Two new additions

I bought two pots of tall aster (Symphyotrichum praealtum) from the Blanco County Master Gardener plant sale last month. Suzanne C. gave me another a pot (far left), but I don't think it's tall aster. We'll see. They're all planted behind the new high fence.

 

iNaturalist milestones

Look! I'm at 1,470 species and 6,000 observations, of which the majority by far have been in our yard!

 

Catocala caterpillar nabs attention on iNaturalist

Well, not a LOT of attention. But some on iNaturalist! Most notably by Larry Gall, a systematist and field biologist in Connecticut who works at Yale University's Peabody Museum as the senior collections manager for the entomology department. I posted this observation in April 2020 and only took one photo. I think we had an abundance of caterpillars that spring so I didn't take multiple pictures of just one. 

From what I'm gleaning from the conversation posted to this observation, this caterpillar could be the larva of one of two species – Catocala delilah or C. desdemona. Few larvae of both species have been documented. I've been asked to rear one if I ever see this caterpillar again, which I'll gladly do given I have some guidance. 

Here's a cool guide that Gall and his colleagues have compiled: Underwing Moths (Catocala) & Larvae: A companion guide for iNaturalists.

 

Wasp with caterpillar victim

Remember my mud-nesting wasp with the mutilated wolf spider? Well, now meet a thread-waisted wasp (family Sphecidae, perhaps genus Ammophila) dragging a paralyzed caterpillar across sedum. Most of these parasitic wasps sting and paralyze their victims, then drag them to their burrows or nests. There they'll lay their egg(s) on the victim so the larvae have fresh food to eat when they hatch. Thank you, Linda Chang, for sharing your observation and photos with me!

Day in the Park 2025

Another great Day in the Park at Blanco State Park! The annual event for Blanco third graders is sponsored by the Friends of Blanco State Park and put on by Texas Master Naturalists with the Highland Lakes chapter. Yesterday 65 students rotated from station to station, where they learned about spiders, monarchs, bird nests, fish and reptiles, bats, pollinators and vertebrates. James and Karen S. assisted me at the spider station. It was so fun! I love interacting with kids.

 

 

James caught me drooping after our lunch break. "Smile, Sheryl," he exclaimed. So I did. I perk up quite nicely, right?

(This photo is for my records.)

Pearl milkweed beauties

This beautiful cluster of blooms was a first for me. Usually, our pearl milkweed vines (Matelea reticulata) just have singular flowers on the stems. I love this species, but it likes to spread a lot via seeds. So I often pull up vines where I don't want them growing.

Snapdragon vine surprise

In October 2014, we purchased a snapdragon vine 'Red' (Maurandella antirrhiniflora) at a native plant sale at the Wildflower Center in Austin. We planted in the back yard, exactly where I can't remember. It died, and I forgot all about it ... until, a few days ago, I was wandering along a rock path by the chain-link fence. I looked down and – lo and behold! – there was a 'Red' snapdragon vine! What a happy surprise! 

 

In the meantime, we have lots of the native snapdragon vine because it likes to spread around.