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Above, a multitude of American snout butterflies have been seen across San Marcos and the Hill Country as they migrate. The snout butterfly has long slender mouthparts, which they use to hang upside down giving them excellent camouflage. Daily Record photo by Lance Winter

PASSING THROUGH: American snout butterflies migrate across San Marcos, Hill Country

Wednesday, October 7, 2020

Motorist passing through Central Texas and the Hill Country may have noticed large numbers of butterflies swarming the roadways and countryside. The winged critter is known as the American Snout and it is on migration. 

Upon close examination the snout has long slender mouth parts, which together with its antenna, give the appearance of a stem or twig. They use this to their advantage and hang upside down at times giving them excellent camouflage from predators as they take on the look of a leaf on a tree. Their wings are dark brown or black with creamy orange and white markings.

According to Dr. Robert Svoboda in a paper he published in 2006, said the snouts migrate in large groups, with no established pattern. 

“In 1921, a swarm flew at an estimated rate of 25 million butterflies per minute from San Marcos to south of the Rio Grande; that migration, which lasted 18 days, may have involved more than 6 billion insects,” he said. “In 1966, so many snouts migrated over Tucson, Ariz., that they literally blocked out the sun, forcing streetlights to be turned on during the middle of the day.”

San Marcos Record

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