Author: bsebasti

As my final post, I have saved my most exciting observation for last, our exciting seahorse sighting. My research group and I caught this Dwarf Seahorse (or pygmy seahorse), Hippocampus zosterae, on our October data collection trip. Our advisor, Dr. Haynes, was with us to confirm the id in the field. It was the only seahorse we caught in all three of our trips. We had an army of freshmen on this trip to assist us with our field work and one of those freshmen spotted this tiny seahorse camouflaged among the algae in one of our seine hauls. They are only about 2 to 2.5 cm. long (max reported sighting was 5 cm. long) and look just like the algae that we catch in our seine.

The dwarf seahorse inhabits shallow tropical waters in seagrass beds, eelgrass, coral reefs, floating vegetation, and mangrove roots. It is found in the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean of the southeastern US. They have been observed to be monogamous and the male carries the eggs in a brood pouch found under the tail. They are sexually dimorphic; males are longer bodies and tails and females have longer trunks. Their common colors are beige, yellow, green, and black, and can have white speckles or dark spots. They eat living prey such as amphipods, small shrimp, and other small invertebrates. Predators of these seahorses include tunas, dorados, skates and rays, penguins, crabs, water birds, and humans.

Most recent estimates show that the dwarf seahorse is in decline. Much of its habitat is being degraded and lost through human impact, and it is continuing to be collected for the aquarium trade. in 2000, it was listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

My iNaturalist post can be found here.

Sources:

http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Hippocampus_zosterae/

http://www.fishbase.org/summary/3286

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/fish/dwarf_seahorse/

Second picture: http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Hippocampus_zosterae/pictures/collections/contributors/jeffrey_jeffords/fish/seahorse7/

I snapped these pictures while on a research trip this weekend in Port Aransas, Texas. This flower was spotted at our second study site right near the water. I put it on iNaturalist right away as “unknown” and began researching what kind of flower it might be. As I came to the conclusion that it was a Dayflower, someone had already identified it as a Dayflower ,or Commelina spp., on iNaturalist. I then identified it to species as Commelina erecta, or Widow’s Tears, and this id has been confirmed.

This perennial, also known as the Whitemouth Dayflower, is in the Spiderwort plant family. It is native to the US, and according to the IUCN Red List, it is of least concern. This plant usually only grows upright if it is supported by other plants; it typically grows along the ground and it can grow up to three feet long. The ephemeral flowers have two big blue petals and one small white petal. These flowers usually bloom from May to October. They bloom in clusters and a flower only blooms for one day, but there are other flowers on the plant that open three to four days apart.

Dayflowers like dry, sandy soils or muddy, clay soils and their habitats include open pinelands, dry scrub, woods, marshes, between rocks, streambanks, prairies, and along roadsides. Because of the broad habitats they can live in, these plants can become invasive. They are also a preferred food source of white-tailed deer.

My iNaturalist post can be found here.

Sources

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

http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/176972/0

https://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/pg_coer.pdf

 

This butterfly was flying around a patch of flowers nearby the mailroom as I went to get the mail. I put my observation on iNaturalist in the “Butterflies and Moths” category first, then I misnamed it the “Orange Sulphur.” Luckily someone helped me to get the proper ID of Phoebis sennae, or Cloudless Sulphur. This butterfly is widespread throughout the U.S., especially in the southern states, and can even be seen into Canada and South America, but it is very rarely seen in the northwestern states.

Males and females look slightly different. The male has a lemon yellow upper surface with no markings. Males are also seasonally dimorphic; their winter forms are larger and have darker markings ventrally. The female is yellow or white with irregular brown or black markings and the upper forewing has a dark spot in the cell. In both sexes, there are two silver spots in the lower surface of the hindwing. With these differences, I think the one I photographed was a female. Larvae are green with yellow lateral lines and transverse bands of blue spots or yellow with black transverse bands. Whether the larvae are green or yellow depends on what they feed on; if they eat green leaves, they will be green and if they eat yellow blooms they will be yellow. Caterpillar host plants are Cassia/Senna plants, of the pea family; these plants are considered weeds and are actually poisonous. Adults are attracted to purple, red, and orange flowers with long tubes.

When these butterflies are breeding, they can be found in disturbed open areas where they can find their host plants and nectar, such as parks, beaches, yards, gardens, road edges, and abandoned fields, but when migrating, they can be found in all kinds of habitats. They migrate south in the fall, to avoid frigid temperatures in the north in the winter, and then they fly back north in the spring.

My iNaturalist post can be found here.

Sources:

http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Phoebis-sennae

http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/bfly/bfly2/cloudless_sulphur.htm

http://www.butterfly-fun-facts.com/butterfly-species/butterflies-a-e/cloudless-sulphur-butterfly-phoebis-sennae/

 

This moth greeted me as I left my apartment a few days ago. I put the observation on iNaturalist right away under the “Butterflies and moths” category, hoping to properly identify it later. As I checked back a few hours later, someone had identified the genus for me; he placed this moth in the Zale genus. I further identified it as Zale lunata, but nobody has confirmed that ID yet.

