Our goal

Our goal

The goal was to reach the creek. So we continued deeper into the bottomland. So more to come in tomorrow’s post of the grasslands outing! Article: This article is several years old, but certainly fascinating I thought…Bumblebees confused by iridescent colors Keep looking!

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…

Spider webs and stuff

On this morning walk, the spider web is what caught my eye first. The funnel spider webs were most interesting to me on the thickness and where they put them. I wondered how spiders catch something when some have such visible webs. At least a lot of them are so visible to us. Then I…

Ick and cute

Ick and cute

 Now I know some of you will want to skip part of this post, but I found both of my subjects quite interesting. The  Gulf Coast Tick (Amblyomma maculatum) and the  Common Bird’s Nest (Crucibulum laeve) fungus are the my subjects today. I brought both of these ticks home with me in a container from yesterday’s NPAT…

All critters welcome

All critters welcome

We have gotten .39″ since yesterday. It was a nice rainy day eh! And I can’t believe I still need my knitted chicken hat! Thanks Claire! I wondered if this might be a tarantula burrow? It was fairly big. Let me know what you think. The Bewick’s Wren family is growing! A top view of…

Styrofoam peanuts!

Styrofoam peanuts!

Bewick’s wren nest with 4 eggs. After the size and color of the eggs, the twigs seal the deal for a Bewick’s. The Bold Jumping spider! Don’t the white spots look like eyes and a mouth. I think the “eyes” look like they have eyelashes. I saw this grass blade folded and wondered what did…

Dive!

Dive!

Back to the Garnett Preserve! The Ambush Bug and the Crab Spider on the Green Milkweed. I could not tell if one of them had nabbed the other. New orange growth on the Prickly Pear cactus! I love this look on the Prickly Pear too! Ratany (Krameria lanceolata) is a beauty, but the seed heads…

Kept it’s cap

Kept it’s cap

First find of the day was this bright yellow larva on a piece of grass! The Eastern Tent caterpillars are growing! Getting more colorful every day! Last year we put up new nestboxes after our original boxes fell apart. We used regular zip ties and they deteriorated after one season. This year going with old…

Three tongues

Three tongues

 We went to the grasslands today, of course. LOL. It was a cool start that made Gracie a bit more perky. It was about 55 or 60 degrees when we started at 9:30am. So many things are starting to come out. The Goatweed Leafwing and Dainty Sulphurs are the most numerous of the butterflies seen…