Part II of LBJ grasslands…critters
Part II is about all the other stuff that was found on Tuesday, Sept 15th.
Millipedes Diplopoda (class) have two legs per segment
True Bug (Heteroptera- suborder) Don’t you love those eyes!
Underside
Just found out from BugGuide what this is…Big-Eyed Toad Bug (Gelastocoris oculatus)
What a good name!
Texas skeleton (Lygodesmia texana) plant seedpod
Texas skeleton plant (Lygodesmia texana)
Foxglox seedpod (Penstemon cobaea)
Walkingstick (Diapheromeridae family)
Spider with babies below it
American Nightshade (Solanum ptychanthum) has small black fruit.
This tiny critter was only about 12mm(3/8″). Jumped big time and hard to catch!
Smaller Sand Cricket (Ellipes minuta)
closeup
Green stuff I thought were eggs turned out to be frass(poop). See it along the bottom part of the tunnel that is open.
Smaller Sand Cricket (Ellipes minuta) closeup of its tunnels
Maidenhair fern (Adiantum capillus-veneris) showing the spores on back
Copper Underwing (Amphipyra pyramidoides) a new county record!
Roots in creek looked like a fish skeleton
Closeup of same type of root as above. No idea what it is.
The water in the creek had this dust on it. Thought it looked like stained glass.
Egg casings
Closeup and nothing has emerged yet
View of a meadow with goldenrod, agalinis, gaillardia and grasses
Scarlet-Pea (Indigofera miniata)and Hypericum (Hyericoides ssp multicaule)
Beaver had cut off these limbs on the Eastern Red Cedar
Ambush bug (Phymata genus) caught a meal. A skipper on White Boneset (Eupatorium serotinum)
Ants swarming over the Frostweed (Verbesina virginica)
The Little Brown Skink (Scincella lateralis). I couldn’t believe it but I was able to catch two of them!
Elyse, thanks for confirming the ID!