Author: eblair

While interviewing leaders of BatCon International in Austin, TX, I was lucky enough to visit a bat species restoration area with numerous recovering bats. This little guy was hanging out (literally) up in a palm box in the recovery area. I got to watch him feed on small insects and crawl all over the handler’s glove!

A strong flier with yellowish fur, the southern yellow bat (Lasiurus ega) is a lowland species, adapted to both dry and wet habitats. It roosts in trees, particularly palms. These bats are often seen hunting over water, including over swimming pools.

Because these bats typically roost in dreads of palm trees, they are almost always in danger of losing their habitat, as it’s most aesthetically pleasing for people to trim the lower leaves on palm trees, thus destroying the bats’ habitats! Land managers should consider promoting a different approach to maintaining palm trees by allowing the dead leaves to remain on trees. A minor change in our cultural taste in landscaping may be the greatest help we can provide for the southern yellow bat. With the increasing numbers of ornamental palm trees

being planted in commercialized areas of South Texas, these bats may actually be gaining roosts.

You can find my iNaturalist observation here.

Fredericksburg, Texas. Home to Main St. shopping, German food, numerous wineries, and… honey bees! I originally wanted to document this bright orange flower, but I was photobombed by this gorgeous honey bee!

Did you know honey bees represent only a small percent of bee species? Honey bees are the only surviving group of bees from the Apini tribe, which is under the Apisgenus. They are known for producing and storing honey, or liquefied sugar, as well as building impressively large nests using wax secreted by workers in a particular colony. How cool!

Honey bees are usually oval-shaped with golden-yellow colors and brown bands. Although the body color of honey bees varies between species and some honey bees have predominantly black bodies, almost all honey bees have varying dark-to-light striations. These light and dark stripes serve a purpose for the survival of the honey bee: unlike other species that hide when they sense predators close by, the brightly colored bodies of the honey bee act as a warning to predators or honey robbers of the honey bees’ ability to sting.

They are found worldwide and can be seen in many different locations, including Europe and the United States. Because honey bees are found worldwide, their nature and behavior can vary. For instance, while Italian honey bees are usually more docile, German and African honey bees can display extremely defensive behavior. However, all honey bees can become defensive when provoked and can chase humans or animals hundreds of feet.

It is truly terrifying that honey bees are disappearing at an alarming rate. All types of bees perform a vital task to the survival of agriculture—pollination. Most of our global food supply is pollinated by bees! It’s the bees which keep plants and crops alive. Without the bees, humans would have a difficult time trying to survive. Save the bees!

You can find my iNaturalist observation here.

This Giant Swallowtail, or Papilio cresphontes, was found in my hometown of Mason flying around my mom’s garden. Giant Swallowtail butterflies are one of the largest species in the US. They are found in states east of the Continental Divide as well as in the southern part of the western US. Both males and females have dark brown wings with yellow markings, including a large horizontal yellow strip across the wings. The underside and body are mostly yellow. Their habitat includes citrus orchards, wooded areas, and gardens.

Giant swallowtails fly from Late May to August, but in some areas of the southern United States, such as Texas and Louisiana, they may be seen as late as October. All giant swallowtails have a distinctive flight pattern which generally looks as if they are “hopping” through the air. Females tend to beat their wings slowly but move quickly. Because females have such large wings, each wing beat will carry it a long way. Males however, tend to have more of a darty flight and beat their wings rapidly but move slower than females because their wings are smaller and each beat doesn’t carry them far. Giant swallowtails in general fly fast and high and can be difficult to capture.

You can find my iNaturalist observation here.

The Short’s Aster (Symphotrichum shortii) blooms vividly in the Fall months of the year in shady or forest-like areas. I saw many of these perennial wildflowers while hiking through Archstone Greenbelt during our group research audits of Austin parks.

These wildflowers tend to grow about three feet in height, with blue-violet petals surrounding a bright yellow center. Their habitat generally consists of shady areas with very fertile soil and relatively dry conditions,  and is known for being a late-blooming wildflower, especially in the northern United States.

You can find my iNaturalist observation here: http://www.inaturalist.org/observations/4408014

 

This Gulf Fritillary, or Agraulis vanillae, was fluttering around these colorful goldenrods outside my church this morning. The Gulf Fritillary is a brightly colored butterfly common across extreme southern portions of the United States. At home in most open, sunny habitats, it frequents roadsides, disturbed sites, fields, open woodlands, pastures, yards, and parks. It is a regular in most butterfly gardens, including those in more urban settings.

They are commonly mistaken for their famous distant cousins, the Monarch butterfly, due to their coloring and patterns. Although they do not make the Monarch’s incredible journey all the way to Mexico,they are widely spread across the South. Sadly, some species of fritillaries are considered endangered.

You can find my iNaturalist observation here: http://www.inaturalist.org/observations/4370141

The view from my back porch is very green, but there’s almost never a pop of color. This morning, while drinking my coffee, I noticed a bright yellow something peeking out from behind several bushes. What’s not to love about some Goldenrods (more specifically Solidago gigantea) giving some color to your natural back yard in Autumn! They are great pollinator plants, especially for bees, and although I’ve only seen this one around my apartment complex, I’ll be sure to look out for more considering the conditions surrounding my apartment are ideal for Solidago gigantea habitat.

You can view my iNaturalist observation here: http://www.inaturalist.org/observations/4311621

This peculiar guy has been hanging around my apartment lately. First, I noticed him crawling around the ceiling outside my front door, and then (when I took this photo) he had found a nice resting place in the sun on the handicap sign where my car was parked!

I’ve always been fascinated by these creatures. The Praying Mantis, or Mantis religiosa, is commonly found in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America. They were first brought to America by shipment in the 1800’s, but now have become a loved insect across the states!

The link to my iNaturalist observation can be found here: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/4237789

I found this Yellow Sac Spider (Cheiracanthium mildei) this past week. He’s so small that it is hard to identify him from the photo, but I was completely mesmerized by the web he was spinning. I found this yellow member of arachnidae on a gate in my church’s garden, swinging in circles created tiny, distinct lines with his very own web. I could’ve watched for hours!

 

While taking a very unexpected trip to Galveston, TX this weekend, I ran across this beautiful Brown Pelican (Pelicanus occidentalis) hanging out in the bay. It’s surprisingly only one of three pelican species found in the Western Hemisphere, and their numbers have only skyrocketed since the 1970’s when they were put on the endangered species list from pesticide pollution (now removed).

These giant birds are typically found along the Southern and Western coasts of America dive-bombing into the ocean to stun the fish they eat. When they’re not foraging, they love to glide just over the water and waves, catching the updrafts in their large wingspan.

 

I saw many pelicans during my visit to the Texas coast this weekend, but just the sheer size and beauty of this particular one captured my eye. You can see my iNaturalist observation with comments here.

This Ashe Juniper (Juniperus ashei) was found just behind my apartment complex in Austin, TX, where an abundance of this non-native species can be observed yearly. It is tough to determine whether or not to love this species!Because it is non-native to this area, it takes up natural resources that native trees need, but it also provides homes to species prevalent to Austin, such as the protected Golden Cheek Warbler.