A dazzling cactus and beetle!

Nipple cactus (Mammillaria sp.)?

Yesterday morning, James mowed a neighbor's lot. Before he started, he stuck his head in the house and hollered. "Hey, Sheryl, come see this cool cactus!" So I ran outside and looked. Oh, my goodness, the cactus WAS awesome! I think it's a nipple cactus. While I was pulling away some burclover from the cactus, a black beetle scurried away. Then a STUNNING beetle appeared, too... It took some doing, but James managed to get the beetle to cling to a stick so I could shoot some pictures. That beetle could run FAST through the grass!

Fiery searcher (Calosoma scrutator)

This morning, I posted an image to Bugguide.net and got an ID: fiery searcher (Calosoma scrutator), also called caterpillar hunter. Texas entomologist Mike Quinn has a page on the species, too. 

On Bugguide.net, remarks on the species page note, "One of the most beautiful North American beetles." I agree!

Surveying our rural land

Another beautiful day in the Texas Hill Country! So after church and lunch, James and I loaded up and headed to our 11 acres northwest of Blanco.

Fendler's bladderpod (Lesquerella fenleri)

Pending....

Pink vervain (Verbena pumila)

Prairie verbena (Glandularia bipinnatifida)

Yellow wood sorrel (Oxalis stricta)

Whitlow-grass (Draba cuneifolia)...these were so beautiful, small and delicate.

Anemone

Lace cacti (Echinocereus reichenbachii)...thank you, Lancashire Rose!

Pending....James saw this one....

...and this one. Similar but different!

Redbud bloom with mournful thyris (Pseudothyris sepulchralis). Moth ID thanks to Bugguide.net experts.

Redbud flowers!

Beautiful Lindheimer's muhly (Muhlenbergia lindheimeri)

Hill Country rain lily (Cooperia pendunculata)

Agarita (I was happy to find one on our property.)

Seep muhly (Muhlenbergia reverchonii)

Eight-spotted forester (Alypia octomaculata)...an owlet moth. 
ID thanks to Bugguide.net experts.

Four-nerve daisy (Tetraneuris scaposa)

The cactus and the caterpillar

Yesterday, James told me that he could see the pink cactus bloom in our new cacti bed from the street when he drove by. So I followed him out there and was surprised to see that the bloom had REALLY opened since the day before. It was beautiful. So I ran back to the house for my camera....




As we were admiring the flower (and the beetle), James noticed an orange-and-black caterpillar with white spots, high-tailing it across the ground toward the cactus. It seemed to be in a big hurry. And it appeared to be heading straight for the cactus in bloom!

As you can image, we were surprised when the bristled fellow did crawl onto the cactus. At first, we thought it might stay and gnaw on the flower. Not quite...


Well, it did pause and take a quick break, almost like it was posing for me. Then the caterpillar headed back down the cactus and onto the ground again.

And off it went, headed west with great determination and purpose. I wish I could identify the species, but I haven't been able so far. But this I know: our little caterpillar will be one special butterfly. And maybe we'll meet again.

I feel honored that we met in the first place.

UPDATE–Our blooming beauty is likely a lace cactus (Echinocereus reichenbachii). Just happened to spot a similar one in a borrowed book, Wildflowers, Trees, and Shrubs of Texas by Delena Tull and George Oxord Miller.

Cacti and other sticky plants

Last Friday, we put in a cacti garden on our adjoining lot. I'd found several small species growing here and there. Plus our neighbor, Jeri Bowles, wanted to give us some of her cacti and agave. So we decided to transplant ours and consolidate everything into one central bed. James even drove out to our 11 acres northwest of town and dug up some barrel cacti, sotol, agave, and native grass. I haven't figured out all the different species, but I will.

In the meantime, here's the fruit of our labor...

Two kinds of agave (the top one came from our 11 acres outside of town)

Barrel cacti (from the 11 acres)

Unknown cacti (from the field)

A tiny cactus smaller than a toothpick

Native grass

Another transplant from the lot

Texas yucca, also called a twisted-leaf yucca
(Yucca rupicola)