Milkweed survey 2020

I'm working to get an accurate head count of antelope-horns in the Meadow. I think it's 15.

Right time, right place

 

Yesterday afternoon, I just happened to step into the Meadow so I could check for critters on a blooming antelope-horn. Look what I found! A gorgeous clearwing moth! Moth, you say? Yes! I shared my find on iNaturalist, where my species count is now up to 935. This is a squash vine borer (Melittia cucurbitae). I originally IDed it as M. calabaza but was corrected by another iNat user who knows his clearwings. You can compare the two species here and here. The difference is subtle and found in the abdominal segments. "Melittia cucurbitae has a dark olive green second abdominal segement, distinguished from Melittia calabaza, which as some orange on the second abdominal segment," according to Bugguide.net.

Either way, my veggie garden friends have no use for this insect. That's because, as its common name implies, the larvae bore into squash stems and eat the heck out of them. "I hate those things," Pam says about the ugly caterpillars (see M. cucurbitae larvae here). "I can't grow a decent squash any more." 

Octagonal?

These are crazy times, and yesterday I was feeling a bit on edge. So James herded me into his car, and we headed to our rural land (where we were COMPLETELY alone in the clear open air). It's his favorite place to be. For an hour or more, we walked the trails he's made and listened to the birds. As always, I mostly scanned the ground on the look out for something new. But this time, my "something new" came from a different direction. As we walked beneath a live oak, I noticed a pointy thing dangling in the air from a silken strand. What the heck? I "caught" it and took some photos for James iNaturalist account. How odd! And what a perfectly shaped point! It reminded me of a lizard's tail. James took a video of the larvae when it poked its head out.

Earlier today, a kind iNaturalist user (who's not even from Texas) identified our insect as an octagonal casemaker moth (Homaledra octogonella). According to Bugguide.net, the larvae feed on lichens which grow on oaks. If we'd had a magnifying lens, we could have seen the case's eight sides. Amazing!

Can you see the larva's head in this photo?

Bluebonnets 2020

My early-morning shots don't do our bluebonnets in the Meadow much justice. But I had to try and get some pictures. It's our best year yet in terms of numbers and spread!

And meet Prima Donna de Hearn, aka "Prima," a snowshoe calico who showed up February 16....just 10 days after we buried our last elderly cat, Abe. She claimed us the moment she laid her bright blue eyes us on us.  We were pretty much smitten, too. And we'd said no more cats for the unforeseen future. HA! I don't post photos of cats because it's frowned up to have outdoor cats in a Wildscape. But so far, she hasn't caught one single critter in our yard. 

I think God dropped her in our yard straight from heaven. Because NO ONE in our neighborhood or town had ever seen her before. She's been a wonderful gift and came at exactly the right time.

Rescued blue-eyed grass

With permission, I rescued some sword-leaf blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium ensigerum) from a neighbor's yard before it was mowed. This native is not a grass but a lily. We have a little bunch left in the Meadow. I transplanted these in our back yard. You only notice this pretty plant when it puts on its purply blue flowers. I love it!

 

Tumbling flower beetles

A few months ago, I bought a macro lens for my iPhone. What a difference it makes in capturing images of small critters. The picture above is a tiny tumbling flower beetle that I spotted dining in a pincushion daisy. I recognized what kind beetle it was by looking at its shape and profile. See the pointy, "pintail" end in the photo below? I think my friend is in the genus Mordellistena, possibly Mordellistena cervicalis. 

This find adds to our tumbling flower beetle species list. Last June, I happened upon one of the coolest things I'd seen in our yard. It was a tumbling flower beetle enjoying a shower on our water fountain. Click back to my post and you'll see a video of it skittering around. That beetle was Hoshihananomia octopunctata. Go ahead–try saying THAT taxonomic name a few times. Not me! 

In October 2016, I found a tumbling flower beetle on antelope-horns (photos below). It's not been confirmed, but I think it's Mordella atrata. 

In October 2017, I found another tumbling flower beetle (below) on a cowpen daisy. But I didn't get very good photos. Maybe it's Mordellistena comata. But then, maybe not. But one thing's for certain–THEY'RE ALL TUMBLING FLOWER BEETLES!

Rescued rain lilies

Do you remember the Hill Country rain lilies (Cooperia pedunculata) that we rescued from the vacant lot owned by Trinity Lutheran Church in November 2018? One of the seven bulbs was encased in a huge limestone boulder that James dug out. You can read the amazing story here. How that little seed ever got into a crack, grew in a bulb and survived is a miracle! Just wanted to give an update–all the bulbs have returned for another year, including our bulb in the rock. Happy spring, y'all!