Caterpillar Tartare?

A young hawk visited this week and sat on the fence rail as he studied various parts of the garden. He suddenly swooped down into one of the overgrown pollinator sections and came away with a prize. At first I couldn't quite figure out what he grabbed, but then I realized he must have gotten one of the large gooey caterpillars that use Ludwigia spp. as a larval host. I had spotted a rather large specimen of a

Banded Sphinx Moth Caterpillar (Eumorpha fasciatus) a few days earlier. He stared at me and didn't even offer to share what he held in his claws.

New Life List Dragonfly

I noticed a dragonfly which appeared to have squared off wings, something I'd never seen before. Reminded me of those planes we watched in old time movies that rapidly crashed after getting about 3 feet airborne. Said dragonfly was quite elusive and me without the zoom camera, only the point and shoot. I followed stealthily and caught a picture or two, enough to identify the Band-winged Dragonlet (Erythrodiplax umbrata). Upon close-up inspection on computer screen, the wings are normal shape, just the outer edges are nearly invisible making the darkness of the bands give an allusion of wing squareness. Thrilled with a new member of my buggy life list, I now will try to get a better photograph, perhaps some early morning when the dragons are a little less lively.

Wainin' Wabbits?

The weather email alerts starting hitting the inbox early this afternoon. The first two were concerning the western part of my county out by the attractions and I quickly deleted them, too far away to be a concern.  Then the third arrived mentioning my town specifically.  I could hear the rumbles of thunder off in the distance.

 

Severe thunderstorms are practically a daily occurence in Florida during rainy season.  Most arrive with their gusty winds and torrential rain but pass through quickly....a distant memory in short order.  Today's was no different and lasted all of about 10 minutes.  A non-event, at least at my house.

 

I like the smell of nature after a cleansing rain, so I gathered up some cardboard that needed to be put in the recycle bin and headed out to the patio.  Over next to the well pump I spotted a bunny (shown above).  Then I looked out back in the dog-free area and saw another, both Eastern Cottontails.  I spotted a third back by the compost bin, shorter ears and darker fur, so likely a Marsh Rabbit.  Was it water that fell from the sky?  Or did it rain rabbits?

 

There they sit quietly munching away.  I find them simply adorable when they wiggle their noses, contemplate for a second or two and then hippity hop a bit to find another snack.  Mind you, when I get my veggie garden started up again I may have a different opinion about their cuteness.

 

While taking a photo or two I heard a hawk in the distance.  A cardinal flew by and landed in the winged sumac, enjoying the drupes of fruit.  A blue jay landed in the oak tree picking around for who knows what. The mockingbird was at the beautyberry and overhead I watched a wood stork soaring past and a vulture on the hunt overhead.  I quickly offered movement so he wouldn't take too close a look at me.  It seemed so quiet and yet there was such a flurry of fun activity for me to enjoy.  Nothing like nature after the storm.

New Garden Visitor?

It would seem I have a new garden visitor (or two). I haven't actually seen him(her?), but I saw unmistakable signs today. Down close to the pond, I found two piles of scat…deer scat.

I haven't seen deer in the neighborhood for quite a while. They use to cross my street pretty regularly around dusk, just down at the wooded area line about 3 properties away from me. I suspected that they had a regular corridor there.

"My" deer must be really something, as they have to hop a 4-1/2 foot fence to get in. I guess since I restricted the doggies to the front of the property with the new fence that there is no longer the scent of what I suspect the deer would view as a type of predator, or a least a pest they could do without.

So, now I will have to watch at dusk, dawn and in the middle of the night with the hopes of seeing my new garden critters perhaps watering down at the pond. Based on the looks of the scat, it appears they are enjoying the ripening drupes of the winged sumac (Rhus copallinum). Welcome to my world.

She's Eating the Babies!

I stopped by to check on the Fishing Spider babies the other day. You can read all about the over at www.beautifulwildlifegarden.com. Mom seemed to be gone but the spiderlings looked to be doing ok on their own.
Well, yesterday I stopped by to check and I saw some motion as I neared the bluestem grass bunch. There, to my displeasure was a female regal jumping spider (Phidippus regius) chowing down on MY babies! She tried to duck and hide behind the stems of grass and in the spiderlings web, but I caught her in the act. The big meany (but she is kinda cute)! No wonder in nature we don't have a thousand fishing spiders walking in tandem after the birth. Probably very few make it through to adulthood. Survival of the fittest spider style.

Fishing in the Culvert

The shadow flew overhead and I saw the bright white as an egret landed by the culvert. They are such majestic birdies. I'm not sure exactly what type of good eats there are, but I suppose since the water levels are relatively low for this time of year, it might just be an easier spot to dine than, say, my pond. As I approached to get a closer shot, birdie flew maybe 20 feet away, working his (her?) way down the block. I watched for a little while and eventually (s)he took off. I love watching the takeoffs and landings. A naturally better experience than a trip to the airport.

Rockin and Rolling Caterpillar Style

I was out looking for the caterpillars of the Variegated Fritillary butterfly on the Maypop the other day. I had seen the butterfly laying eggs a while back and wanted to see if any progress was made. No luck…I think perhaps the ants ate all the eggs. Too bad, but I will continue to monitor and hope for the best.

Out of the side of my eye, I glanced over at a groundsel bush (Baccharis halimifolia) and watched with amazement as this bagworm was rocking and rolling and swinging the bag back and forth as it voraciously ate away at the leaves of this Florida native shrub.

Until recently I hadn't really paid too much attention to bagworms, thinking they were merely cocoons awaiting emergence of the concealed occupant. Well, again I was astonished by the critter within as at least an inch or more of caterpillar was leaning out of the bag while it dined away. Of course as I got close the resident retracted and went back to "playing possum" (thanks again to Carole Brown for the apropos terminology).

I've tried to find it again thinking I would perhaps capture it and raise it in captivity to learn a bit more, but alas, my decorated friend was nowhere to be found. Perhaps he read my mind and decided to continue the ride on the wild side, hiding from my thoughts and anticipations.