These photos document the first occurrence of Masked Clubskimmer Brechmorhoga pertinax for Texas, found by myself and Greg Lasley at a private ranch in western Presidio county, Texas, on May 23 and 25, 2015.
Within the U.S. this species was previously known only from Arizona, in two disparate areas: There is a population in a few creeks that drain into the Grand Canyon in the northwestern corner of the state; access to these creeks is very difficult. There have been three records from southeastern Arizona, with one in the Santa Rita Mountains in the mid-80s, one from Cave Creek in the Chiricahuas in the early 60s, and the latest also in Cave Creek in June 2007 (four males, found by Doug Danforth).
Over the two visits across three days we saw three males and one female. The female was observed in copulation with a male, and ovipositing.
The first individual, a male found on May 23 (and seen again at the same location on May 25):
The presumed same individual (the pattern of the milky wingtips is the same) at the same spot on May 25:
The second individual, a female that copulated with the above male and laid eggs on the edge of the creek:
The third individual, a male from May 25 at a different stretch of the creek:
- here it is flying in front of Greg Lasley as he waits for it to land:
