Hill Country Butterflies and Friends
Over the weekend, we went to a friend’s wedding, which was held in a grove of oak trees on a ranch near Austin. The location was phenomenal, the weather cooperated, and it was a perfect wedding.
Oak with wedding arch.
While the wedding party went back to pose for pictures, the guests could wander the gardens, sipping mimosas and sampling mini chicken-and-waffles, and cookies and breads homemade by all the moms and grandmothers. I got my mimosa, but then, being that I was in a different eco-region than the one I live in, I took the opportunity to photograph some of the six-legged guests.
You can click on the pictures to see a larger image if you would like.
Queen butterfly on Turk’s Cap.
Common Sulphur.
Close-up of adorable yellow-green eyes.
Gulf Fritillary.
Variegated Fritillary.
Common Mestra. This was a new one for me, as I live on the eastern edge of its migration zone.
Common Mestra, ventral view. Another name for this one is “noseburn wanderer” because its larval plants, Tragia species, are nettle-like plants known as “noseburn.”
A grasshopper. I have not tried to figure out which species.
A katydid, back view. If you look at top right, you will see a tiny insect of some sort. I didn’t notice them until I looked at the pictures.
Tiny photo-bombing beetle. Or possibly a true bug.
It was lovely to spend time with our friends and celebrate the wedding. Getting pictures of all these butterflies was the icing on the cake! 🙂
I will start drinking mimosas if it induces me to get such nice photos.
And here I was thinking it was the nice dry crisp air, instead of the cloud of humidity we have here in East Texas. But now that I know it was mimosas, I will have to try that strategy again!
And thankfully no insects were actually IN the icing! 😉