Wildlife Wednesday September 2016

Even though it seems we are well into September, it's the first Wednesday which means it's time to visit the garden for a wildlife survey.  Wildlife Wednesday is hosted by Tina at "My gardener says..." each month.

A couple of new captures for my blog from August and early September include White flies flitting in late summer sunlight providing a fun GIF photo op.  For a positive ID I would need to smack some down to inspect under a magnifier.  We'll just enjoy the animation.

A skink finally makes it into my Wildlife Wednesday post. 

I've been trying to get one of these squiggly legless lizards to hold still for months.  We have a lot of skinks in the garden but their quick snake-like movements are hard to catch on camera.  Somehow this one sensed my presence and froze in place instead of taking off.

With over 1,500 types of skinks to search, I think this is a Ground Skink (Sincellis lateralis) (Does that imply there are flying skinks?).  It spends much of its time in leaf litter hunting insects and the leaves make great camouflage.  Skinks are highly beneficial in the garden and cockroaches are among its favorite food sources.  Go skink go!

Honey bees enjoy Cenizo blossoms in early August.  All the sage plants were buzzing with bees during the week or so the blooms were around.

A solitary bee approaching bright yellow Mexican Bird of Paradise flowers.



I'm going with carpenter bee since it's large, shiny and dark.

A honeybee joins in the nectaring party.  Usually there's one type of bee per plant.

Yummy nectar.  Okay, that was a lot of photos for this one bee.  It just looks so cool against the bright yellow flowers

A solitary bee on Augusta Duelberg salvia (Salvia farinacea).



White sulphur butterfly on Aniscanthus wrightii.  This might be Pieris rapae or cabbage white but I didn't get a good look at the inner wings.

Walking sticks continue to enjoy the porch screens.

As usual we had deer visitors like this spotted fawn on the outside looking in.  They have plenty to eat and drink with all the rain this summer.

Though it looks like a family of three fawns, another doe is nearby.  While one fawn per doe is most common, there are a few sets of twins each year.

That's the wildlife report from my garden for August and early September.  Find more interesting garden wildlife in the comments section at Tina's blog Wildlife Wednesday blog post.

Wildlife Wednesday June 2016

Wildlife in the garden during May brought a couple of special butterfly sightings and a few other amusing wildlife antics.  Wildlife Wednesday hosted by Tina at "My Gardener Says..." presents bloggers an opportunity to share wildlife in the garden on the first Wednesday of each month.

Butterfly identification can be challenging as with this striking white butterfly.  At first I thought it was a Cabbage White Butterfly, but it lacked the dark edge on the forewing and has distinctive bands instead of spots.  After searching I'm going with male Checkered White Butterfly (Pontia protodice) which is so much better since Cabbage White Butterflies are not native.  Interestingly, they both use members of the cabbage and mustard family as host plants.  I could not find any information to confirm whether these butterflies consume the invasive weed Rapistrum rugosum or Bastard Cabbage which has been decimating our native wildflower fields.

Wildlife Wednesday March 2016

Wildlife Wednesday, sponsored by Tina at "My Gardener Says..." presents an opportunity for bloggers to gather up wildlife photos from the past month and share them all in one post.  For the first Wednesday of March my photos show that pollinators have been quite active in the garden the last few weeks.

With rosemary providing most of the blooms in the garden last month, it turned into quite the hot spot for pollinators.

Green Metallic Bee (Agapostemon), a type of sweat bee, shines bright on Rosemary Goriza flowers.

A beautiful wasp (ceratogastra ornata, I think) common to southwestern U.S.

Bee and Wasp together

Spotted Ladybeetle, didn't get close enough to count spots.

Honeybee working the Rosemary.

Buckeye butterfly enjoying damp gravel and a bit of camouflage in a low spot on the path after a rain.

Red Admiral Butterfly on the always popular Gomphrena 'Fireworks'.

Pipevine Swallowtail on Salvia 'Hot Lips'.

Monarch Butterflies have been with us all winter, this one was at the gardens where I volunteer each week.  They seem quite happy with our mild winter this year and, barring a late freeze, we should see quite a few as they make their way north this spring.

For every plant there is a pollinator.  Tiny fly on a just right tiny anemone.

Birds have made themselves scarce since a cat took up residence in the back yard so I keep an eye out when on the road.  I spotted a Roadrunner near Fredericksburg, Texas.  Interestingly, roadrunners are members of the cuckoo family.  Roadrunners are classified as Greater or Lesser depending on size.  Probably a Greater Roadrunner since the beak is so prominent.  One of the few animals that will prey on rattlesnakes, they are welcome in the garden.  Just like in the cartoons, their legs do appear to go around like wheels when they run fast!

That's the wildlife roundup from my garden, please join Tina at "My Gardener Says..." for more fascinating wildlife in gardens from faraway places.