AM critter highlights. Central #Texas, August 2023

I'm a bit under the weather this morning, so this'll be brief.

1) A silvery damsel fly amid damp earth & pebbles.

2) A bumblebee on a sunflower.

3) A grasshopper in the (invasive) Santa Maria Feverfew. They were clearly ready for their closeup.

4) And an encore appearance by a cuckoo in a walnut tree!

#nature #photography #insects #nativeplants #invasiveplants #bees #damselflies #grasshoppers #birds

I found a local mud dauber afternoon hangout venue. 😀 August 2023

Here are 2 species of Sphecidae (thread-waisted #wasps) who are normally solitary, so I was delighted to see this gathering.

These are common wasps in Central #Texas: The Black and Yellow Mud Dauber and the Blue Mud Dauber. Both are docile wasps & non-threatening unless you're a spider.

IIRC, the blue mud daubers renovate old nests that the black and yellow mud daubers build.

#nature #photography #insects

Brief outing this AM. I failed to get a decent capture of 2 different bees. 1 was a carpenter? I did get a new wasp & butterfly.

My tentative guess is a Parker's Thread-waisted Wasp (Prionyx parkeri). I only got 2 photos before they left. 2nd is blurry but the pose is cool & you see the color on her abdomen.

Butterfly genus Vanessa? Maybe a Painted Lady, but there're other similar Ladies.

Will add alt text when I'm a bit more alert.

#nature #photography #insects #wasps #butterflies #Texas

Oof, the heat is abominable this afternoon. I went out to photograph whatever critters I could find in the shady spots. Now my eyeballs feel like I left them in the airfryer too long.😞

ETA: My tentative ID of this cutie is Desert Checkered Skipper. Pretty sure the checkered skipper part is correct at least.

Central Texas August 2023🦋

@Nature #photography #insects #lepidoptera #butterflies #Texas #cuteanimals

Some older pics to add to the catalog of local critters:

I think we have here, a Pondhawk (the male to the green female I posted yesterday perhaps?), a male Whitetail dragonfly, a Hackberry Emperor butterfly upon a hackberry tree, and a Buckeye butterfly on the ever popular cowpen daisies. July 2023 Central Texas

As a new, inexpert hobbyist, I am grateful for & welcome corrections, always. 💚

#nature #photography #insects #dragonflies #butterflies #nativeplants #Texas

Mammals for a change! A cottontail rabbit. They're either a desert cottontail or an eastern cottontail, I'm not sure which, but the latter is more common where I am. I photographed them after sunset last night. August 2023 Central Texas.

ED1: I suspect the plant the bunny is eating is largely denuded scarlet spiderling (Boerhavia coccinea) the bunnies have been nibbling at for a while.

#nature #photography #mammals #leporidae #rabbits #nativeplants #Texas

New-to-me critters this AM! August 2023 Central Texas.

The angle on the bird is not the best. A Yellow-billed Cuckoo?

A fancy green dragonfly. A̶ G̶r̶e̶e̶n̶ S̶k̶i̶m̶m̶e̶r̶?̶ An Eastern Pondhawk!

A mystery member of hymenoptera, ED1: Not a bee but indeed a mutilidae wasp. A chap on iNaturalist helped narrow down the genus of this male mutilid wasp: timulla. Super neat b/c I see the ladies often, but had not seen this fellow. ED2:T. vagans? ED3: nope

#nature #photography #birds #wasps #dragonflies #Texas

One dragonfly this rare cool morning. The low was below 70°F! It's surprisingly quiet out.

I don't have an id for this one. I was thinking Meadowhawk? But Google thinks they might be Violet Dropwing? Something else? I'm so far from any expertise in insect identification. August 2023 Central Texas.

EDIT: a Meadowhawk! Likely a Variegated Meadowhawk. Thank you, Benjamin for the help.

#nature #photography #insects #dragonflies #Texas

Was out tidying around the HVAC unit today and came upon a new-to-me teeny critter!

Luckily I had my camera handy, so discovered this quick little spidey, which I think is a male Pike Slender Jumper (Marpissa pikei)? I've never seen a jumping spider like this one. How wonderful!

Please zoom in to see the wee fella. He didn't let me get a second shot.

#nature #photography #arachnids #jumpingSpiders #Texas