April 1,5&6, 2007- Lift Station Tour - IMPORTANT

Very important posting. New area species for us! and very unusual for our area! We have been walking this area for several years now and have never sighted this species. Now on to the story. . .

April 1, 2007 - Robert J. Nuelle, III went on a mid day trek down the Left Station Tour and mentioned to me on his return that he thought he saw a very unusual species for our area, the Polydamas Swallowtail - Battus polydamus - but it was just a sighting record with no voucher for backup and a fleeting look at that. We consulted the wonderfully recast website Butterflies and Moths of North America :: Battus polydamas for range map info and discovered that we did not have a new county record but that it was not outside of the realm of possibility. The site listed the larval foodplant as "Pipevines (Aristolochia species)" and that the adults favored the "nectar of lantana. Occasionally seen feeding on honeysuckle and soapweed flowers." Robert mentioned that the sighting was in an area known to have Pipevine and Honeysuckle. We discussed reporting it but decided that we could not because of the lack of collected specimens. Robert went back on April 5 at about 1:00 PM and started the trek back. He soon was calling home on his cell phone to announce that a specimen had been seen and one had been captured! The next day April 6, 2007 he saw 2 additional specimens and both were vouchered. I am enclosing detailed maps and pictures of the three specimens in this blog post. We are excited about the captures and will be watching this area closely to see if further evidence of the species is found. Locational Photos are courtesy of Google Earth.

Here are the specimen Photos & Range map borrowed from the Opler Website:

Here are pictures of our three voucher specimens.



We look forward to the discussion.

Sincerely,

Bob Nuelle, Jr - Bob Nuelle, III.

March 21, 2007 Lighting Trip Lake Houston Park

March 21, 2007 - First Lighting trip - Lake Houston Park - The Equestrian Camping Area. Participants included Bob Nuelle, Jr - Bob Nuelle, III, David Kent aka Stumpy (more on that later) and Mr. Robert Thacker, Esq. The Fearsome four descended on the Park arriving at the Visitor Center about 5:15 PM. We met with Jerry Walls in the parking lot. He is the Park Naturalist and our sponsor for the effort. Robert III immediately noticed Male Promethea moths flying canopy high. These amazing day flying moths are jet black and it is thought that they mimic a butterfly for protection from bird predation. The Male Promethea moth Callosamia promethea mimics the Pipevine Swallowtail. This butterfly consumes toxic compounds from its larval stage foodplant, Pipevine, which make them distasteful to birds. The moth tries to "inherit" that protection even though it is actually quite good to eat - or so I am told.

We proceded to the drive in entrance on 1485 and on to the campgrounds. Within 1 hour we were all set-up and ready for action. Robert and David went .2 of a mile up the road and set up David's Moth lighting rig and at about .1 of a mile Rob Thacker set up his Bucket Trap. In addition David Kent brought some very over ripe banana which we set up in a Bait trap provided by Rob Thacker. We were set for a great night. The Nuelle's brought a full 2 source rig (165W mercury Vapor and 160W 265nm Blacklight Fluororescent) (Picture Right) plus a straight 80W Blacklight rig. Rob Thacker brought his standard dual 175W Me powered rig. David packs a much brighter Mercury Vapor bulb and carries several different wavelength Mercury Vapor and dual 15W BlacklightBlacklights for best results. The Bucket trap (Picture left) is a blacklight only set-up and contains a set of 4 interlocking vanes that the moths strike and then deflect to the bottom of the bucket where they fall in to the screened collecting area which has a No Pest Strip included to quickly kill any insects falling inside. This needs to be set-up outside of the reach of our more powerful lights and in an area of complete darkness. It has a small battery connection for DC power and can be very effective when set-up in good habitat. I have seen this trap pull in thousands of insects in a night in Arizona. It is a great help to have Robert and his traps with us.
We went lights up at about 6:30 PM and the night was perfect! The temperature was about 74 degrees F and it had rained earlier in the day so that the humidity was rising, the moon was low and at a 1/4 phase so it posed no competition. The area had an open feel to it with just enough tall trees to make it tough for the bats to swoop in and take our specimens. We were very optimistic about the night to come. It took over 5 hours to get ready for this trip, we had to change the oil in the generator and be sure it was ready for another season. All of our equipment, bulbs , PVC pipes and sheets, killing jars, ethyl alcool and ethyl acetate all had to e located. All in all we left very little behind on this trip and setup went without a hitch.

