Unseen critters

Unseen critters

Evident of several critters were seen on the Aug.3th outing. The first one was the Smaller Sand Cricket (Ellipes minuta). It can be found along creeks edges with sandstone. However the actual cricket is hard to find. Perfectly preserved cave lion cub found frozen in Siberia is 28,000 years old. Even its whiskers are intact….

Sides

Sides

The back sides, front sides and side views of plants and animals sometimes are the key to identification. Indeed it can help you get to a family or even to a key element that will nail your identification to species. Which side just depends on each species. So try to get all the angles and…

No place like home

No place like home

Dorothy (The Wizard of OZ) is not the only one likes her home. However I do not have to click my heels three times. Here are a couple of cool critters from home on July 29th. Evolutionary chaos as butterflies, wasps, and viruses have a three-way war A Plant That ‘Cannot Die’ Reveals Its Genetic…

Treehoppers

Treehoppers

Mutualism is when both organisms benefit from hanging out together. Thus, I get something and you get something too. It is pretty cool to see in action! In Dr. Bell Burnell’s own words (I recommend the video too): She Changed Astronomy Forever.He Won the Nobel Prize For It. Keep looking!

Micro habitat

Micro habitat

Do you remember Horton the Elephant? I have always loved that story by Dr. Seuss! Horton tries to save a small world that no one can see or hear in the book titled “Horton Hears a Who”. When I peer through the microscope, I think of Horton and the scientists that are doing the same….

Snake

Snake

I will continue on with the July 20th outing. As the title suggests, in this post we had a snake encounter of sorts. I have not seen many snakes this year. Maybe a half dozen total, but each time was a delight. Keep looking!

American Groundnut

American Groundnut

The American Groundnut (Apios americana) is a plant in the legume family. I knew that it was on the grasslands, but had not run across it before. Previously, I had only seen it in Cooke County thanks to Shirley. The 20th outing however was to be my day. In tomorrow’s post, I will take you…

Solanum dimidiatum

Solanum dimidiatum

I have been looking for a hornworm on the nightshade Western Horse Nettle (Solanum dimidiatum) for a number of years. I have yet to ever see one on any of the Solanums except for a tomato plant. Have any of you? But I have found interesting insects from Colorado Potato Beetles to Soybean Loopers and…

Milkweed

Milkweed

This morning I checked in on Carol Clark’s blog and found that she an excellent explanation of the differences in Green Milkweed and Antelope Horns Milkweed. So check out her post on “Green Milkweed and Antelope Horns Milkweed, Let’s sort those out!“! She has done some other great posts you might want to look over…