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