(Mission, TX) – Starting Tuesday, September 1, the North American Butterfly Photo Contest invites you to submit your best photos of wild, free-flying butterflies, for a chance to win the $500 ‘Rio Grande Prix’! Part of the 20th Annual Texas Butterfly Festival, this contest is open to everyone and accepts digital photos of live butterflies taken from October 1, 2014, to September 30, 2015. It’s easy to enter and the winning photograph will be prominently displayed at the National Butterfly Center and online, for the whole world to see.

“Thanks to our camera phones, anyone can capture amazing images,” states Marianna Trevino Wright, executive director of the National Butterfly Center, host of the Texas Butterfly Festival, “And some butterflies can be remarkably cooperative subjects. They may be found in backyards and parks, green spaces and wild places, so you don’t have to go far to enjoy them. We want to encourage people to see how accessible nature is and how rewarding nature photography can be. You don’t have to be a professional or own lots of expensive equipment to get that one great shot—a prize-winning shot—that tells a story or exposes a hidden world. In fact, past winners have included a medical practice manager and an electrical engineer.

“One of the best ways to help people connect with wildlife and promote conservation is through a camera lens,’ continues Wright. “The North American Butterfly Photo Contest is designed to inspire appreciate of wild butterflies in order to advance our mission of preserving and protecting species populations. It’s also a way for people who cannot travel to the Rio Grande Valley to attend the Texas Butterfly Festival to participate in a meaningful way.”

To view last year’s winning submissions and the contest rules, please visit www.texasbutterflyfestival.com. The contest is open to all ages and participants may submit up to five photos, online, starting September 1, 2015. The fee for entry is $15 per person, and the portal will remain open for entries for thirty days, with the winning photos unveiled Monday, November 2, at the Texas Butterfly Festival Banquet. Photo contest prizes include $500 for the Grand Prize, and $250 for 1stRunner Up, plus display of the photos for public recognition, at the National Butterfly Center. Honorable Mentions will also be selected, with the winning photo displayed at the National Butterfly Center.

The 20th Annual Texas Butterfly Festival Mission, Texas, is the country’s premier butterflying event, featuring expert instructors and guided field trips to private gardens, public lands and hard-to-find hot spots. Online registration for the festival is open, and some activities are already sold out. Please see the full schedule at www.texasbutterflyfestival.com.

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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 parties and processes that create sustainable ecosystems. The Center is open to the public, for visitors and members, seven days/week.

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.