Snout Butterflies

Who nose why they have this name? Yeah, ok, that joke really smells. ‘Snot my best.

But I have to say, the snout butterfly is pretty cool. Its elongated palpi in front of its eyes give it the appearance of having a long nose.

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Easily camouflaged on tree branches and dead leaves, one might not even notice it.

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Until it opens it’s wings, that is — hello!

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I’d never seen one until this year, and now they are all over my garden. It’s possible they’ve been visiting for years, as we have numerous hackberries in the area and in my yard — the trees are the larval host of snout butterflies. But I’d been eagerly keeping an eye out this year, and suddenly the snouts are plentiful. Supposedly it has something to do with drought and rain — with the right conditions, the population can be enormous, and then these cute little butterflies might fly en masse, like a cloud in the sky. Now that’s another sight I’d like to see!

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6 thoughts on “Snout Butterflies

  1. Meredith,
    These Snout butterflies I’d heard can be found in mass, millions even. I have heard of them in Texas where they cloud the skies for 20 miles or so along certain areas. Around here 2-3 is a good find for these little beauties. We have lots of hackberries but the breeding does not get crazy like it does in Texas.

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