Have you ever seen one of those cool Keep Texas Wild license plates with the native wildlife images? Obviously our favorite is the Texas Horned Lizard, it’s our mascot! They look pretty cool on your car but did you know the proceeds from these license plates go to conserve wildlife diversity of native species and their habitats? Click here to see all of the different conservation plates
AN EXCITING OPPORTUNITY!
One of the projects funded by the 2017-2018 wildlife plates is for the North American Butterfly Association (NABA) to assess the globally vulnerable Frosted Elfin butterfly status in Texas. This is where you come in! NABA is looking for citizen scientists (volunteers) to help search for these butterflies and caterpillars from late February through early May in East Texas. These small non-migratory butterflies lay their eggs on blue and yellow wild indigo plants which hatch and feed exclusively on the plants, similar to a monarch with milkweed.
This is the perfect opportunity to get out in nature, go on a scavenger hunt, and contribute to citizen science. And you won’t be alone… my fellow Stewardship Director, Ellen, and I will be looking out for these little butterflies during our East Texas monitoring visits. Let’s make sure we all share what we find! Click here to learn more about the study area and opportunity
