For the past several days, I've been going outside with my trusty phone and macro lens, monitoring flowers for insects and other critters. Awhile ago, I stopped by our goldenrod. First, I spotted a crab spider that had just snagged a dance fly. Then on another bloom, I spotted this party of four—two banded scythris (Scythris trivinctella) moths, a small fly (probably Chlorops sp.) and a black ant (Monomorium genus). It was fun to watch one of the moths and the fly interact on the petals. The ant mostly stayed out of the way.
At one moment, I saw the fly touch "noses" with the moth. Ugh—that moth didn't like that!—and it pulled away. Such blatant rudeness offended the fly, and it also turned away. As for the ant (and me), we found the mini drama to be highly entertaining.
Okay, I have a search-and-find for photo for you. Do you see anything that doesn’t belong in the photo above? Look hard. I just happened to spot it when I was in the back yard, bug hunting for the 2026 Texas Pollinator Bioblitz (which runs through November 1). So do you see it yet?
The next photo zeroes in on the critter…..see it?
What I spotted was a caterpillar well camouflaged with bits of plateau goldeneye flowers that it’d stuck on itself. Cool, eh? I believe this was a species that’s part of wavy-lined and southern emeralds (Complex Syncholora aerata). Here’s a photo of a caterpillar similar to mine. Isn’t nature just so amazing?
So James and I spent last week in Sugar Land, where I received low-dose radiation for the Dupuytren's disease in my right hand. For five nights, we stayed on the ninth floor of the Hyatt Place Houston/Sugar Land, which over looks Brooks Lake. Imagine my surprise when I spotted a jumping spider on the outside of our window. Remember—we were on the NINTH floor! Despite all the traffic, asphalt and concrete, we managed to have a few outdoorsy adventures both around the hotel and at other places...
One day, we drove to Needville and Brazos Bend State Park. Above are some baby American alligators in a tank at the nature center. Of course, I hoped to see a wild alligator in the park. Would I?
James spotted a white-striped longtail (Chioides albofasciatus) outside the nature center.
Pausing for a selfie on a pier at Elm Lake.
Common gallinule on a lotus pad.
I was THRILLED when I spotted this butterfly on a trail! At first glance, I knew it wasn't a monarch or a queen. Which meant it was a viceroy (Limenitis archippus)! I was right! My first sighting of one ever! Yay!
And my wish came true! Some folks ahead of us on the trail pointed out this adult American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis).
Back at Brooks Lake, this mother Muscovy duck sure impressed me. She had a brood of TWELVE ducklings that were nearly grown. That's a lot of kids to keep up with! So many to survive, too. James pointed out that there's probably very few predators there. True.
During the day, we did a LOT of walking on the concrete trails around the lake, which was really nice. However, we didn't see a whole lot of wildlife on our treks.
Brown anoles were abundant.
Turtles in the lake would show up below the bridge, probably expecting snacks from people.
FIREFLIES! Yes, we saw fireflies along the walkway. I couldn't believe it.
And the bridge across Brooks Lake...everyone (and their dogs) loves that bridge. Plenty of iron benches provide places to sit and relax. We did that several times ourselves. One man sits in on a bench every evening around dusk and reads a book, using a portable light. Nearby his dog, Freka, lays on a blanket and watches people pass by. After dark, tiny orbweavers (probably Metazygia zilloides) like the one above spin their webs between the bridge's metal guidelines.
We return to Sugar Land in January for five more days of radiation....
That, my friends, is Barrett Klein, an author and entomologist who gave a presentation last night based on his book, The Insect Epiphany. He has a dramatic but very knowledgeable style of delivery. The Aldo Leopold Foundation hosted and recorded the webinar. Register here to watch on-demand. You'll love it! P.S. I ordered his book.
Last week, after heavy rains, I ventured outside and trekked across the Meadow. Something buzzed past me. It sounded like a bumblebee. I tracked the fast-flying critter until it landed in some grass. I walked toward it, and as soon as I saw the deer poop, I knew what'd had buzzed me—a dung beetle on the wing! Sure enough, not one but many dung beetle mamas were hard at work, rolling poop into beautiful quarter-sized balls. They were probably Texas black phanaeus (Phanaeus texensis). I love dung beetles.
Look what my daughter Lindsey spotted this morning on the patio of her San Antonio apartment! Tiny green lacewing larvae (family Chrysopidae) emerging from their eggs! Great catch! I like to take photos of the creative places where lacewing mamas put their eggs. Lindsey's chose the leaf of her spider plant. I've seen them on tree bark, our screened back door, under an outdoor glass-topped table and the brick exterior of our house. But I've never seen any kiddos emerge from those teensy white teardrops. Amazing!
P.S. I asked Lindsey if she wished them a happy life. "I wished them luck!" she texted back. That's my girl!
