Checklist of Unique Butterflies
Occurring in Lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas

Swallowtails / Whites and Yellows / Hairstreaks and Blues
Metalmarks / Brushfoots / Skippers

There are over 300 species of butterflies that have been recorded in the Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) of South Texas. Over one half of these same species are LRGV specialties that do not normally occur elsewhere in the United States. A total of 91 of these specialties butterflies are " unique" and not found north of this region.

Total Unique Species: 91

Click to view image (use back button to return to this page)

Swallowtails 

1. Red-sided Swallowtail
2. Dark Kite-Swallowtail
3. Pink-spotted Swallowtail
4. Magnificent Swallowtail
5. Red-sided Swallowtail

Whites and Sulphurs

1. Painted White
2. Common Melwhite
3. Cross-barred White
4. Ghost Yellow
   
5. Costa-spotted Mimic-White

Hairstreaks

1. Strophius Hairstreak
2. Smudged Hairstreak
   
3. Gold-bordered Hairstreak
   
4. Marius Hairstreak
   
5. Black Hairstreak
6. Telea Hairstreak
   
7. Clench's Greenstreak
   
8. Goodson's Greenstreak
   
9. Tropical Greenstreak
   
10. Aquamarine Hairstreak
    
11. Yojoa Scrub-Hairstreak
12. White Scrub-Hairstreak
13. Ruddy Hairstreak
14. Pearly-gray Hairstreak
15. Confused Groundstreak

Metalmarks

1. Blue Metalmark
2. Red-bordered Pixie
3. Curve-winged Metalmark
4. Falcate Metalmark
5. Narrow-winged Metalmark
6. Walker's Metalmark

Brush-footed Butterflies

1. Black Crescent
2. Chestnut Crescent
3. Common Banner
4. Orange Banner
5. Four-spotted Sailor
6. Red Cracker
7. Glaucous Cracker
8. Variable Cracker
9. Guatemalan Cracker
10. One-spotted Prepona
11. Guatemalan Leafwing
12. Pavon Emperor
13. Klug's Clearwing
14. Thick-tipped Greta
15. Broad-tipped Clearwing
16. Heliconoid Ticlear

Skippers

Spread-wing Skippers

1. Beautiful Beamer 
2. Guava Skipper
3. Emerald Aguna
4. Mottled Longtail
5. Eight-spotted Longtail
6. Pronus Longtail
7. Esmeralda Longtail
8. Double-striped Longtail
9. Turquoise Longtail
10. Teleus Longtail
11. Tanna Longtail
12. White-tailed Longtail
13. Small-spotted Flasher
14. Frosted Flasher
15. Gilbert's Flasher
16. Yellow-tipped Flasher
17. Stallings' Flat
18. Falcate Skipper
    
19. Starred Skipper
20. Purplish-black Skipper
21. Glazed Pellicia
22. Morning Glory Pellicia
23. Red-studded Skipper
24. Obscure Bolla
25. Variegated Skipper
26. Blue-studded Skipper
27. Hoary Skipper 
28. Pale Sicklewing
29. Common Bluevent 
30. East-Mexican White-Skipper
31. Veined White-Skipper

Skipperlings  

1. Small-spotted Skipperling

Grass Skippers

1. Malicious Skipper
2. Salenus Skipper
3. Redundant Skipper
4. Pale-rayed Skipper
   
5. Violet-patched Skipper
6. Fawn-spotted Skipper
7. Fantastic Skipper
8. Green-backed Ruby-eye
9. Hidden-ray Skipper
10. Common Mellana
11. Olive-clouded Skipper
12. Evan's Skipper