Wildlife Wednesday - June Drips Dry

After the big wetting down our area experienced last month I'll venture everyone in Central Texas, gardener or not, has begun keeping a closer eye on the weather long range, and the skies, short term.

We've all turned to various sources for updates and information in attempts to understand what happened and why.  All except for the wildlife, that is.  Long lived denizens or one season wonders, the various populations of wild creatures in our area are all coping as best they can with fluctuating local conditions, one day at a time.

Native bee populations have been significantly shifted due to the ongoing presence of standing water where usually there is nothing but dry ground. Carpenter bee numbers seem relatively unaffected, and I've seen many of them out and about whenever the sun shines.

This one, a male judging by the large size of the eyes, is probably Xylocopa virginica.  It seemed to be satisfied to simply hang in mid air, without working nearby flowers.  Perhaps it was eyeballing fence posts for potential new habitat, or was simply stretching its wings after having spent days cooped up in brood galleries while heavy rains fell.  I empathize.

After recent rains I could not wait to get back outside, but once I did I was not always happy with the welcome I received.  Mosquitoes in particular seemed happy - SO happy! - to find me.  I was surprised to read that there are several different species of "flood mosquitoes" (Psorophora, Ochlerotatus, and Aedes genera) who lay eggs well above normal water lines.  The eggs wait in dormancy up to several months until waters rise and trigger immediate hatching.

These mosquitoes emerge swarming and hungry, but are not typically the carriers of any serious illness.  A second wave of flood mosquitoes can be expected 10-14 days after the initial rise of waters, so we have that to look forward to.  I'll warrant there is currently not a single flood mosquito egg left high or dry in all of central Texas.

Though it is significantly annoying to be relentlessly attacked by biting insects with each foray outside, this "bloom" of bugs serves as a boon to all the many insect eating creatures, who are all working with rain scrubbed habitat and the potential depletion of many of their other ground dwelling meal tickets. Mosquitoes as a silver lining to recent clouds?  It all depends on what you like for dinner.  Or who...

Recently my eye was caught by a flash of white in a patch of Virginia creeper (Pathenocissus quinquefolia).

What I believe to be an Achemon sphinx (Eumorpha achemon) caterpillar is carrying the spun silk cocoons of developing larvae of a parasitic wasp, Cotesia congregata.  

While I was vaguely aware that some wasps utilize caterpillars as hosts for their developing larvae, I had the idea the caterpillars were paralyzed as part of the process.  That meant I was especially startled when this caterpillar began to move slightly after I relocated it into a sunnier spot for close-up examination.

Achemon cats are one of several "hornworm" caterpillars, and are known for a defensive whipping back and forth motion, used to startle predators into dropping them to the ground.  This caterpillar was exhibiting a very faint version of that defensive mechanism but if I'd have been holding it up, I'm pretty sure I would have dropped it in a big hurry.  Realizing the caterpillar was not only alive but responsive, and seeing that the creeper stalk it attached to had been chomped on fairly recently, I knew I had some information gaps to fill.

What I found out was equally disturbing and fascinating.  Cotesia congregata wasps inject their future nurseries with genetic material that seems to both slow the host's metabolism, allowing it to eat (and eat) without moving forward in the metamorphic process, and to simultaneously provide interior hosting space for the wasp's eggs without triggering an immune response.

Some caterpillars reportedly reach relatively enormous size before succumbing, never reaching their reproductive moth stage.  Talk about arrested development.

After a period of time the wasp eggs hatch and the larvae exit the caterpillar, attach, and spin themselves a silk cocoon for pupation. Eventually the adult wasps emerge from the end of their silk cylinders and fly off to begin the cycle anew.

As hornworms can cause major damage to vulnerable cultivated crops, these wasp hitchhikers are considered beneficial insects, one of nature's many checks and balance systems.  I'm not growing tomatoes this year and though we have wild grapes they all fruit high in surrounding treetops, so these hornworms have been welcome to feast undisturbed, except for this one.  After taking a closer look I carefully relocated the caterpillar back into the creeper undergrowth, where the wasp cycle will complete without further interruption by curious humans.

