Watching and observing nature is what we do right. Some times, it just being in the right place at the right time. You see something that catches your eye, maybe just a slight movement or color.
Certainly, this moth is hard to see. In fact, I had to look real hard to find it in the photo. I noticed it as it flicked its wings ever so slightly in the cool 62.6 degrees morning air.
Here is a close up just in case so you know what you are looking for in the above photo.
I have not tried to ID it any further than a Noctuidae.
We found this Tapioca Slime Mold this morning. I placed the stick next to it to see if it was going to grow more.
Here it is in the afternoon. No change in size, but I think was it “melting”. In the morning, I will check again.
Is it good luck if a Velvet Ant (Dasymutilla occidentalis) crosses your path like this one did for us this morning? I feel lucky every time. 😉 This is a female. On BugGuide, they described the underside as well, but you won’t catch me looking at it unless it was dead. Also known as the Cow Killer because of its painful sting. Another fact, which most of you probably already know, is that it is a parasitoid wasp. It apparently parasites ground-nesting bees, beetles, flies and other insects.
This certainly qualifies as beautiful to me! A similar looking fungus was in the same spot last year at the base of this Post Oak.
Just like the slime mold above, I was curious if it would increase in size. This is it this afternoon. So I think the color has changed, but that might just be the lighting. The ants were crossing it here. I will check this again tomorrow to see what kind of progress it makes.
Never would have seen the moth. The fungus looks good enough to eat. And the article about the spider in amber is remarkable.
I did not know that about cow killers. Interesting!!