Wolf on a lily

Now THIS was a very interesting sight to behold! Boy, was I surprised last night when I spotted a wolf spider hanging upside down on a rain lily in the Meadow. She's likely an undescribed species of Hogna, according to Eric N. on iNaturalist. Isn't she beautiful? Sadly, though, I suspect that a spider wasp bit and paralyzed my spider friend for her wasp children. I think that because the wolf spider was unresponsive and didn't move when I finally turned the lily around to get better angles for my photos. A bit later, she disappeared. That's nature!

 

Eastern amberwing

An eastern WHAT, you ask? Another new-to-me species, too! I spotted this small dragonfly last night when I was doing my Argiope roll call. My "lantana" spider lady in the front yard vanished (she likely relocated because her web was gone). In her absence, I got to see this pretty insect. Meet an eastern amberwing (Perithemis tenera). I also took a short video because I thought it was interesting how this dragonfly moved its wings.

Summer tanager goes out to eat

So here's a great reason why you shouldn't spray pesticide on those wasp nests. Look–our summer tanagers (Piranga rubra) eat the larvae! Last night, we watched a tanager fly in and up, snagging some eats under our roof. We're pretty sure we've had a nesting pair in the live oaks behind our house.

Ode to my zinnias

No two flower blooms are exactly the same. I love how nature does that. These are zinnias that reseeded on their own. I'm honored that they chose to return to our Wildscape (even if they're not native).

 

Argiope update

Every day, I check up on my yellow garden spiders (Argiope aurantia). Alas, one of my five vanished. I don't think she just moved because I found an empty web. From my experience, that's an ominous sign for an Argiope. Usually, they take down their web, THEN move. So I'm down to four mamas-to-be. 

Yesterday, I saw that a male had built his own digs lower down on HER web. She's obviously already mated because her abdomen is LARGE. So I guess he's just finishing up his life cycle, taking it easy, enjoying the scenery.

Texas ironclad beetle

I love these guys. This particular Texas ironclad beetle (Zopherus nodulosus haldemani) seemed to want his photo taken. So I obliged. In the past, these beetles have shown me their "Lazarus" side. I've written several posts on the ability (you can search my blog for more) and an essay, too. So cool! Beautiful beetle, too.

 

Another new butterfly!

Yes! Yet ANOTHER "right time, right place" story. I was checking on one of our yellow garden spiders and spotted what looked to be a different kind of butterfly. It was! This is a goatweed leafwing (Anaea andria). I wish I could have seen the interior wings. But at least I got some shots before it flew away. 

In the meantime, I noticed that the leafwing was sharing a perch on a Texas lantana with a green June beetle (Cotinis nitida). After the butterfly left, I looked closer at the beetle. It was dining on the lantana berries! First time I've observed ANYTHING eating those berries. There were at least three or four other beetles doing the same thing. Interesting!