Rob Thacker setup in the center of the clearing hoping to draw from overflying moths. His rig (picture left) works really well in calm and low wind areas. We helped him with set-up and then we sta back and got caught up. The Fraternity of MOTHers is an odd but wonderful group of people who love to be outdoors at night, huddled around the blare of the Mercury Vapor bulbs hoping some really beautiful moth will fly into the lights and get your blood pumping. It is hard to explain but we have spent many a starry night outside with David Kent and Rob Thacker - they are our best friends and we appreciate their company. Rob is a very knowledgeable birder who has travelled over the US in search of rare avian treasures. I understand that in most instances he has only seen these birds he speaks of. Apparently birders simply watch - they don't typically collect the birds they have seen, even so he can describe many hundreds of species by details of their plumage. No mean feat. David has been collecting, since boyhood and has many fantastic stories and specimens to show for his troubles, even a few scars but more about that later.The first cratures to appear in any numbers were these amazing Ground Beetles - Calosoma scrutator - The Caterpillar Hunter (picture left). They are large iridescent green jewel-like beetles with a nasty smell and a voracious appetite. They appeared by the hundreds and were seen on the sheets, the area trees and of course on us. I suspect they were so numerous because the Geometrid or Inchworm caterpillars were out by the thousands as well. They draft down from the trees on silken threads and can be seen hanging in mid-air or in large groups on picnic tables, twigs, or any other stationary object. The tables in the pavillion were loaded up with these caterpillars and it was no surprise to us that the lights brought in a fair number of adult Geometer moths including the Curve toothed Geometer - Eutrapela clemataria and one of my all time favorites a beautuful moth called the Yellow washed Metarranthis Moth - Metarranthis obfirmaria. This orangish visitor was quite common and is wonderful to behold as it flaps about. We also were visited by the Common luna Moth - Actias luna - (picture right) all males. They are a frenetic, suicide flyer - looping and crashing into the ground and us in their efforts to get to the lights. We love them and they are a beautiful sight to behold. The night proceeded on without incident until David walked into a fireplace grate and tore open his shin. We helped him to a picnic table and got his leg elevated, Mty son Robert stopped he bleeding and cleaned it off,. David decided to take a run into Kingwood to get it tended to at an ER so we watched his rig for him. Unfortunately despite DFavid's valiant self-scarifice not much new came in as we were firmly into the dead zone.
The Dead Zone is the time between 10:30 PM and 12:30 PM when really not much flies and all the interesting moths have either already flown or will fly after midnight. We had a visit by Reda Schmidt the Park Ranger and her husband to check on us and it was a great visit, as always. Reda is an example of what is great and right about the power of the individual. Her efforts at the park as a volunteer and now as a Ranger have made it a great place to go, and I am proud to count her asa friend. David returned about 12:30 PM with 8 fresh stitches and his always wonderful disposition. We decided to pack it all up and head for home after his arrival and by 1:00 AM we were all on our way home.

It was a great night and we got about 100 specimens for the display. Some will make it to this permanent Nature center display and some will end up in our reference collection as they either too small, ugly or uninteresting for general public display. We will be back to light real soon and have agreed to do 2 programs in conjunction with Jerry Walls the Park Naturalist. We will be doing a butterfly walk and Moth lighting demo in May/June and another in the Fall. These will be open to the public and should be quite a wonderful experience. We are honored and excited to be asked!

Species Highlights:

• Callosamia promethea - The Promethea Moth (M)(Seen)
• Calosoma scrutator - The Caterpillar Hunter Beetle - (Vouchered)
• Metarranthis obfirmaria - The Yeklow Washed Metarranthis Moth (V)
• Eutrapela clemataria - the Curve Toothed Geometer Moth
• Actias luna - The Luna Moth (M) (V)
• Antheraea polyphemus - The Polyphemus Moth - (M) (V)

Posted 4/01/2007 by Bob Nuelle, Jr.

Lake Houston Park March 10, 2007

Lake Houston Park - March 10, 2007
Butterfly Expedition #1 - 8:15AM - 11:00 AM
Participants:
David Kent (Kingwood, TX)
Farrar Stockton (Spring, TX)
Robert J. Nuelle, III (Spring, TX)
Robert J. Nuelle, Jr. (Spring, TX)
Temperature: 61 degrees F - Cloudy, overcast with ground fog
We started our walk from the Park headquarter crossed over Peach Creek on the suspension bridge. A woman saw us walking with our nets and asked if we knew anything about Moths. I replied that we did and she asked if I could come to her and identify this moth she was looking at. I complied and to my astonishment there was a huge fresh male Antheraea polyphemus - Polyphemus Moth hanging upside down on a bare twig next to a Mercury Vapor light on the bridge itself. While looking around we noticed a beautiful little Arctiid Moth and another Male Polyphemus still hanging around. This was not entirely unexpected but it was a little biut of a surprise and is a great sign that our nocturnal excursions here will be exciting. We collected both males for the display and pushed on.

