Butterflies along Big Bend's Lost Mine Trail

The trail is listed as "intermediate" and should be a three-hour roundtrip. It took us 4.5 hours.

Going up the Lost Mine Trail in Big Bend in the crisp morning air in April, we didn't see many butterflies.

But coming down around lunchtime, they were active. A big orange butterfly buzzed us a couple of times, but I wasn't able to identify it.

Common Streaky-Skipper or Scarce Streaky-Skipper? Only a specialist can be sure.

Dainty sulphur

Reakirt's Blue is on the West Texas butterfly checklist. Could this be one?

Something took a bite out of the back of this Gray Hairstreak.

West Texas butterflies in November

Tramping through the trails on an acreage where my grandparents had a farm between Midland, Big Spring and Lamesa, I was surprised to find some November butterflies.

A pretty Checkered White. My grandmother probably didn't like them because they are often considered garden pests.

The Checkered White only lives about a week.

I saw several Dainty Sulphur butterflies, which are only about an inch tall.

A Dainty Sulphur in its greenish winter form.

This battered Sulphur looked like leaf litter.

A tiny Western Pygmy Blue caught my eye.