Soldier fly

Ever seen one of these? Stunning, right? The green immediately caught my eye. Plus, the insect was new to me. That's why, as soon as I spotted it nectaring on our Texas kidneywood yesterday evening, I had to run for my camera! 

After a little Internet sleuthing, I learned that this is a soldier fly, perhaps Odontomyia cincta. Soldier flies lay their eggs on the edges of water, and the larvae stick the tips of their abdomens up through the water surface to get air. The soldier fly family name of Stratiomyidae refers to the insect's bold markings that resemble a military uniform.  

In the meantime, I requested an ID on Bugguide.net. It wasn't long before expert Ken W. placed my photo of this fly with the tribe Stratiomyini. 

Here's more information on a related species, the black soldier fly.  

All eyes

All legs

Thought I'd throw in a photo of a bee working on a velvet-leaf mallow bloom. She's loaded down with pollen.

Bustin' out

Velvet-leaf mallow

As soon as I notice something blooming and take a photo, something ELSE has joined the color show. It's hard to keep up!

Lantanas

Windowbox wood sorrel

Evergreen sumac about to flower for first time!

Glad to see the cowpen daisy reseeded.

Oxblood lilies

Rock roses

Window on a Texas Wildscape

My office window view this morning

One lucky gal

James says I have "raptor eyes." I guess I do. Just awhile ago, I just happened to glance down while putting my purse away and spot....a spider? In our bedroom, by my dresser on the floor (where guests can't see), I have a little pile of items I plan to donate to an auction. Inside a metal container are two glass candle holders. Inside of one-–YES!-–I found a poor trapped wolf spider. The photo below isn't very good, but you can sort of see what I happened to see. Unlike jumping spiders, the tips of a wolf spider's feet can't adhere to glass surfaces. So once she climbed into the glass container, she couldn't get out. 

Sheryl to the rescue! 

"Poor baby!" I told her. "You're gonna be OK. Poor baby, poor baby...." Naturally, I had to take some photos first before I released her in our gardens. Don't her eyes look sad?

Snowberry clearwing moth

We've got lots of flowers in bloom right now. So when I saw the lantanas in our front yard busting out, I figured I'd wander over and see what I might see. It didn't take long before I found this snowberry clearwing moth (Hemaris diffinis) at rest on a flower. (Fortunately, I had my point-and-shoot with me.) It didn't budge at all when James held the stem still for me (the wind was blowing). Maybe it had recently emerged from its cocoon? 

Isn't it pretty? This species is a bumblebee mimic. Here's a short article I wrote on these moths for Texas Parks & Wildlife, "The Enigma of the Clearwing Moth."  

Snapdragon vine

I LOVE this little native species and its delicate ivy-like leaves. We bought a snapdragon vine (Maurandella antirrhiniflora) at a native plant sale in Boerne in 2012. I was afraid I'd lost this one to heat and dryness earlier this summer, but August rains kept it going. I've let it reseed in other places in our gardens. Why not?

A few summers ago, I remember sitting in our car, waiting on road construction crews to let us go by on Ranch Road 1623 just outside of town. We were close to a creek, and I was looking out the window when I spotted purple flowers just like ours! A snapdragon vine right in Blanco County! How cool is that? So it's REALLY a native! 

New wasp

A few days ago, I saw a new-to-me wasp, dining on the Texas kidneywood in our back yard. I didn't have a camera with me so I missed getting any shots. But lucky me, she came back! This time, I was armed and managed to click off a few shots before she got away.

Meet the great golden digger wasp (Sphex ichneumoneus). According to Bugguide.net, the female of this species "digs burrow almost vertically. Cells are dug radiating out from central tunnel. Larvae are provisioned with crickets, camel crickets, katydids (long-horned grasshoppers). One paralyzed prey is placed in each cell, and one egg is laid on it. One generation per year." 

As part of their "Beneficials in the Garden" series, the Galveston County Master Gardeners have a longer species account here.