The Brief
Video recorded in Corpus Christi earlier this month showed a swarm of butterflies fluttering around vehicles.
According to the person who posted the video, the butterflies are of the snout variety.
American snout butterflies have a long history of swarming in Texas during their irregular migrations.
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A video shows a swarm of butterflies surrounding vehicles crossing Corpus Christi Bay earlier this month.
What we know
The video posted by Nikki Ikonomopoulos on June 17 shows black specks fluttering against the backdrop of a blue sky.
Ikonomopoulos called the insects “snout-nosed” butterflies, likely referring to the American snout butterfly.
According to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, these butterflies with black-brown wings with white and orange markings, get their name from their long mouth.
What they’re saying
They have a long history of darkening skies in Texas during their irregular migrations, according to Texas Parks & Wildlife.
“In 1921, an estimated 75 million butterflies per hour passed through South Texas in a particularly large wave that stretched for nearly 250 miles,” Ben Hutchins wrote in an article for the department’s magazine in 2017.
Dig deeper
These butterflies dine on hackberry leaves as caterpillars. As adults they enjoy nectar from flowers such aster, dogwood and goldenrod.
The Source
Information in this story came from Storyful, Facebook, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and Texas Parks & Wildlife.