It has been awhile since the last First Wed outings, but it is back! Yahoo! So nice to get together with folks again. Old friends and new friends enjoying the LBJ NG again on a First Wednesday!
The dark and dreary morning did not stop our group!
A beautiful and big crab spider on the dew covered Texas Bullnettle (Cnidoscolus texanus)!
This is the stem of Bullnettle. All parts of the plant is covered with glass-like hairs that release an allergenic toxin. It is not a plant to mess with!
Kim bents down to get up close. There were lots of this activity LOL!
Plains Nipple Cactus (Escobaria missouriensis) with its signature red fruit from last season!
Two-leaf Senna (Senna roemeriana)! An easy plant to identify with its two leaves.
A fringed petaled Standing Winecup (Callirhoe pedata) played host to a Long horned Flower Beetle.
Southern Purple Mint Moth (Pyrausta laticlavia) is a small beauty! The larval hosts are in the mint family (Lamiaceae). Suzanne said she finds them on her Salvia.
Blue Flax (Linum pratense)!
Narnia femorata feeds on fruit and joints of Prickly Pear cactus. Sorry no common name so feel free to come up with your own name 😉 It is in the Leaf-footed Bugs (Coreidae) family.
At home, two of the seven baby Carolina Chickadees remain in the nest. Nearby a parent had a juicy green bug ready for one of them.
More interesting stuff from the First Wed outing tomorrow!
It was a lovely morning. I’m happy to see the great photos as they show so much more detail than I could see in the field. Crab spider is my fave (and I’m not a spider fan).
I think the crab spider we saw of the Texas Bull Nettle was a Northern Crab Spider (Mecaphesa asperata). At least that is suggestion that popped up on iNat. (No one has confirmed yet.)
Alan, I would not go with that because it is not hairy. At least my photo doesn’t show that. BugGuide says that genus is hairy. https://bugguide.net/node/view/4999
…Let me know if you do get a confirmation please. Thanks!
It was a perfect day for a hike. Thanks for taking us. Happy to see baby chickadees are fledging.
It was perfect! Glad you came!
I loved our morning! Judy, it was great to see you there. Sorry I missed when you left.
It was a lovely morning. I’m happy to see the great photos as they show so much more detail than I could see in the field. Crab spider is my fave (and I’m not a spider fan).
Wow, I am surprised you looked at the spider 😉 And thanks!
I think the crab spider we saw of the Texas Bull Nettle was a Northern Crab Spider (Mecaphesa asperata). At least that is suggestion that popped up on iNat. (No one has confirmed yet.)
Alan, I would not go with that because it is not hairy. At least my photo doesn’t show that. BugGuide says that genus is hairy. https://bugguide.net/node/view/4999
…Let me know if you do get a confirmation please. Thanks!
The mosquito control science project link was really cool!