Jagged ambush bug

Meet a jagged ambush bug (Phymata americana). You gotta look hard to find these guys. They measure about a quarter of an inch long. I found this one on a Texas kidneywood blossom, waiting for a meal (insect) to show up. 

 

When I spotted my first one in 2018, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. So prehistoric looking! On my iNaturalist list, I've got nine observations of jagged ambush bugs. As their common name implies, they lurk on vegetation and ambush their victims. 

A new name, and a new sign

First there was The Meadow. Now there's The Pasture! After we had the new cedar fence built last month, neighbor Michael Green stopped by while he was out walking his dogs.

"So," he said, "what ya gonna put in your pasture?"

I laughed and said, oh, not much. Later I relayed the story to James, and we both laughed. Then I suggested why not? Why not order a sign, like we did for The Meadow? Well, THE PASTURE sign arrived today, and James hung it up. Then we invited Michael to drop by because we had something to show him. He laughed, too. We love our new sign! Plus, now we have a name for the other part of our property. 

Spectacular masterpiece

Last week, James and I visited Mason for fun and business. Along the way, we stopped by the Mason County M. Beven Eckert Memorial Library. I popped my head into the Stribling Room and by chance saw a truly wondrous sight hanging on a wall. This 3.5-foot-by-7-foot masterpiece (thank you for measuring, librarian Cristi Slocum) showcases 47 Texas wildflowers embroidered by the late Mytle Willman Wade of Mason. Since I’ve embroidered in my past, I can especially appreciate and admire the many hours that Mrs. Wade worked, meticulously stitching on this spectacular piece. 

MWade 1993

One of my favorite species

Bats on radar!

Last night around 9 o'clock, I observed these "clouds" rippling outward on weather radar. They were bats emerging from a cave somewhere between Leakey and Uvalde. Cool!

Naturalist visitors

 

What a treat! Three naturalists from San Antonio spent the morning, exploring our native plant gardens and photographing wildlife. Thank you, Jerry Morrisey, Claire Carter (above) and Tami Reed, for taking the time to come up. They even saw some new species, like purple milkweed vine and a planthopper (photo below).  

 

Claire, me, Jerry and Prima taking a break.

Tami knew my uncle Dudley R. Dobie Jr. 20 years ago MD Anderson!

Possibly Thionia sp.

James photographs the back yard....

In the past few weeks, Mother Nature has blessed us with nearly five inches of rain (then we got another inch this morning). Yesterday morning, James wandered around our back yard and took photos of our (mostly) native plant friends. So beautiful and GREEN ...

Dung beetle mania!

Yesterday evening, a neighborhood white-tailed deer left a nice deposit of pellets in our front yard. It wasn't long before a gaggle of dung beetles showed up and got to work. These were female Texas black phanaeus (Phanaeus texensis). This turned out to be our evening's entertainment, watching the beetles crash land and then rush over to the pile. They tussled and fought over each other's dung balls. How do they find poop? According to the San Diego Zoo, they use specialized antennae to detect dung aromas from the air.

James took this video (above) last month on our rural property. He filmed (and bothered) quite a large crowd of dung beetle girls! 

Paper wasp dismantles an orbweaver

Right time, right place. That was me yesterday evening. Not so for the poor.... well, let me tell you what happened....

I was headed for the Meadow to check on my antelope-horns milkweed pods.  Then -- PLOP! -- a fine-backed red paper wasp (Polistes carolina) landed right with a smack right in front of me on the street. Naturally, I crouched down for a better look. The wasp had an orbweaver in its clutches. Poor spider, but that's nature. I pulled out my phone for a couple of photos. When I realized the wasp was gnawing on the spider, I started videoing. 

Oh, my goodness, the wasp was amputating the spider's legs! This made me remember the mud-nesting wasp I found in April with an wolf spider. Its legs had been amputated. These two cases of amputation by a wasp are a first for me. And from the little I read about the red wasp, this species typically hunts caterpillars, not spiders. If you want the videos, you'll see ants carrying off the spider's legs. The last video shows the wasp flying up, up and away, carrying her victim. 

New additions (and a pop-up)

Here's what we brought home from the Festival of Flowers in San Antonio: Jimsonweed (Datura wrightii); skeleton-leaf goldeneye (Viguiera stenolaba); red salvia (Salvia coccinea) and two rosemary plants (latter complimenets of SAWS). 

I chose the moonflower because ours that we bought and planted back in April 2014 finally pooped out a couple of years ago. This afternoon, I walked over to the garden spot in our front yard where I thought we'd plant its replacement. What should I see? A new jimsonweed child! How cool! Nature is just amazing.