Nearby a backlit small garden spider, (Argiope aurantia) had established its web for the day.  Notable for the stabilimentum, or stabilizing denser zig-zag silk center, these spiders reweave that portion of their web each day, after having consumed the silk, potentially to recycle the chemical components.

If she has chosen well, this spider will continue to use this location for the entire season.  I'm looking forward to having this lovely spider as company in the garden, weaving her daily web centers in amongst the inland sea oats (Chasmanthium latifolium).  

Not so beneficial, Aztec spur-throated grasshopper babies (Aidemona azteca) are numerous and causing damage to leaves and blossoms all around the gardens again this year.  While I've managed to capture and dispatch a couple of the dowdier brown adults, these brightly colored early instars often perch like tiny insouciant jewels, glittering in amongst the holey damage created by their incessant eating.

Also appearing in larger numbers than ever before, snails of every size and shape have been taking full advantage of a temporarily wet and therefore more easily traveled world.

It has been impossible to walk around the paths without accidentally crushing some with every other step, the telltale crunch giving them away even when their size is too small to easily detect.

Well hidden by placement and coloration rather than size, this fritillary chrysalis continues to develop, whatever the weather.  Watching this one develop during the course of some of our rainiest hours, I am encouraged that native populations have developed good coping mechanisms for all the worst the Texas weather has to offer.

And here is a mystery yet to be revealed, or perhaps unraveled...  This tiny ball of what appears to be an insect silk of some sort, might harbor spider eggs, or it might be silk cast off and set aside for some other purpose.  After admiring it I resisted the impulse to open it for inspection, choosing rather to try and check it daily to see what develops.  Anybody seen one of these before?

We've had the usual assortment of avian visitors, many of them overheard more than seen.  Wrens, mockingbirds, blue jays, cardinals, woodpeckers, tufted titmice, golden finches and chickadees, all are out and about, enjoying a return to more normal circumstances.  Including this non-feathery familiar...

 who joins me in wishing you a most pleasant June!

Thanks to Tina, of My Gardener Says for hosting Wildlife Wednesday, the first Wednesday of each month.  Please visit her site to read her post and other contributors as linked to in the comments section. In fact, we'd love for you to join in all the fun.  Please consider sharing a post of your own, as we observe and salute the myriad wild creatures who so generously share their spaces with us.  Rain, or shine.

Bug nuts

It has been raining here, quite a lot, in amounts unusual even for May in Central Texas. The good news is the oak pollen is not only off the trees, but has been washed away well out of breathing range for those of us sensitive to its grainy gifts. The not as good news is, with all this rain, the garden has been too soggy for me to knock all the leftover chores off my list.  There is one job I have not neglected, rain or shine.  Pest patrols simply will not wait for good weather.

It is caterpillar season, and though I gave up trying to properly identify most of what I found creep-crawling around the garden in between rain showers, I feel certain each of these caterpillars knows just what to do, what to eat, and exactly what it is shaping up to become.

Chevron Striped Whatchamacallit

TeeWeeny Tiny Yellow Thingie

Sphinx Moth Cat on Fennel

In one of those contradictions that seems to define my gardening efforts, though I keep parsley and fennel around precisely so they can be eaten by the caterpillars of moths and butterflies I admire, I was not at all satisfied with leaving certain other larvae alone to decimate their targeted plant hosts.

An infestation of Colorado Potato Beetle larvae was alarmingly sudden, but fortunately close enough to the house to trigger my awareness and ongoing response.  Once I realized the numbers I was dealing with, the soapy bath of death came into play, and I am optimistic I put a significant dent in this large but very localized population.  I don't grow potatoes, but have been known to toss a sprouted tuber into the ground covers out back for the occasional flowers they provide.  I'm not sure if one of those vines pulled these bad players into our beds, but lesson learned.  I won't be so careless with future spud rejects - they will all go straight into the compost bin.

