of deep South Texas.

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The National Butterfly Center is committed to ‘Growing Connections’ between people, plants, and the winged wonders that pollinate and propagate all that grows around us. We do this through educational and environmental initiatives that cultivate meaningful understanding of the processes that create sustainable ecosystems. The Center is open to the public, for visitors and members, seven days/week. www.NationalButterflyCenter.org

The Horned Lizard Conservation Society is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and is the only organization in the world dedicated to protecting horned lizards. Their mission is to study, document and publicize the value and conservation needs of horned lizards and to promote horned lizard conservation projects and assist with horned lizard management initiatives throughout their ranges. www.HornedLizards.org

Record U.S. Rarity Appears at the National Butterfly Center

(Mission, TX) – Thursday, January 5, there was a buzz in the gardens at the National Butterfly Center, where an unusual specimen was found. At first it was declared a White M Hairstreak, which is uncommon enough to warrant an alert. This sent members and visitors rushing to see it, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared.  All that remained were the photographs two visitors, Anisha Sapkota and Sajan KC, managed to snap.

Upon further review, the butterfly was confirmed to be the Mexican M Hairstreak, making this documented sighting of the live butterfly a first U.S. record.

Sapkota and KC have spent all day, nearly every day, since they arrived in Mission, Texas, in December, 2022, at the National Butterfly Center. Originally from Nepal, both are graduate students pursuing their Masters degrees in Biology at Eastern New Mexico University, where she is doing her thesis on the butterflies of eastern New Mexico, and he is conducting his on a special group of brown beetles called Hemipeplinae. Before moving to New Mexico, both were actively studying the butterfly diversity of Nepal, where they discovered around 20 species new to that country.

When they decided to spend their winter break in the Rio Grande Valley, they reached out to the National Butterfly Center to inquire about local accommodations and what they might expect to see at this time of year.

“We often field calls and email from prospective visitors,” states Marianna Treviño Wright, executive director of the center, “But I’ve never had anyone declare they have already memorized all 700-plus species in Dr. Jeffrey Glassberg’s definitive Swift Guide to North American Butterflies. I thought Sajan was joking when he told me this, but week after week, he’s proven he was not.”

Wright reminded Sapkota and KC that butterfly activity is highly weather dependent; so, visiting during December and January might yield little-to-no activity, if it was cold or rainy.  Knowing this, KC and Sapkota chose to roll the dice and spend almost six weeks in Mission, just to be close to the world-renowned National Butterfly Center.  Here, they hoped to encounter many “lifer” species, i.e. butterflies they had never seen before, but they only dreamed of finding a U.S. record.

As of Thursday, this trip to Mission, TX, had produced 80 lifers and 128 butterfly species, total, for the dedicated duo; including their discovery of the Mexican M Hairstreak, for which they will forever be remembered.

When asked about this, KC stated, “This exciting finding has boosted our passion even more!”

This “exciting finding” only occurs about once a year at the National Butterfly Center, where more than 240 species have been documented over the last 20 years.

“Still, it’s part of the reason people travel here from around the world and return, again and again,” states Wright. “There is simply no other place quite like it in the United States.”

To learn more about the National Butterfly Center, and how you can join us, visit www.nationalbutterflycenter.org or call 956-583-4300. Your annual membership or charitable gift impacts the beauty of our community and helps preserve the biologically diverse, natural treasures of deep South Texas. 

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The National Butterfly Center is committed to ‘Growing Connections’ between people, plants, and the winged wonders that pollinate and propagate all that grows around us. We do this through educational and environmental initiatives that cultivate meaningful understanding of the processes that create sustainable ecosystems. The Center is open to the public, for visitors and members, seven days/week.

Girl Scouts of the USA Films New Campaign at National Butterfly Center

(Mission, TX) – Last month, the National Butterfly Center, once again, became a film set; this time for Girl Scouts of the U.S.A.!  Representatives of the national organization, along with a large production crew, arrived August 17 to prepare for a full Friday documenting the experiences, insights and enthusiasm of two local Girl Scouts selected to be featured in a new marketing campaign.

Camilla and Madison Longoria, along with their mother, Jennifer Longoria, from Troop 3004 of the Girl Scouts of Greater South Texas Council are just a few of the Girl Scouts featured in the national campaign.

“We hope young girls across the country see Camilla and Madison’s Girl Scouts stories and feel invited and welcomed to join an inclusive organization that is so much more than just cookies,” states Jennifer Longoria. “It has been such an honor to have young Latina Girl Scouts from South Texas—and specifically, the Rio Grande Valley—featured because Girl Scouts is a very big part of our lives. The girls loved sharing their journeys and what Girl Scouts is all about, for them.”

The National Butterfly Center has been a Community Partner of Girl Scouts of Greater South Texas for nearly a decade, delivering high-quality programming that helps girls grow in knowledge, skill, confidence and character.

“Of course, we’re also interested in promoting civic engagement, volunteerism and environmental conservation with this remarkable group of bright, young people, who are changing the world,” states Marianna Treviño Wright, a Girl Scout mom and executive director of the National Butterfly Center.

“Girl Scouts understood, before so many organizations, how fundamental representation is to success,” adds Wright, “So, we’re exceedingly happy to have Camilla, Madison and Jennifer—a former Girl scout—speak on behalf of Girl Scouts of the USA, from the National Butterfly Center. Girl Scouting is for every girl, everywhere, including bilingual, Hispanic Americans, daughters and granddaughters of immigrants, and residents of this nation’s culturally-rich, vast and diverse borderlands.”  

The National Butterfly Center is a 100-acre botanical garden focused on native plants that sustain nearly half of all wild, free-flying butterflies in the U.S.A.  It is located on the Rio Grande River, at the edge of the neotropics, where 95% of the native habitat has been destroyed by industry, development and border wall construction. This most-important project of the nonprofit North American Butterfly Association has served as a set for various projects, including PBS’ Emmy-winning series, NATURE, and the 2019 documentary, Ay Mariposa, winner of the United Nations Association Film Festival’s award for best cinematography.

To learn more about the National Butterfly Center, and how you can join us, visit www.nationalbutterflycenter.org. Your annual membership or charitable gift impacts the beauty of our community and helps preserve the biologically-diverse, natural treasures of deep South Texas. 

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About Girl Scouts

Girl Scouts bring their dreams to life and work together to build a better world. Through programs from coast to coast, Girl Scouts of all backgrounds and abilities can be unapologetically themselves as they discover their strengths and rise to meet new challenges—whether they want to climb to the top of a tree or the top of their class, lace up their boots for a hike or advocate for climate justice, or make their first best friends. Backed by trusted adult volunteers, mentors, and millions of alums, Girl Scouts lead the way as they find their voices and make changes that affect the issues most important to them.

To learn more visit  https://www.girlscouts.org/en/discover.html

Visit Girl Scouts of Greater South Texas at www.gsgst.org.