Lyside sulphur (Kricogonia lyside) outbreak in southwest Texas

[Mike Quinn]

FYI,

Lyside sulphurs make periodic mass movements across south Texas which appear to induced by an extensive drought followed by heavy, widespread rains.

More info and links to short observations published in the Journal of the Lepidopterists’ Society here:

Lyside Sulphur - Kricogonia lyside

http://bugguide.net/node/view/31896 

Map of general route from Laredo to Bracketville, southwest Texas

http://g.co/maps/xad82

Mike Quinn, Austin

________________
Texas Entomology
http://texasento.net 

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Brush Freeman <brushf...@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, Apr 22, 2012 at 5:31 PM
Subject: Re: Apparent Lyside Sulphur outbreak recently near Laredo
To: Mike Quinn <ento...@gmail.com>
Cc: TX-BUT...@listserv.uh.edu

All:  ~10 days ago I drove thru Crystal City etc. and the pale yellow butterflies out numbered anything I have ever seen including Snout break outs....These butterflies were literally piled along stretches of 83 like very shallow snow banks...Semi-trucks radiators were clogged with the things as were mine...I had to stop in every town I came across to try to clean the smear off my windshield.  These bugs faded out around mid Webb county ...My radiator still has a few hundred on it though I have tried to pressure wash them off...Hard to get to.

B

PS: Crystal City seemed to be the epicenter but they were everywhere from north of Laredo to Bracketville.  

On Sun, Apr 22, 2012 at 4:33 PM, Mike Quinn <ento...@gmail.com> wrote:

Alida Madero writes:

"On a recent trip to TAMU, close to the border in Laredo, we had thousands
of butterflies, particularly whites and yellows, but I think I also saw
crescents. Numbers were so large that it was impossible not to hit some and
our car and everybody else´s were full of dead butterflies in the front
panel."

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--
Brush Freeman
361-655-7641
http://texasnaturenotes.blogspot.com/
Finca de los Alacranes., Utley,Texas