La Mariposa

When I began my project “Al Norte del Rio,” which focuses on the special fauna and flora of South Texas, I knew that I’d be concentrating on a number of specific tropical bird species which are found nowhere else in the United States.

It was only after several years of working on this series that I realized there are even more tropical butterfly species whose northernmost ranges reach only into southern Texas than there are birds.  Some of these butterflies are tiny, maybe only an inch or so across, and others are among the largest butterflies found on the continent, but they all are spectacular.

Over time, I realized that I had more butterfly photographs than would be feasible to include in “Al Norte del Rio.”  As a result, I developed this monograph, “La Mariposa” (Spanish for “butterfly”), in an effort to expand upon my efforts and showcase more thoroughly as many of these beautiful, range-restricted butterflies as possible. 

The National Butterfly Center (www.nationalbutterflycenter.org), which owns a 100-acre wildscape with native plant gardens adjacent to Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park near Mission, Texas, has done a tremendous job in bringing forth awareness and education to help preserve and re-wild natural habitat on both public and privately-owned land in this fast-growing region so that future generations may enjoy these winged beauties.

As with “Al Norte del Rio,” all of the photographs in this series were taken within the southernmost slice of Texas bordered by the Rio Grande River to the south; the Pecos River to the west; the Gulf of Mexico to the east; and, somewhat roughly, the Nueces River to the north.