Next destination was an overlook at the Red River. So down the road we went. However maybe I should say up the road since we headed north?
The county road had a new locked gate so now we walked. To be clear there was a walk through. Hence we figured it was ok to continue. The hay truck was heading our way so we moved to the side.
This small Boxelder tree (Acer negundo) had been buffet for someone! The Eastern Boxelder Bug uses this as a host plant. The nymphs feed on the leaves.
However I don’t how they feed so I don’t know if they would have done this. There are others like the Cecropia silkmoth (Hyalophora cecropia) and honey bees that utilizes the plant too. The moth however has not been recorded in Cooke County. INat only shows two observation in North Texas. And I couldn’t find any other records on the other bug sites either. Whoever’s work it was created a lovely lacey skeleton. 🙂
We stopped to admire a huge grand Bur Oak.
The Red River was as smooth as glass. We would have preferred a breeze.
Down at the edge Kate knew immediately what this plant was. I did not. Thanks Kate. 🙂 It was the Obe-Wan-Conobea (Leucospora multifida). What a name eh! I had to find the story on that common name. Here’s what I found. “The derivation of the strange common name comes from a publication of Floyd Swink, who named this plant after a character in the movie Star Wars, although the publisher did not discover this until after his book was already published (John White, personal communication). Another common name for this plant is Narrow-Leaved Paleseed, which was undoubtedly invented by a botanist.” Source: https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/wetland/plants/conobea.htm
Looking to the west a ledge of rocks extended out of the bank.
A dead Superb Dog-Day Cicada (Neotibicen superbus) laid on the ground. Furthermore this is the only way I see’em usually, dead. 🙂
The Blue-fronted Dancer (Argia apicalis) was a new one for me.
The Rattan vine (Berchemia scandens) had fruit! A new green vine will wrap itself tightly on anything it can find. This plant is much more common to the east and south of North Texas. I had seen over at the Caddo NG, but had forgotten about it. Plus I don’t remember seeing fruit before. So thanks Suzanne and Kate.
It was an epic battle! As they fought the road dust covered them. Neither were giving up. In fact, the humans watched for four minutes. Still no end. Dripping with sweat we headed to the cool of the AC. So we left the ant and the bee in their struggle.
Hi Becky,
Good question. It is a New World native plant. Not much is known about its role in nature such as host plant, soil erosion or what. It was along the bank of the Red River and only a few plants were there. Thus I am guessing not very aggressive. However to be clear I am not a gardener. This website goes into more details https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/wetland/plants/conobea.htm and says ” It is intolerant of competition from taller ground vegetation.”. Maybe we can get Kate or some other person give us their thoughts about it?
Hi, Mary,
I have some Obe-Wan-Conobea (Leucospora multifida) in my yard in the Argyle area. Is it a good one to leave, or is it invasive, or non-native?
Thanks,
Becky
Hi Becky,
Good question. It is a New World native plant. Not much is known about its role in nature such as host plant, soil erosion or what. It was along the bank of the Red River and only a few plants were there. Thus I am guessing not very aggressive. However to be clear I am not a gardener. This website goes into more details https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/wetland/plants/conobea.htm and says ” It is intolerant of competition from taller ground vegetation.”. Maybe we can get Kate or some other person give us their thoughts about it?
We have found some of those fossils in our past Mary.
We certainly did Judy! And it was so much fun hunting them with you!! 🤗
Hilarious name. Sneaky name person haha. Great video of epic battle!
🙂
Interesting report about the New Zealand fossil bed!