In the clearing where they are doing all the work, we noticed a few new plants in bloom and I came across an interesting pile of scat. This scat seemed relatively fresh and so I took a shot of it. The fog was still pretty heavy and there was a heavy condensate of dew on all the spider webs in the area. The temperature was time checking out possible lighting sites in the area and began looking at the logistics of sampling the Nighttime fauna of the Park. David and Farrar are longtime friends and they both know their way around a Moth Lighting expedition. With these friends along for the survey we will do well. I thought that we might be able to coax Jerry Walls into featuring a lighting trip as a park sponsored event after we find the best places. It would be cool to invite some local 4H kids and a Biology class or two to come along. We could really blow some minds! I remember a night in Huntsville when the Actias luna population was at peak and we had HUNDREDS of Luna moths swirling and bumbling around in the grass. It was magical.

We continued on down the trail towards the Equestrian Campground. This was one of our primary stops and we all immediately saw the advantages in lighting in this location. There is a large clearing with multiple areas where lighting rigs could be set up. There is a covered area that could be set up as a processing station with a roof to keep safe and dry. The site is large enough for 3 - 4 rigs to be used and yet small enough that we could set-up 2 - 3 generators and power it all up. This will be the first lighting location.

There were some flowers blooming in this area including a patch of pure white violets - but no butterflies. We decided to push on down the trail and keep on the lookout for butterflies. So on down the path we trudged. We stayed in the road until we reached the main road, where we headed south towards the Isabella tract, but our time was running short so we turned around. Along the way we saw a number of wings from night flying Arctiid moths - like Spilosoma virginica, but not a single butterfly. The moth wings were probably the remains of bird or bat meals, and so we will have to be careful when we light that we do not attract the Bats. They can ruin a nights' lighting by scaring off the moths or by eating them as they fly in.

On the side of the trail we found a familiar beetle - Calosoma scrutator - The Caterpillar Hunter - Photo by Farrar Stockton. A metallic green marvel and an amazing creature. It was sitting alongside the road and Farrar managed to get a great picture of it. It was collected for the display and we completed our trek back to the bridge. 1.5 miles each way today - a good hike and very enjoyable.

On our back across the Peach Creek Bridge - David noticed a Male Luna Moth - Actias luna - hanging upside down in a lower tree below the bridge near that Mercury Vapor lamp. It was a big luna and not as fresh as the 2 male polyphemus moths, possibly a few days old. It was collected for the display and we headed out for the parking lot. Not a single butterfly seen but a great day none the less.

The Lift Station Tour - March 04, 2007

Sunday March 4, 2007 - The Lift Station Tour.

I decided to focus this trip on the Lift Station area specifically to target 3 area/specimens. I wanted to see the activity around the Red Bud Tree, the telephone pole where I saw the Mourning Cloak and the patches of Southern Dewberry along the Lift Station trail. The day was mile high skies and slightly colder than the previous day. I believe the temperature was about 61 degrees Fahrenheit and very breezy at times.

The day started out very slow but very soon I began to notice some very interesting things in the air. The Red Bud was still a hotbed for the small Duskywing Skippers, but I soon noticed a few other butterflies coming in for a peek. These Skippers land in all sorts of interesting angles but almost always land with their wings facing the sun. It makes it real easy to get a picture since they are so well lit.

There was a patch of the Southern Dewberry right next to the tree and I captured an image of a relatively fresh Agraulis vanillae nectaring. This Butterfly, also known as the Gulf Fritillary uses Purple Passion Flower - Passiflora incarnata as it larval food plant and the adult females can be seen ovipositing on the passion flower stems in the summer and fall. This beautiful butterfly has silvery patches on the underside of its wings and looks quite amazing when at rest.

The next surprise came when I saw my first Red Admiral - Vanessa atalanta perched on the path. This is a simply stunning little Nymphalid and can be quite a territorial defender. I have watched the males go at each other with great gusto. They will take nectar from a wide variety of sources and are a delightful butterfly, swift on the wing and nearly too fast to net.

Low and behold, after 70 minutes of hanging out by the Red Bud Tree I finally saw what I came here for - An Elfin Butterfly. This little brown beauty was hanging around on the Red Bud, very small and hard to detect. If it hadn't shifted its position I would have missed it entirely. A quick drop of the camera and snatching my new Old Man Net Special I promptly caught and papered this gem. I did not pause for a photo as I was too afraid of losing it. I will post a picture of this beautiful specimen when it comes off pf the spreading boards. There are really only 2 species of Elfin in the Houston area and they are both hard to find, at least for us.

