Month: September 2016

I observed this American Rubyspot (Hetaerina americana) while on a run around town lake. There are often many interesting species to be seen around there, including this one. However, my usual observations include birds or turtles. When I do encounter insects, it is usually by running through a cloud of small insects and accidentally swallowing some. So this pleasantly roosted damselfly was a nice change of pace as far as insects go.

The American Rubyspot is common and can be found in most of the lower 48 states in the US. It’s range also extends to Mexico and Canada. This species is primarily a stream species, but has also been found to return to still water habitats after maturing.

My observation on iNaturalist can be found here.

Sources: http://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/51761-Hetaerina-americana; http://www.odonatacentral.org/index.php/FieldGuideAction.get/id/42272

The Gulf Fritillary Butterfly are at their peak population size between August and November and are found throughout Southern United States. They enjoy sunny, open spaces which is where I saw this one fluttering about amongst some wildflowers.

Before it becomes a butterfly the larvae is bright orange with black spikes all around. You will most like see the caterpillar on it’s host plant, passion vine. While passion vine is poisonous to most insects, the Gulf Fritillary is able to digest the leaves with no harm from the poisons. The Gulf Fritillary Butterfly expels a strong, stinky scent from glands on it’s abdomen when disturbed that wards against unwanted predators.

My iNaturalist post can be found here.

 

References:

http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/bfly/gulf_fritillary.htm

http://bugoftheweek.com/blog/2015/2/23/beautiful-but-stinky-gulf-fritillary-iagraulis-vanillaei

I was drawn to this plant because of it’s unique silvery-gray-green color. Leucophyllum frutescens is an evergreen shrub, covered with densely-growing, star-shaped leaves. The ashy appearance of the leaves is due to the millions of tiny hairs covering them. Their flowers are bright pink-lavender and bilaterally symmetrical. This species has many other commons names, including: Texas Ranger, Purple Sage, Texas Silverleaf, and Texas Barometer Bush.

Cenizo can bloom virtually all year round. They typically bloom after consistent rainy periods, especially during the summer months – this is how they obtained the common name “Texas Barometer.” This plant’s native habitat range is Texas (Rio Grande Plain & Edward’s Plateau) and Mexico (South of Nuevo Leon).

It is very drought, cold, and heat-tolerant; although, prolonged periods of humidity and heat can be fatal. It’s ecological usefulness includes providing nesting sites for various bird species and it’s flowers provide nectar to butterflies and bees. Up until a couple decades ago, there was only one species of Leucophyllum frutescens available in the nursery trade. Today, thanks to the research efforts of Benny Simpson of Texas A&M University, as well as other horticulturists, there are now multiple clones to choose from (i.e. Leucophyllum candidum Silver Cloud, Leucophyllum candidum Thunder Cloud, Leucophyllum zygophyllum Cimarron, Leucophyllum frutescens White Cloud, etc.).

iNauturalist post. 

Sources: http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=LEFR3 

http://www.azlca.com/uploads/documents/a-16_love_those_leucophyllums.pdf

As my research group and I were walking to Doyle Hall, we spotted this Grey Hairstreak butterfly, or Strymon melinus. Naturally, it was a dispute about who was going to use it as their biodiversity observation this week and I was the lucky victor. The Grey Hairstreak is the most common hairstreak in North America and is frequently found in parks, gardens, woods and open fields. They are very hard to track when flying due to their sporadic and quick movements, which is probably a defense tactic. As caterpillars, they feed on the fruits and flowers of many different plants, most often pea and mallow families, and can be a pest to bean farmers. As adults, they feed on the nectar of many flower species. The coloration of the Grey Hairstreak makes it easily identifiable, with a bright orange and black spot amidst a mostly grey wing. Currently, they are very prevalent and do not require any conservation measures.

My iNaturalist post can be found here.

References

http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Strymon-melinus

http://www.insectidentification.org/insect-description.asp?identification=Gray-Hairstreak-Butterfly

This is the Texas ironclad beetle (Zopherus nodulosus ssp. haldemani). There is not much known about this species, as they are poorly studied. It is thought that the adults feed on lichens. The adults can be anywhere from a half inch to an inch and a quarter in length. It is believed that larval and pupal stages are spent in the dead wood of pecan trees, while adults can be found on oak and other trees or wood houses. They have a very tough exoskeleton. They can be found in central Texas and south into Mexico. They are not considered a nuisance as they are harmless and do not damage live plants.

They’re pretty cool looking. I saw this guy chilling on a rock at the Vireo preserve.

My iNaturalist observation can be found here

Source: http://texasinsects.tamu.edu/bimg170.html

When I saw this for first time, I thought how unusual it looked for a flower. It’s pinwheel like petals make it unique to any other flowers I’ve seen. The plant I saw was only almost two feet tall but it can grow as tall as 9 feet!

This flower can be found in a wide range, from Texas to Florida and can be found in West Indies, Mexico and Cuba. This plant is drought-tolerant but they also can be found humid areas like Houston as long they are under shade. If they are found in full sun, their leaves will get mildew and crinkle (A&M).

