Previous page.... ... I didn’t see a lot of naturally occurring butterflies in this area. Two skippers and two satyrids were very common in the front yards and pasture areas. .... .... .... My good friend Jim Brock tells me this is a diurnal moth, family Castniidae. I mistook as a skipper because of its skipper-like antennae. With its wings spread, it would easily measure five inches! Billo flushed it out on a walk alongside his yard, flying about 50 feet and landing again. After snapping a couple of photos, it took off again, quickly seeking shelter in underbrush. Not three feet from where it landed was this bird nest with youngsters hoping we had some food for them. .... .... .... Around Billo’s yard were some near familiar faces. This fairy duster, Calliandra surmanensis, was slightly larger than the Baja fairy duster commonly used in Tucson. Like ours, it had aphids feeding on developing seedpods. A leaf beetle that looked a lot like our Leptinotarsus also caught my eye .... .... Praying mantids are among the insects with export potential. This youngster was quite cryptic on the tree near Billo’s back door. .... When visiting a breeder, I try to stay out of the way while they are servicing their bugs. During this time, I am generally in their vivero, taking photos. Click here to see some of the images of Billo’s butterflies. .... Friday afternoon quickly came. Joris had been in the area visiting others and picked me up in the late afternoon. A number of my "students" had dropped by to bid farewell. Again, I had eaten well and enjoyed the company of my hosts and their families. As with the other breeders I have stayed with, we look forward to reconnecting at CRES on some Monday morning when they come to La Guacima to deliver pupae. ......