Zale lunata, or lunate zale moths, are large moths in the Noctuidae family. They are very widespread across North America. Moths in this family are mostly nocturnal and attracted to lights at nighttime. Lunate zale moth adults have bodies that are varying shades of brown with wavy striations and bands of color across their wings. They also could have yellow, reddish brown, and black colors on their wings with grey or silver patches as well. Their appearances make is easy for them to blend in with the bark on trees and avoid predation. The caterpillars of this species feed on a variety of trees such as apple, plum, maple, and willow trees. Adults can be found in areas where these trees grow, such as in woodlands, orchards, and forests, as well as in yards and parks and by creeks and streams. Adults have a long flight season and have been seen throughout the year, but they are most common in the spring. An interesting fact about them is that the name lunata comes from the Latin name for moon; this was likely referring to the crescent shaped marks on the wings.

My iNaturalist post can be found here.

Sources:

http://www.insectidentification.org/insect-description.asp?identification=Lunate-Zale-Moth

http://sites.biology.duke.edu/dukeinsects/Zale_lunata.php

http://bugguide.net/node/view/4197

http://pnwmoths.biol.wwu.edu/browse/family-erebidae/subfamily-erebinae/tribe-omopterini/zale/zale-lunata/

This little skipper was resting in a patch of grass when I was able to take a photo of it. I have identified it as Atalopedes campestris, or sachem skipper. It belongs to the Hesperiidae family and Hesperiinae subfamily. This one is likely a female because males are brighter in color. The males are yellow-orange and females are yellow-brown to dark brown. The larvae have black heads and dark olive green bodies and brown lines and dark bumps. They have three broods from May to November in the north and four to five broods in the south from March to December. Caterpillars feed on grasses such as Bermuda grass, crabgrass, and goosegrass, and adults feed on nectar from a variety of flowers such as milkweed, buttonbush, and asters. They prefer to live in disturbed, open areas, which is probably why I saw it in a small patch of grass in an apartment complex. The population is noted to be globally secure, although they may be rare in certain areas they are native to.

Sources:

http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Atalopedes-campestris

http://bugguide.net/node/view/9521

http://www.learnaboutbutterflies.com/North%20America%20-%20Atalopedes%20campestris.htm

My iNaturalist post can be found here.

I found this milk snail, Otala lactea, while on a walk with Iggy, our chihuahua roommate. These snails are actually pretty easy to spot around our apartment complex, but I wasn’t sure exactly what kind of snail they were until I posted one on iNaturalist. With the help of an iNaturalist member and a picture of the front and underside of the snail, I was able to properly identify it. This snail is native to the Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa areas but it can also be found in southern US in humid climates and in California it is considered a serious pest, as it displaces native snails.

Milk snails are terrestrial, air-breathing snails. They feed on fruit and plants and are active at night. Their shells vary in color but are usually light brown with dark brown spiraling lines and patterns of stripes and dots. You can distinguish it by a highly extended apertural rim. The lip of its aperture is dark brown, almost black colored.

Since these snails are invasive in the US, one article suggests harvesting these edible snails so chefs could try to incorporate them into their menus. This will help to promote the populations of native snails.

My iNaturalist post can be found here.

Sources:

http://www.tsusinvasives.org/home/database/otala-lactea

http://www.molluscs.at/gastropoda/terrestrial.html?/gastropoda/terrestrial/otala.html

I found this beetle in the middle of the parking lot after a soccer game. I have identified it as Calosoma spp, a species of ground beetle in the family Carabidae. I am not certain of the species, but my guess would be Calosoma macrum. This genus of large ground beetles are also known as caterpillar hunters or searchers. Both adult and larvae stages are very active predators and they are commonly found in agricultural and garden settings. These beetles can produce a foul-smelling odor from glands near the tip of their abdomens. Most beetles in this genus are all black but some have metallic coloring as well. They are the largest beetles in this family. They have large, distinct thoraxes, nearly the size of their abdomens and wider than their heads. Many of the beetles in this family are nocturnal but adults rarely fly.

My iNaturalist post can be found here.

Sources:

http://www.entomology.wisc.edu/mbcn/kyf304.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calosoma

 

 

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 pretty butterfly was resting on my backpack last fall in the lawn in front of Main Building. Luckily I was able to get a picture before it flew away. I have identified this butterfly as Vanessa atalanta, or the Red Admiral. It inhabits a range from central Canada through the Mexican highlands and Guatemala, spending March-October in the north and October-March in the south since it can’t survive extreme winters. Hosts for caterpillars include plants from the nettle family. Adults prefer to feed on sap flows on trees, fermenting fruit, and bird droppings. They visit flowers only when the previous food sources are not available. Adults also have different summer and winter forms where the summer form is larger and brighter and the winter form is smaller and duller. These butterflies are not endangered and populations are globally secure.

 

 

Sources:
Vanessa.ent.iastate.edu/species.html
Www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Vanessa-atalanta

My iNaturalist post can be found here.

This plant, Lantana Urticoides, always catches my eye while walking around St. Edward’s campus. This decidious shrub has orange and yellow flowers appearing from April to October. It is native and thrives in Arizona and Texas because it is drought tolerant and resistant to disease, pests, and deer. Because of these traits, some may call this plant a pesky weed, but, to me, the flowers are colorful and eye-catching. They also attract butterflies, bees, and birds, providing food and shelter.

My iNaturalist post can be found here