Monarch Caterpillars, Chrysalis, and Butterflies

Monarch caterpillars
Betty's Garden, Pensacola, FL - Sept. 2011


Monarch Chrysalis
Betty's Garden, Pensacola, FL - Sept. 2011


Monarch Butterfly
NABA International Butterfly Park
Rio Grande area, TX - November 2010

This photo was taken in south Mission, Texas at the National Butterfly Center, a project of the North American Butterfly Association (NABA). The NABA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation and study of wild butterflies in their native habitats. The 100-acre wildlife center and native species botanical garden has observation areas, educational exhibits, and a plant nursery. Of the 300+ species of butterflies seen in the Rio Grande Valley, more than 200 of those have been identified at the Butterfly Center.


Monarch Butterfly
NABA International Butterfly Park
Rio Grande area, TX - November 2010

The North American Butterfly Association (NABA) is suing the Trump administration over its plans to build a border wall through its Butterfly Center in South Texas. More information can be found by clicking on the following links.

https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/364442-butterfly-group-sues-trump-administration-over-border-wall

https://www.texastribune.org/2017/12/14/border-land-grab-government-abused-power-seize-property-fence/

David Sparks

I retired in 2005 after 40 years of research and teaching at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (24 years), the University of Pennsylvania (8 years) and the Baylor College of Medicine (8 years). Photography is my retirement hobby.

Nature photography, especially bird photography, combines a number of things that I really enjoy: bird-watching, being outdoors, photography, travel, messing about with computers, and learning new skills and concepts.  I now spend much of my time engaged in these activities.

David Sibley in the preface to The Sibley Guide to Birds wrote "Birds are beautiful, in spectacular as well as subtle ways; their colors, shapes, actions, and sounds are among the most aesthetically pleasing in nature."  My goal is to acquire images that capture the beauty and uniqueness of selected species as well as images that highlight the engaging behaviors the birds exhibit.