Cool wasp!

I have seen this striking little wasp twice now in our Wildscape. Yesterday (I fished it out of our stock tank pond) and also in June 2018. It's a parasitic (chalcidid) wasp, more specifically Conura sp. I vote for Conura amoena. I just had to share!

 

New butterfly species

Another one of those "right time, right place" stories. I was standing on our back patio a while ago and noticed a butterfly flitting around. It looked unfamiliar. Could it be a new species? I dashed inside for my smartphone, hoping the butterfly would still be around. It was! I got several shots, then added them to my iNaturalist list. Yes, a new species! This is a Texas powdered skipper (Systasea pulverulenta). Cool!

Beautiful new beetle!

Lucky me! I just happened to notice this beautiful beetle on some zizotes milkweed in the back yard. It's a swamp milkweed leaf beetle (Labidomera clivicollis). I am STILL amazed! A brand new species for me.

 

Look what James started!

 

For a while, I've been telling James that he should start his own blog. Because he's done SO MUCH WORK BY HIMSELF on the small tract of land that we own in Blanco County. If he blogged, he could share what he's done and learned in the process. Well, today's the day! James now has his own blog: "Bring Back the Natives: A Blanco County small landowner restores his slice of the Texas Hill Country." Check it out!

Black leaf-leg bug

Black leaf-leg WHAT? Yes, that's what I found the other day in the orange bucket under the A/C drip pipe. I always check the bucket for potential drowning victims. Usually I can fish them out. Sometimes I'm too late. ANYWAY, this little guy was in the bucket. First one for me! It's a black leaf-leg bug (Phylloscelis atra), a type of planthopper. And yes, I did see it hop. I thought it was a very striking bug!

Flat-headed snake

Yesterday, Prima (our cat kid) found this small snake after I photographed the grisly murder scene that left one male Argiope aurantia dead and a female happily fed. This is a flat-headed snake (Tantilla gracilis). I snagged some photos with help from James, then released the little guy under the bushy lantanas.

Final saga

Molt. Mate. Murder.

The final saga to my July 28 post, "Argiopes in love." I don't think it was love after all! 

My daughter, Lindsey, spotted the skipper (butterfly) in the background before I did. LOL!