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.