This plant is often visited by hummingbirds and butterflies for the flower’s nectar. Birds and mammals visit the plant for the fruit. According to Foraging Texas, this plant is edible. You can cook, boil, or eat it raw with just about anything. Apparently, turk’s cap’s petals are tasty with pancakes. You can eat flower, fruit and green leaves – as they are full of antioxidants, proteins, minerals and vitamin C (depending on which part of plant you are eating – more information can be found in Foraging Texas).

The name, Turk’s Cap, came from the shape of the flower. The flower have been said to resemble to a Turkish turban (Wildflower Center).

My naturalist observation can be found here.

 

I found this monarch, Danaus plexippus, resting on a Caesalpinia pulcherrima plant on campus. Monarchs go through four stages all in one life cycle: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. They go through four generations in one year, which is four different butterflies going through the four stages in one year. Pretty complicated! The monarch that I saw was likely in the fourth generation of the year. This generation is the only one that migrates for the winter. The other three previous generations die off. These migrating monarchs go to places like Southern California or Mexico so the one I saw was probably heading to Mexico to hibernate in oyamel fir trees. Another interesting fact is that even though it is not the same butterfly migrating, they use the same tree when they migrate. Monarchs are also the only butterfly that migrates 2,500 miles away to a warmer climate every year. Then the spring generation flies back to the north. These butterflies migrate because they can’t handle the cold weather and the plants that the larva feed on (they feed solely on milkweed) do not grow in the winter in the north so they migrate also to find food and go back to the north in the spring to find more plentiful plants. Adult monarchs feed on a variety of foods such as nectar, water, and liquids from some of the fruits we consume, such as oranges and watermelon. They tend to mostly consume liquids because of the way they feed. According to worldwildlife.org, the monarch is near threatened right now. Threats to the monarchs include extreme weather causing climate degradation in Mexican forests where the monarchs migrate. Another issue is illegal logging and destruction of forests for agriculture, urbanization, and tourism activities.

My iNaturalist post can be found here.

Sources:

http://www.monarch-butterfly.com/

www.worldwildlife.org/species/monarch-butterfly

This week’s blog entry comes more from a forced encounter than a casual one. It seems that there is a nest of paper wasps or Polistes exclamans somewhere near the side of my house and every time I leave my backdoor open for my dog, a few seem smart enough to want to come inside and enjoy the AC. Wasps, as a whole, are generally useful for pollution, predation, and parasitism. Paper wasps are especially usually in the elimination of caterpillars but they will also eat flies, crickets, and other pests. In early fall, the colony begins to produce males and special reproductive female wasps. These reproductive females, which constitute next year’s queens, mate with males and soon leave the nest in search of protected spots in which they spend the winter. The remaining worker wasps eventually die and the nest becomes vacant. Paper wasps will not reuse their nests the next year (Bellmore).

Link to iNaturalist: http://www.inaturalist.org/observations/4173507

PSA. No wasps were harmed in the making of this blog post

Works Cited:

Bellmore, Laura. “Beneficial Insects in the Garden: #01 Paper Wasps.” Beneficial Insects in the Garden: #01 Paper Wasps. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2016.

This toad has become a common sighting on my late night/early morning walks with my dog. Sometimes she walks right by it, but sometimes she sees it and doesn’t even know what to think of it. I’m pretty sure it’s the sameone every time I see one, but then again the Gulf Coast Toad, or Incilius nebulifer, is very common and not threatened. It’s range is along the Gulf of Mexico from Northern Mexico to Mississippi. In Texas, it can be found in the south, central, and southern parts of east Texas. It occurs in both human-altered and natural habitats.

My iNaturalist observation can be found here.

References:

http://www.herpsoftexas.org/content/gulf-coast-toad

http://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/65849-Incilius-nebulifer

This weekend’s cave-enturing brought me up close and personal with this adorable little cave cricket. A lot of humans consider them a pest because they tend to congregate in basements and laundry rooms, but those humans are literally wrong. Cave crickets are 100% harmless and I highly recommend letting them live their lives. The worst thing they could ever possibly do to you is jump at you, which is a tactic they use to scare perceived threats since they usually live their lives in the dark and can’t see very well.

I can’t identify the exact species, but these guys are just generally referred to by their family name Rhaphidophoridae. They belong to my favorite insect order Orthoptera, which includes the most delicious insects, like field crickets, grasshoppers, and locusts. I personally did not eat this cave cricket so no word on if they are as tasty as their fellow Orthopterans.

Cave crickets have some really fantastic nicknames, such as sprickets (spider crickets), land shrimp, camelback crickets, and in Japan, or toilet crickets.

The carbonaceous nature of the regional bedrock gives the Texas Hill Country its name. Water moves through and breaks down carbonaceous rock easily and creates the hills, caves, cliffs, aquifers, and springs of this lush region. Because caves are such delicate and isolated systems, their health is one of the first to suffer when a region is compromised. Cave-dwelling critters are critical indicators of cave health. The presence of cave crickets, spiders, bats, and other creepy-crawlies may frighten most, but are a joyful sight to cavers and researchers because they indicate a lively cave ecosystem.

My iNaturalist observation can be found here.