Subject: Possibly an American Snout Butterfly
Location: Coryell County, central Texas
January 21, 2013 1:22 am
Hello, many butterflies were visiting these plants’ tiny white flowers in the dry creek bed behind our house today. So far no luck identifying the plants; we had a glorious three inches of rain last week, and now with some warm afternoons the wildflowers are trying to get a head start on spring. I think this butterfly might be an American Snout. Thanks for any information!
Signature: Ellen
Hi Ellen,
Your identification of the American Snout, Libytheana carinenta, is correct. According to Jeffrey Glassberg in his marvelous book Butterflies Through Binoculars The West: “Sometimes swarming in the millions (in the Rio Grande Valley), this is the chameleon of the butterfly world. When you are searching for a special butterfly, American Snouts will magically assume the appearance of that butterfly, or perhaps it’s vice versa.” We want to commend you on getting a photo with a partial view of the dorsal wing surface. We know how uncooperative some butterflies can be when there is a camera involved.
