Watchful Buckeye butterflies keep their distance

Walking along a trail at Baytown Nature Center, the Buckeye butterflies caught my eye.

Getting a pic was a challenge.

They teased me by landing just long enough for me to find one in the viewfinder then my subject would flap away.

Or it stayed very still with wings upright refusing to show the color of it spread wings. Finally when I would take a beat to wipe the sweat dripping from my nose, it would take off.

These are best of a billion shots I snapped.

Blue Dasher pauses for a photo op

When I go to work in the yard, sometimes I get distracted by little things.

This dragonfly seemed to be posing just for me. So I had to stop weeding and get my camera.

It was kind enough to let me shoot from several angles.

This is a Blue Dasher. See more images at Bug Guide.

My smiley face spider

The common names for the Gasteracantha cancriformis spider are Star spider, Spiny backed orb weaver, Spiny orb-weaver spider, crab-like orbweaver spider.

But really, shouldn't it be called the Smiley Face spider?

Hello, Phaon Crescent butterfly, nice antenna

Check out the cute antenna and legs on this Phaon Crescent (Phyciodes phaon). 

This little butterfly is about 1.5 inches across. It was fluttering around the Indian Blanket flowers.

At first I thought it was a Texas Crescent.

Sweet looking tibia and tarsus.

The flower pose.

Salute: Red Admiral butterfly shows its colors

Today the Houston area is expecting some much-needed rain.

However Thursday at Sheldon Lake this Red Admiral butterfly was happy to find a damp spot in a replanted parking lot ditch.

The Red Admiral was just where you would expect to find it because the butterflies prefer moist habitats such as lakes, marshes and drainage ditches.

The Red Admiral likes to spend the winter in South Texas, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Red Admirals like to feed on nettles. They also like milkweed, mint, alfalfa, aster, phlox, coreopsis and clove. For nectar they like tree sap and rotten fruit.

Every spring the pond becomes tadpole soup

The croaking has been quieter than usual this spring. I thought perhaps the snake scared away the toads.

But no worries. The toads came, and the pond is swarming with tadpoles.