On the way out I encountered some local amphibious species in 2 very distinct life stages. The Tadpoles were unfortunately in a drying up mud puddle and will probably be dead within a day or so as the water vanishes. Next to the Water Lift Station itself, in a large puddle, I got a few shots of what appears to be Rana sphenocephala or the Southern Leopard Frog. This frog was content to lie motionless on the surface and wait for me to leave him in peace, which I gladly did.

I decide to make one last trip down the path and I managed to capture another Elfin butterfly, this time fluttering along the side of the trail. I have no idea which Elfin this one is either, but I suspect it is Callophyrus niphon or the Pine Elfin. More . . . Later.

Species list:

• Vanessa atalanta - Nymphalidae - Red Admiral (S)
  
• Agraulis vanillae - Nymphalidae - Gulf Fritillary (S)
  
• Phyciodes speciosa - Nymphalidae - Crescent Butterfly (V)
• Zerene cesonia - Pieridae - Southern Dogface (V)
• Erynnis speciosa - Hesperiidae - Duskywing (S)
  
• Callophrys sp. - Lycaenidae - Theclinae - Elfin (V)

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Thanks for reading

Bob

The Lift Station Tour 03-03-2007

Saturday March 3, 2007

The lift Station today was much better than on the previous Saturday, so I stayed out for a long time, hoping to see some new species for 2007. I took a different route today starting nearer to the house and walking to the lift station from the Power Cut. The Power Cut is much changed over the last 2 years. The central trail way area is much more trampled and there are a lot more tire tracks from ATV's and other off road vehicles. Plus the power company is more aggressive about keeping it pruned back. We used to see a lot of Anthocharis midea texana in the early Spring here in Spring, Texas. I can remember the first trip back here in 2003 we must have seen/vouchered 40 specimens over a few weeks. Today I saw only 4 total - all male- all in the area around the Lift Station. This may be due to the dry winter or possibly the destructive changes in the habitat due to abuse by visitors.

There is a new tree in bloom, I think it is Mexican Plum - Prunus mexicana. It is a mass of white flowers, like a cherry tree but no leaves as of yet. It doesn't seem to draw much of anything, but it may just be my imagination or a poorly placed tree. This one is located near the bayou in an area with heavy canopy. There actually was not much flying back under the canopy at all. I saw most of the butterflies flying out in the open areas, near the trails.

Along the banks of the drainage ditch leading to the bayou, on the border between the Power Cut and Lift Station legs of the tour, the Pickly-Sow thistle - Sonchus asper, is in full bloom. It attracts Skipper butterflies later in the year but today there was a lone beetle. It looks a lot like Hippodamia convergens, the convergent lady beetle. This plant already is 2+ feet tall and ready to begin another season of blooming, seedmaking and establishing itself on the hillsides. There are a few other plants blooming but the real draw is either the Southern Dewberry - Rubus trivialis or of course the Red Bud.

As I was making my way towards the Lift Station from the drainage ditch I saw a real marvel - the Mourning Cloak butterfly - Nymphalis antiopa. This is one of the first I have ever seen and it eluded me, but a long time resident (both years that I have been walking the lift station leg) is back and busy at work. At the top of a power pole, busy excavating was a large Pileated Woodpecker - Dryocopus pileatus. This is such a brightly colored and somewhat prehistoric looking bird, I am glad he doesn't eat butterflies or butterfliers. He ignores me as unimportant and I snap a few shots and move on. I will be back in succeeding days to see if the Nymphalis antiopa returns to this spot. I may have to bring back some Apples or Watermelon to bait for him, we will see.

The Red Bud Tree - has quite a few skippers on it. They seem to be Horace's Duskywings - Erynnis horatius, but I vouchered a few to check their identity. I was hoping to find soem of the Elfins that occur in this area, especially Callophrys henrici - Henry's Elfin. It uses Red Bud as a nectar source and this massive Red Bud should be full of them, so I will just have to be patient or try elsewhere. It is a beautiful day and I loved all the time I spent out here.

Here's todays List:

• Anaea andria - Nymphalidae - Leafwing (V)
  
• Polygonia interrogationalis - Nymphalidae - The Question Mark(V)
• Colias eurytheme - Pieridae - The Clouded Sulphur(S)
• Nymphalis antiopa - Nymphalidae - The Mourning Cloak (S)
  
• Libytheana carinenta - Nymphalidae - The Snout Butterfly (S)
  
• Anthocharis midea texana - Pieridae - The Falcate Orangetip (V)
  
• Zerene cessonia - Pieridae - The Southern Dogface (S)
• Erynnis horatius - Hesperiidae - Horace's Duskywing (V)

Enjoy the season.

