s soon as I stepped out of the car, the star of the National Butterfly Center showed itself. In the gardens in front of the visitors pavilion, located in Mission, clouds of queen butterflies floated on wild huddles of milkweed and mistflower flecked with lavender and white blooms. At first, it was hard to discern the shimmer of the butterflies from the shimmer of the blossoming plants. But soon, the delicate winged insects became more visible, looking like glinting coins of sunlight and color against the late October landscape of South Texas. Many Lone Star naturalists might be aware of the birds and hawks that migrate through the Lower Rio Grande Valley, but perhaps
