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.

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 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