Colorado Potato Beetle Larvae - two different hatches

In larval form, I found their lumbering shapes and varying sizes, each representing a differently timed batch of hatched eggs, to be oddly appealing. The damage they cause is not appealing at all however, so I made repeat visits back to the area where they first appeared until I couldn't find a single one of any size.  I'm pretty sure I'll reflexively check for them everywhere until the shock of their showing up by the dozens fades.

Another unwelcome (though admittedly attractive) visitor is this Aztec Spur-throated Grasshopper, first instar stage.  When they are this tiny I try to catch and squish, but they are lightning fast and this little guy escaped to eat another day.  Seeing him I know there will be more, many more, so grasshopper patrols have been duly reinstated for the season.

A new (to me) visitor recently was this master of mimicry.  A Large Maple Spanworm Moth took refuge on the tiles close to our front door.  I was out sweeping leaves away from the house and it would be hard to say who was more startled.  Me, when the leaf I was sweeping literally flew across the porch, or this nocturnal moth, who figured it had secured a good spot to wait out the return of night.

Pretty good camouflage.  Once I saw it fly I could easily tell it apart from the oak leaves, but up until then it completely escaped my notice.

Of course if I'm going to feature creatures that blend in, there's no escaping including these photo bombers.

Nobody here but us heartleaf skullcap leaves, boss.

Begging your indulgence, I must include what is for me an obligatory Honeybee on Opuntia blossom shot.  Rain or shine, the flowers on the spineless opuntia are putting on quite the show this year.  Given any reasonable break in the cloud cover, the bees are quick to take advantage.

And who could blame them?  I find even the tightly wrapped buds attractive.

Finally, the Poppa and Momma mockingbird who set up shop across the street have successfully fledged at least one baby this year.  They have relaxed just a little, finally allowing most regular street traffic to pass unmolested.

There is one particular male squirrel that seemed to take pleasure in being chased, going out repeatedly and keeping a fairly precise distance ahead of his pursuers.  Days of rain seem to have interrupted the antics, but I have a feeling this bird and that squirrel have formed a chase challenge bond that will be playing out all summer long.

The mockingbird and I, we are keeping a close eye out for trouble makers of all sorts.  Vigilance, that's the key.

Holey Smokes

I'd been seeing a really discouraging amount of this

around...which means I had too many of these.

Way, way too many.  Meet the Aztec Spur-throat, also known as Aidemona azteca.

I think of them as little monsters.  Most of the ones shown here are less than a quarter inch.  They may be tiny eating machines but they pack a huge appetite. Though Aztec Spur-throats reportedly prefer flowers, the ones around here seem plenty content to broadmindedly gnaw holes in the leaves of just about everything I have growing.

At their most colorful as youngsters in their various stages (referred to as instars) it is not known why these little tykes are so distinctive.  The best guess is to avoid predation by birds as their patterning mimics other common garden occupants that sting.  Because reportedly, birds think they're quite tasty.

"Order up!".   I tried to be patient and allow the birds around here to handle (read:eat) this problem on their own but honestly, my feathered friends weren't getting the job done.  I was forced to take matters into my own hands. Literally. I made multiple trips to every garden bed each day carrying along my inelegant Soap Bath of Death. Bent over like some oversized crane, I did my best to spot and then dunk every grasshopper I could, attempting to knock the population down to more manageable levels.

Not what I consider a pleasant way to experience my outdoor spaces.

Which is why I'm relieved to report, after several weeks of effort, that now when I go out and view my garden beds, every single plant is no longer riddled with holes. A few of the fastest growing plants even have a couple of leaf sets up top that are beautifully intact.

Many (many!) grasshoppers routinely escape my hunting expeditions so there is no worry I'm decimating a population. As attractive as they are - and I'll admit they are quite striking - these Aztec Spur-throats are considered to be "quite common where they occur".    I'm just helping them out a bit with family planning.  I won't get all of them and they won't get to eat holes in all my plants.  That's a fair trade as far as I'm concerned.