Heavy rains in Houston help summer butterflies return

Frequent rains from fall to spring helped create an abundance of flowering plants, feeding a multitude of butterflies in the summer. Although Hurricane Beryl took some of these away, many butterflies have since returned to our gardens.

Our front garden is filled with butterfly-friendly plants like Turk’s cap, shrimp plants, witch hazel, and redbud, all shaded by two loblolly pines. Even the walkway to our front door is a butterfly haven with plants like wedelia, penta, salvia, and coleus.

MORE NATURE: Monarch butterflies navigate Texas using sunlight and an innate magnetic compass

The red flowers of the Turkish marten are very popular with the tiny green larvae of the grey hairstreak, which burrow into the flower to feed. The deformed flowers of the Turkish marten always indicate the feeding activity of the larvae.

Gray ponytails are a common species in our area and are found throughout the state. These butterflies are about 1 inch long and can be recognized by the grayish color of their wings and the thin black bands near the tips of their wings.

An orange circle with a black dot near the base of the swallowtail’s hindwing resembles an eye, while a thin filament on the back of the hindwing mimics an antenna. This pattern confuses predators, such as birds, which see the hindwing as an eye with an antenna and attack the wrong end of the butterfly.

Texas crescent butterflies are about 1 inch long and have a prominent row of white spots down the middle of each hindwing. Clusters of orange markings at the base of each wing help identify the species. The undersides of their closed wings are a light dull orange color, accented by a white area in the middle.

Eggs are laid on the leaves of shrimp plants. The eggs hatch into greenish-brown larvae or small worms that feed on the leaves of shrimp plants. When the larvae mature, they develop short spines while their bodies turn brownish.

Large, spectacular butterflies like the Gulf Checkerspot and the Monarch flutter among our flower beds. Gulf Checkerspots have long, bright orange wings marked with black veins and a multitude of black spots. They are part of a butterfly species called “longwings” or Heliconians, which have wings that are longer than they are wide.

Monarch butterflies are also orange and black, but their iconic shape and pattern make them one of the most recognizable and beautiful butterflies. Monarchs are also known because of concern over their declining numbers.

Check to see if any of the black veins on a monarch’s hindwing have a bulge or spot. A bulge means it’s a male, and no spot means it’s a female.

• Butterflies have a body composed of three parts: the head, the thorax and the abdomen.

• Twin pairs of paper-thin, often colorful, forewings and hindwings are found on either side of the thorax.

• A butterfly’s life begins with an egg attached to a specific host plant.

• A small caterpillar hatches from an egg and grows over time.

• The caterpillar eventually pupates to form a hard shell called a chrysalis, where it undergoes a stunning transformation into a winged butterfly within days or months.

• A female butterfly lives to mate and lay eggs to start a new generation.

• Adult male and female butterflies can live from one week to several months, depending on the species.

• Observe butterflies in your garden or at local and national parks. Texas is home to 400 species of butterflies.

• Best book on butterflies: “Butterflies of Houston and Southeast Texas,” by John and Gloria Tveten (University of Texas Press, $31.62)

Email Gary Clark at [email protected]. He is the author of “Book of Texas Birds,” with photographs by Kathy Adams Clark (Texas A&M University Press).