Do you know how to tell a butterfly from a moth?

If you attended the Piney Woods Wildlife Society meeting, held at Mercer Arboretum every month, you would learn these little known facts about nature. The answer: All butterflies have clubbed antenna. Moths have antenna as well, but vary with the species.

David Henderson, a native Texan and science teacher at Klein Collins High School , gave an informative presentation on the life of butterflies in Southeast Texas . Henderson is the president of the Butterfly Enthusiasts of Texas (BEST). He is the author of the “Guide to Identifying Butterflies in Southeast Texas .” The book covers habitat, identifying features and everything you might want to know about this beautiful insect.  

The November meeting will feature underwater photographs taken by one of the society members.

The society originally formed as an organization for birders, but as the membership has grown, interest in other areas of nature has increased. Many society members are charter members of the Sea Turtle Restoration Project – Texas . The project supports a lobbying effort in the Texas Legislature to protect sea turtles from extinction. For more information on the sea turtle project, contact Carole Allen at carol@seaturtles.org

The Piney Woods Wildlife Society is a nonprofit organization for people interested in nature and dedicated to the study and protection of the environment.

Meetings, open to the public, are held at the Mercer Arboretum, 22306 Aldine Westfield Rd. , Houston ,  on the third Tuesday of the month, at 7:30 p.m. , September through May. Social time begins at 7 p.m. Monthly field trips include the Spring Creek Christmas Bird Count and the Jesse H. Jones Park Winter Bird Count. For additional information, contact Kathy Coward at forthebirds@sbcglobal.net

Left to right: David and Ednelza Henderson display of Texas butterfly information.

  Photo by BONNIE MCKENNA