Bob

The Lift Station Tour 02-25-2007

February 25, 2007
The Lift Station Tour:

I have this walking tour that I take through a combination of Greenbelt/Power Cut and Water Lift Station properties that winds behind my subdivision. I have been doing this for over 2 years now. This season I decided to use Google Earth
( http://earth.google.com ) an unbeliveable free mapping and species management program! I have located my area, mapped our the walking path and I will add species seen and locate their areas for each expedition. Here is today' map.

The area is a primarily hardwood forest remanant with some pretty heavy trail and path cutting activity in the past. Areas have been used ny local kids for Paintball wars, hideouts, treehouses and bike/ATV riding trails. The first walk is down a canopy shaded walk to the lift station. At the Lift station if you take a right you will walk into an open trail area bordered with forest on both sides. A right will take you down a forested path near and skirting the bayou area.

The most productive habitat is to the left. I have found a huge Texas Red Bud Tree (Cercis canadensis var. texensis) that is in full bloom at this time and it is the primary Nectar Source in the area. I hung out by it for an hour or more hoping to see Elfin butterflies. None today, unfortunately. I expect that some will be seen as we saw one last year but were unsuccessful at capturing it.

There are some flowers in bloom. I have identified many of them using my favorite WildFlower Fieldguide -- Wildflowers of Houston and Southeast Texas by John and Gloria Tveten. It is a great guide and I use the web for any flowers that just happen to slip by the Tvetens.

The prime nectar sources today are: Rubus trivialis or the Southern Dewberry. It is a kind of wild blackberry that is well defended with thorns. It grows vinelike on the ground and is quite capable of tearing up unprotected skin! It attracts most of the skippers such as this Erynnis species (most likely Erynnis horatius) and I have seen the Pygus communis hovering or landing on it.

The very biddest draw is the Cercis canadensis var. texensis or as it is commonly called The Red Bud Tree. There is a single specimen right at the lift station and it draws very well as long as it is in bloom.

Species seen(S) or Vouchered (V) today:

• Libytheana carinenta - Nymphalidae - Snout Butterfly (V)
  
• Pyrgus communis - Hesperiidae - Checkered Skipper (S)
  
• Anaea andrea - Nymphalidae - Tropical Leafwing (V)
  
• Eurema lisa - Pieridae - Little Yellow(V)
• Colias eurytheme - Pieridae - Clouded Sulphur (V)
  

Time: 1:00 - 3:00 PM Temperature: Mid 60's - Partly Cloudy - windy

Bob

Lake Houston Park 02-24-2007

Saturday February 24, 2007 -=- Lake Houston Park

"Lake Houston Park is a beautiful, lushly forested expanse of nearly 5,000 acres 30 miles north of Houston. It is located where Caney Creek and the East Fork of the San Jacinto River meet near the town of New Caney, and it straddles the Harris-Montgomery County line. " --(http://www.houstontx.gov/parks/lakehoustonpark.html).

I went out with my great friend David Kent to visit this little gem of a park. We met with Park Naturalist Jerry Walls and an amazing lady by the name of Reda Schmidt. The Park was hosting their "Off the Beaten Path" day, so about a dozen hardy souls loaded up into two 4WD vehicles and off we went.

It was relatively cool and rainy but we saw a few very interesting animals. Reda noticed this amazing Snapping Turtle crawling across the path and we stopped for pictures. He was relatively clean and fairly animated. He crawled slowly off into the woods, and we went on looking for new adventures. The trail on which we were driving was very soft an so much care was taken to avoid tearing it up or getting bogged down.

The Woods were a combination of Hardwoods and Conifers with low lying swampy areas dominated by Sago Palms. It was in the boggy Sago Palm areas that we saw the First Butterflies - Falcate Orangetips - the Spring Herald here in Texas. They were only flying when the rain stopped and the sun made an appearance. I was lucky enough to catch one perching on the top of a broken tree. It stayed here until the sun reappeared and with the mottling on its wings it blended in very well with the lichens.

We saw only Males and only in the areas where the Sago Palms occurred. In most instances they were near the ponds but I saw no Butterflies near Peach Creek. We will be back to help them with the provisioning of exhibits for a new Nature center in the park. Overall it was a great trip and we really enjoyed the staff. They clearly love this preserve and we look forward to working with them.

Bob Nuelle