This is thoughtful and well written. It does a good job of explaining what we try to tell people. Imagine waking up one day and hearing President Donald J. Trump telling lies about your town, about your reality, and describing it in terms that are inflammatory and false, like "dangerous", "crisis", "lawless" and "chaotic"? Imagine him deploying the National Guard to stand on your private property in response to this made-up story. Meanwhile, you're dropping your children at school, headed to the grocery store, preparing for a softball game later...In our case, we literally work ON THE BANKS of the Rio Grande River, and we're safe enough to chase butterflies, worried only about stepping in a hole or on a rattlesnake. #Resist #NoWall #SpeakUpForTheBorderlands

Looking for a job? We're looking for a full-time clerk in the Visitor's Pavilion. We will accept applicants, and conduct interviews in person, Saturday, April 7, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the National Butterfly Center

Phaon Crescent on Indian Blanket bloom taken in front of our Chrysalis visitors' pavilion.

ALERT! Male Painted Bunting seen and photographed in our back gardens this morning! This could be the return of the same bird that over-wintered here or it could be a different bird. Either way it’s a beauty!!! Also a male Summer Tanager was spotted in our gardens yesterday by member John Rosford. Photo by visitor Kathy Whittier.

As President Donald J. Trump plans to deploy National Guard troops to this area to "guard the very dangerous border until the wall is built," we thought now would be a good time to share a typical day-in-the-life-of the National Butterfly Center. Funding has been appropriated for 25 new miles of "levee fencing" (which IS THE BORDER WALL) and it will bisect our PRIVATE PROPERTY, leaving 2/3 of our land behind the wall. The wall will be almost 1.2 miles from the Rio Grande River--the actual border to Mexico. Please SHARE so others may see the reality of life in the Rio Grande Valley and #Resist!!! Don't believe the lies. We are not being invaded or under siege. #SpeakUpForTheBorderlands #NoWall #NoNationalGuard City of Mission, TX - Government Mission EDC Whataburger Neta

The National Butterfly Center is thrilled to announce the birth/hatching of baby Eastern Bluebirds in one of our nest boxes! While we have not yet seen the nestlings, the fact that both parents are carrying insects into the nest box and carrying out feces in fecal sacks tells us that the eggs have hatched! Having Eastern Bluebirds nest in deep south Texas is highly unusual since they are only supposed to over-winter here. But this pair of Bluebirds must have really liked it here because they decided to stick around and raise their new family right here with us! Congratulations to the new parents!!! May you and your offspring truly be Bluebirds of Happiness!!!

ICYMI, you can watch the entire episode of PBS' NATURE, "Sex, Lies & Butterflies", filmed in part at the National Butterfly Center, here:

This time of year, especially, visitors who are unfamiliar with butterflies and their host plants, complain about all the "weeds" we "let grow" in the pathways. These "weeds" are native and adapted plants like peppergrass and dill, which are host plants for butterflies in the White & Sulphur and Swallowtail families. So, YES, we leave them--and give thanks for their abundance--because they feed the next generation of butterflies! Next time you visit, search these plants for caterpillars. Now, if only we could get those "pesky weeds" to stay in beds, instead of pathways!! Thanks to Mike A Rickard for this photo of a Great Southern White laying eggs on peppergrass.

Just in case you ever wondered where all our butterflies come from, here is the answer. :-)

ALERT: The National Butterfly Center will be CLOSED Easter Sunday. We will reopen Monday morning at 8 a.m.

Have you ever wondered how the National Butterfly Center came to be? Read all about it, here, in this feature on our founder, Dr. Jeffrey Glassberg!

Filmed in part at the National Butterfly Center, this new documentary for PBS' award-winning series, NATURE, premiers Wednesday, April 4, at 8 p.m. CST. Make sure to tune in!