Katydid

This Elegant Bush Katydid (Insara elegans) appeared on my window screen recently. Also called a Mesquite Katydid, they are distinguished from other katydids by the long narrow wings marked with white stripes. Katydids are nocturnal, so this one seemed content to let me photograph it mid-day as it rested. The males are the source of some of the rasping night sounds coming from high in the trees during the summer around here.  The name "katydid" is supposedly and onomatopoeia for this sound, but that's a real stretch, at least for this species.  Elegant, yes, for the slim wings and extraordinarily long  antennae. This was the first year in twelve that I've seen this species in our neighborhood, which makes me wonder: Have they always been around, and I just haven't noticed, or are they having an especially good year, so more abundant? 

Desert Shaggy Mane

The desert shaggy mane mushroom (Podaxis pistillaris) or "black powderpuff" is actually a type of puffball. Open it up and, depending on the ripeness, it will either be filled with thick white goo or erupt in a cloud of dark spores. These began popping up in gravel along Highway 17 after monsoon rains at the end of July this year. Sadly, they are reported as being inedible not due to toxins, but because they are just plain foul-tasting, as well as tough and woody. However, if you are truly desperate, or just curious, munching on an immature stalked puffball won't kill you.  This species is common in desert regions around the world. Australian aborigines have used the spores mixed with water for body paint and the dry spores for hair dye.

Tailless Whip Scorpion

Last night we had an unusual visitor on our front patio: a tailless whip scorpion (Paraphrynus mexicanus). These long-legged relatives of spiders and scorpions are actually quite common in the Sonoran Desert, but they are normally very secretive nocturnal creatures. At rest it will fold up all of its legs and become an innocuous looking black blob about the size of a quarter. But when it extends all of its appendages, the whip scorpion expands to the diameter of a dessert plate. Crawling sideways like a crab, it rivals any sci-fi creation ever imagined by Hollywood.

Two serrated claws, or pedipalps, are curled up in front of the face, which is beaded with five shining eyes. A pair of forelegs serve as long thin antennae that it waves around to feel for potential prey.
They are members a group of arachnids called Amblypygids, which means "blunt rump," because they lack the curved tail that their cousins, the scorpions, wield for weapons. They have no venom or stinger, so are reportedly harmless to humans. Amblypygid moms carry their newly hatched young on their backs, a trait shared by scorpions; I like that these scary looking animals exhibit nurturing behavior.

Our visitor was very patient with us, posing for photographs and demonstrating its graceful movements without dashing away. Perhaps we'll be lucky enough to have a family of Amblypygids take up residence in our yard to help control the cricket population that has been keeping me awake at night. Or maybe they already have; it's been a little quiet around here lately.

Toad-ally!

On warm summer nights, some central Arizona neighborhoods are visited by these princes (and princesses) in disguise, Sonoran Desert Toads (Incilius alvarius). The New River corridor is a popular stretch of habitat for these wide-mouthed, warty amphibians. Although the adults are terrestrial, and content to spend most of the year in burrows that may be miles from any water, permanent or temporary ponds are necessary for reproduction. 

They will take advantage of nearly any water source we provide for them, intentionally or unintentionally, to re-hydrate. Dog dishes, bird baths and shallow steps of swimming pools are perfect places to sit for a while and fatten up after a long winter below ground. Toads imbibe water through their skin, especially through a special "drinking patch" on their belly and hind legs. A few hours sitting in a mud puddle can make the difference between a "full" toad and a skinny toad. Although many folks regard them as pests, because they are also quite toxic, especially to dogs that harass them, having a few toads around can serve as effective pest management, since they will eat huge quantities of insects. 

Toad scat is dry and ashy, essentially the keratinous remains of the insects they have eaten. This large sample of toad  scat is compared to my ring; it's as thick as my finger, but not gooey at all. If you step on it, the turd turns to dust and blows away on the wind. Just another fun little nature tidbit for you!

Female Instincts

This elegant and docile looking nectivorous wasp is also a vicious predator who will slay spiders more than twice her size in order to insure the success of her children.  Also known as a tarantula hawk or spider wasp (Pepsis thisbe), these huge wasps grow up to two inches (5 cm) long from the powerful jaws to the tip of their glossy black abdomen.  Females can be identified by the curled tips of their antennae, while male antennae are straight. Both are commonly seen sipping nectar from a variety of flowers, and are especially fond of milkweeds. But only the female possesses a sharp stinger and the instinct to use it to deliver powerful neurotoxins to stun food for her offspring. Unless you harass her, there is very little chance that a tarantula hawk would attack a human. But if you are a tarantula, she will chase you down.

We were fortunate to witness the aftermath of such a biochemical attack along the Upper Salt River  last weekend. While walking along the road to our camp, we noticed a tarantula splayed out in the dirt. I poked it with my toe, but it didn't move. Within moments, a tarantula hawk started circling the spider, so I stepped away, and she landed on top of it and began to drag it up the hillside. We think she must have already delivered the neurotoxin that effectively paralyzes the prey, and was returning to retrieve it  once it was completely immobilized. Unperturbed by our presence, we watched as she pulled the spider up beneath a rock. A single egg will be buried with the zombified spider, providing nutrition for wasp larvae as it develops into a two inch long grub, eating the spider alive as it grows. After the larvae has had its fill, it will pupate and remain in a resting stage underground for several months before emerging as an adult wasp. 

I like knowing that for every tarantula wasp, there was once a big hairy tarantula walking the earth. We see a lot of wasps around, so that must mean that there are is an equally healthy population of tarantulas in the neighborhood.  

Moth Night

Moth Night at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum in Queen Creek last Saturday night attracted not only thousands of insects, but a few dozen naturalists and photographers ranging in age from 4 to 80. Using a pair of mercury vapor lamps mounted in front of a white sheet, entomologists from the Central Arizona Butterfly Association led the crowd in a frenzy of bug identification and admiration. 

The star of the show was a single patient Western poplar sphinx, with its nearly six inch wingspan and thick furry body. Surrounding this moth were dozens of white-lined sphinx, cholla moths, silk moths, five-spotted hawkmoths, tiny variegated tiger moths, and a handsome rustic sphinx, all fluttering in the bright lights. 

Western Poplar Sphinx (Pachysphinx occidentalis)

Beetles clamored to the scene by the dozens, including june beetles, blister beetles, mesquite beetles and click beetles. Cicadas, grasshoppers and bright green katydids also showed up. My favorite were the ant lion adults, elegant beasts with long lacy gray wings, and a pair of gracefully curved, thick, glossy antennae. Close encounters with three species of snakes and dozens of bark scorpions shining under black lights made this a 5-star event worth repeating in our own back yard. Next frivolous purchase: a mercury vapor lamp.

Ant Lion Lacewing 

Crack Climbing

It might seem like life is over once a pond dries up, but mud cracks are moist shady refuges for all kinds of life. Seeds take root, mosses grow and new toads explore these tiny canyons.