Monarch On Cowpen Daisy

Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) clinging to a Cowpen Daisy (Verbesina encelioides).

Somehow I missed them for two years. Not the Monarchs (Danaus plexippus) which I could find all over the 17 acres, but that single spot of Cowpen Daisies (Verbesina encelioides) right on the fence to our neighbor. Venturing out in mid-October they were still in full bloom with clusters of late migrating Monarchs clinging to the blooms like cars in line to fill up at a Buckee's gas station next to the highway, destination Mexico.

After a first cold front most of the Monarchs were gone, other butterflies and bugs using the daisy as a late nurturing place. By early November the plants had wilted, dried out and the flowers have become clusters of white seeds. I collected the seeds, planted them and I'm trying to grow them so I can build some more "gas stations" for the migrating butterflies this coming year. I will post some more pictures of Monarchs and other butterflies and bugs visiting this interesting plant in another blog, but now I gotta go water the ones I planted.

Sources: amu communications photo, wikipedia

Buckeye Butterfly Perched On Unknown Yellow Flower

I do love Buckeye butterflies (Junonia coenia), their big eyes or eyespots on the fore- and hindwings. With the pigmented spots they are actually able to scare off predators. It is believed that the spots developed through evolution to give them a functioning defense mechanism. A Swedish study claims that the spots not only keep birds away but that also chickens are intimidated by the frightening eyes.

We have one or two roaming around our "ranch" so I will share more of these beauties as I shoot them. Last October I posted a picture of one sitting on top of a false thistle in my blog "Buckeye Riding On Top of Leavenworth's Eryngo" and even mentioned that the US Postal Service had a stamp honoring the Buckeyes.

Widow Skimmer Waiting For Prey

Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa) belongs to the group of dragonflies known as king skimmers. The nymphs live in the water, molting and growing until they are ready to emerge from the water and then molting a final time to reveal their wings. Even though we don't have standing water on our property, the little marsh obviously was wet enough to give us a Widow Skimmer.

This is still a male youngster - adults have a steely blue body area, but juveniles are yellow with brown stripes.
I hope to see many more, as they normally prey on mosquitoes.

Let Love Grow Slowly

Slow down!

As they say - smell the roses.

Yes love can be a "burning ring of fire" as June Carter & Merle Kilgore co-wrote in the song made famous by Johnny Cash, but sometimes you have to be careful to not "burn out." So let it grow. Let it grow slow. Take time, rest, enjoy and contemplate. And as that snail is working up its way, keep on working on it. Life is not a race, we all get to the end. Sooner or better later.

I prefer being late to my funeral. There is a lot I want to cherish before that. Love is one thing!

Abre Los Ojos - Open Your Eyes

Playing around with the camera yesterday afternoon, I walked back into the house and saw "Pancho" (well my wife says it's Pancho) staring at me. We do have a slight problem of keeping the two brothers apart - Lefty looks exactly like him, with a tad smaller head. But how can you tell if you can't compare. And as he sat there, he was not purring or meowing either - that's two of the differences between them.

And yes "Pancho And Lefty" got named after the Townes Van Zandt song, recorded by many, but made famous by Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard. And thanks to Alejandro Amenábar for the inspiring title to this post.

Resting - Easily Scared Variegated Fritillary

Variegated Fritillary (Euptoieta claudia) taking a rest. Closely related to the Speyeria Fritillaries, there are still some differences, as having 2–3 broods per year vs. one for the Speyeria, they are also nomadic vs. sedentary and use several host plants instead of just one. Because of their use of passionflowers there are also taxonomic links to the tropic heliconiians Euptoieta (Greek for easily scared) describes that they are really diffcult to approach, even when resting or taken nectar in.

Differential Grasshopper - Greeting The Sun

Differential Grasshopper (melanoplus differentialis), also called American Grasshopper is warming up in the morning sun on a decaying thistle (Cirsium), ready to greet the day.

Sources: http://www.insectidentification.org, wikipedia,
This shot is also featured in my ClickASnap, Rabadaba, 8App & Flii.by portfolios and in my Niume photography sphere blog.

Buckeye Riding On Top of Leavenworth's Eryngo

A Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia) resting on top of Leavenworth's Eryngo (Eryngium leavenworthii also known as false Thistle) on our "ranch" outside of Carlton, Texas.They stretch all the way from Canada into Central America and can even be found in Columbia and are endemic to the island of Bermuda. It is said that the eyespots on the wings are there to startle enemies, mostly young birds.

