Butterfly Monitoring Report
May 2012 – August 2026
Butterfly surveys at Guadalupe River State Park and Honey Creek State Natural Area were initiated in 2012 by park staff, with the help of dedicated volunteers. A consistent survey protocol was established to better understand the butterflies found in the park, determine the number of generations per year for species encountered, build a long-term baseline for future comparison, and give volunteers a hands-on opportunity to build their identification skills.
Surveys are conducted between 10am and 2pm in known nectaring areas throughout the park and natural area — areas change seasonally, but consistently include the horse-trailer parking area, the top well area, the parking area at Wagon Ford and Day Use, and the habiscape, with a roadside area near headquarters and the overflow parking area sometimes included as well. Two surveys are conducted per month, more than seven days apart.
Volunteers scatter through the target areas and record every butterfly encountered on a data sheet, identified to species with the aid of field guides, photographs, and occasional net captures, along with the number of individuals observed. Eggs, larvae, and pupae are also noted when they can be identified. Observations are documented and cross-referenced using iNaturalist.
101 total species have been observed across 245 survey dates, totaling 54,038 individual butterflies counted.
The five species with the most cumulative observations:
Species richness is the number of different species seen in a given year. Abundance is the total number of individual butterflies counted, regardless of species.
| Year | Species Richness | Surveys | Abundance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 25 | 1 | 130 |
| 2013 | 59 | 11 | 2,748 |
| 2014 | 63 | 15 | 4,040 |
| 2015 | 53 | 13 | 1,562 |
| 2016 | 63 | 16 | 6,494 |
| 2017 | 63 | 14 | 2,635 |
| 2018 | 50 | 9 | 1,528 |
| 2019 | 64 | 20 | 3,237 |
| 2020 | 65 | 21 | 5,827 |
| 2021 | 67 | 21 | 3,187 |
| 2022 | 64 | 23 | 4,260 |
| 2023 | 62 | 24 | 4,545 |
| 2024 | 63 | 21 | 8,851 |
| 2025 | 61 | 21 | 2,561 |
| 2026 | 63 | 15 | 2,433 |
Species richness is consistently highest in October, based on the average number of distinct species recorded per survey that month across all years.
Monarch observations peaked in 2014, with 1,416 individuals recorded that year.
We've recorded 101 distinct butterfly species since surveys began in 2012.
Species richness tends to peak in October.
Rainfall and species richness show a moderate negative relationship (r = -0.35), though not strong enough to call statistically meaningful.
Rainfall and overall abundance show a moderate positive relationship (r = 0.33), though not strong enough to call statistically meaningful.
Species richness and overall abundance show a fairly strong positive relationship (r = 0.59).
Orange Sulphur is the most frequently observed species, with 6,265 individuals counted overall.
Monarch observations have been most abundant in 2014.
"r" measures how closely two things move together, from -1 (opposite directions) to +1 (perfectly together); 0 means no relationship. Rainfall figures above are annual totals across every day we have weather data for, not just survey days.
Butterfly surveys coordinated by Craig Hensley and Darlene Varga. Plant bloom data provided by Debbie Kyrouac. Wingwatch.Earth platform built by Robert Doyal. This platform runs on data collected by our incredible volunteers, who consistently show up for our field surveys. Thank you for your dedication and hard work!
Generated automatically from ongoing volunteer field survey data and processed by Wingwatch.Earth.