The Buckeye belongs to the largest butterfly family Nymphalidae (as the Monarchs do), which has over 6000 species all over the world.


In 2006 the USPS honored the Common Buckeye by putting it on a 24 cent stamp, which was the rate for a postcard at that time.


Sources: www.gardenswithwings.com, insectidentification.org, USPS
This shot is also featured in my ClickASnap, Rabadaba, 8App & Flii.by portfolios and in my Niume photography sphere blog.

Variegated Meadowhawk Dragonfly On The Hunt

I think this is a male Variegated Meadowhawk (Sympetrum corruptum) dragonfly. Range wise it's not unusual to find them in Texas, even in October or later in the year. Due to the warm weather - the area was "buzzing" with Monarch butterflies migrating back to Mexico, too. What throws me off quite more, is that I took the picture of this Meadowhawk on a rather arid piece of property, with no pond or lake, their normal habitat. But it rained a couple a days before our encounter, so there may have been some small water puddles around.

I like their diet, as they prefer mosquitos, moths and termites and are therefore very beneficial. The latin-greek combination name Sympetrum (together with rock) indicates that they love to sit on rocks and absorb the heat of the early day. Hunting occurs from perches on rocks or bare branches, as the picture snows.

Let me know if I mislabeled the little feller, I'm learning as I go.

Sources: Wikipedia
This shot is also featured in my ClickASnap, Rabadaba, 8App & Flii.by portfolios and in my Niume photography sphere blog.

Meeting of the Kings

Southern winds and warm temperatures into the 90s (30+ C) kept the Monarch butterflies, also called American Monarchs (Danaus plexxibus) longer in the Central Texas area than normal. The butterflies migrating in fall all the way from Canada back into Mexico to reach their winter habitat may show up in clusters of up to a dozen butterflies.

This shot is also featured in my ClickASnap, Rabadaba, 8App & Flii.by portfolios and in my Niume photosphere blog.

What Are You Looking At?

Differential Grasshopper (melanoplus differentialis), outside of the US also known as American Grasshopper. In swarms deadly to new crops and therefore considered a pest to agriculture.

This female subject (you can see the ovipositor) can grow upto 5cm (2inches) and can lay up to six egg masses in soft soil, each of which can contain 40–200 eggs . The nymphs will hatch early the next summer and will reach adulthood in 32 days.

They are not uncommon even in urban areas, where you may find them on a vacant lot. But normally they prefer grasslands, corn, fruits, forbs and sunflowers.

Sources: http://www.insectidentification.org, wikipedia,
This shot is also featured in my ClickASnap portfolio, and as a blog in the photography sphere on Niume.

Gulf Fritillary on Pride of Barbados

Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) on blooming Pride of Barbados (Caesalpinia pulcherrima)

The large grey patches under the wing of the butterfly distinguish it as a Gulf Fritillary, even though it looks very similar to a Monarch. Mostly present in the Southeastern US, reaching as far west as Texas. It is a beautiful sight to see. Caesalpinia pulcherrima or Pride of Barbados with it's common name, attracts a lot of humming birds and butterflies. Other names for this stunning bloomer include Mexican or red Bird of Paradise, flamboyant-de-jardin. Origin is unknown, but it's pretty draught resistant, actually can grow wild. If the plant freezes in winter, try to cap it back as early as February, when it starts to get warmer.

This shot is also featured in my ClickASnap portfolio, and as a blog in Niume

Squirrel Study I

During a smoke break this tree squirrel showed up, I guess to give me some company.

I got my camera, sat down or even laid flat on my stomach and let the little feller do what he does best. Digging up roots, looking for a nut and checking out the neighbourhood. All these pictures (a study II) will follow were shot during the same break.

Keepin' Balance

Not sure what kinda Dragonfly this is - but hoping that one of the readers may actually be able to help me out here. I tried to find out, but simply googling blue eyes and black/yellow body did not bring any closer information where this Odonata needs to be placed.
Maybe some extra info may help - shot in July of last year (2015), outside of Austin, Texas.

This was originally published in the Photography Sphere of Niume account on September 15th, 2016 - I really love who big the pictures show there.

Dog Days of Summer