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  ABC > Home > THE FAUNA PROJECT > Survey August 26, 2010


The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Fauna Project

Our party of five conducted this morning's survey under mostly cloudy skies which, coupled with a nice breeze, kept the already warm temperature from rising too quickly. Highlights included finding Pipevine Swallowtail eggs on the Swanflower in the Oculus beds, getting a close-up view of a Great Plains Rat Snake, and watching the intense activity (butterflies, bees, wasps, and flies) around the blossoming Scorpion Tail near the metal tank pond in the Display Gardens.

Select Photos and Complete List of Sightings:


Polistes aurifer (paper wasp)
photo by Val Bugh


Agrilus sp. (metallic wood-boring beetle, family Buprestidae)
photo by Val Bugh


Junonia evarete (tropical buckeye)
photo by Val Bugh


Amblyscirtes celia (Celia's Roadside-skipper)
photo by Val Bugh


Pyrgus communis/albescens (common/white checkered-skipper)
photo by Val Bugh


Ocyptamus fascipennis (flower fly)
photo by Val Bugh


Thyanta custator (stink bug)
photo by Val Bugh


Vespula squamosa (southern yellowjacket)
photo by Val Bugh


Urbanus dorantes (dorantes longtail)
photo by Val Bugh


Hylephila phyleus (fiery skipper, male)
photo by Val Bugh


Asterocampa celtis (hackberry emperor)
photo by Val Bugh


Sympetrum corruptum (variegated meadowhawk, male)
photo by Val Bugh


Battus philenor (pipevine swallowtail eggs)
photo by Val Bugh


Icerya purchasi (cottony cushion scale with acrobat ant)
photo by Val Bugh


Elaphe guttata emoryi (Great Plains rat snake)
photo by Val Bugh


Unknown sp. (spur-throated grasshopper, nymph)
photo by Val Bugh


Rabidosa rabida (rabid wolf spider, gravid female)
photo by Val Bugh


Zelus tetracanthus (four-spined assassin bug)
photo by Val Bugh


Oxyopes salticus (striped lynx, male)
photo by Val Bugh

  • Birds:
    Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)
    Black-crested Titmouse (Baeolophus atricristatus)
    Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)
    Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis)
    Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus)
    House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus)
    Hummingbird (Archilochus sp.)
    Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
    Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
    Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)
    Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)
    White-winged Dove (Zenaida asiatica)

  • Reptiles:
    Great Plains Rat Snake (Elaphe guttata emoryi)

  • Insects & Spiders:
    orderfamilygenus/speciescommon name

    lepidoptera  nymphalidae  Danaus gilippus  Queen
        Phyciodes texana  Texan Crescent
        Junonia coenia  Common Buckeye
        Junonia evarete  Tropical Buckeye
        Agraulis vanillae  Gulf Fritillary
        Asterocampa celtis  Hackberry Emperor
      pieridae  Eurema lisa  Little Yellow
        Eurema nicippe  Sleepy Orange
        Phoebis sennae  Cloudless Sulphur
      lycaenidae  Strymon melinus  Gray Hairstreak
      papilionidae  Battus philenor  Pipevine Swallowtail (eggs)
      hesperiidae  Lerodea eufala  Eufala Skipper
        Lerema accius  Clouded Skipper
        Erynnis horatius  Horace's Duskywing
        Amblyscirtes celia  Celia's Roadside-skipper
        Pyrgus communis/albescens  Common/White Checkered-skipper
        Hylephila phyleus  Fiery skipper
        Chioides albofasciatus  White-striped Longtail
        Urbanus dorantes  Dorantes Longtail
      arctiidae  Estigmene acrea  Saltmarsh Moth
      limacodidae  Euclea incisa  Oak Slug Moth

    odonata  coenagrionidae  Ischnura ramburii  Rambur's Forktail
      libellulidae  Pachydiplax longipennis  Blue Dasher
        Sympetrum corruptum  Variegated Meadowhawk

    coleoptera  chrysomelidae  Asphaera lustrans  Flea Beetle
      tenebrionidae  Eleodes goryi  Darkling Beetle
      coccinellidae  Harmonia axyridis  Multi-colored Asian Ladybird
      buprestidae  Agrilus sp.  Metallic Woodborer

    hemiptera  coreidae  Acanthocephala terminalis  Coreid Bug (adult & nymph)
        Narnia femorata  Cactus Bug (adult & nymph)
        Leptoglossus phyllopus  Leaf-footed Bug
        Leptoglossus sp.  Leaf-footed Bug (nymph)
        Chariesterus antennator  Euphorbia Bug
        Chelinidea vittiger  Opuntia Bug (nymph)
        Chelinidea tabulata  Opuntia Bug (nymph)
      rhopalidae  Harmostes sp.  Scentless Plant Bug
      reduviidae  Zelus tetracanthus  Four-spined Assassin Bug (adult & nymph)
      pentatomidae  Thyanta custator  Stink Bug
        Chlorochroa ligata  Conchuela (nymph)

    homoptera  cicadidae  Tibicen texanus  Cicada
      cicadellidae  Cuerna costalis  Leafhopper
      aphididae  Unknown sp.  Aphids
      margarodidae  Icerya purchasi  Cottony Cushion Scale
      dactylopiidae  Dactylopius sp.  Cochineal Insect

    hymenoptera  sphecidae  Sceliphron caementarium  Yellow-and-black Mud Dauber
      crabronidae  Bicyrtes sp.  Sand Wasp
      formicidae  Crematogaster sp.  Acrobat Ant
      pompilidae  Pepsis sp.  Spider Wasp
      braconidae  Unknown sp.  Braconid Wasp
      vespidae  Polistes carolina  Red Wasp
        Polistes exclamans  Paper Wasp
        Polistes aurifer  Paper Wasp
        Vespula squamosa  Southern Yellowjacket
      apidae  Bombus pensylvanicus  Bumble Bee
        Apis mellifera  Honey Bee
      megachilidae  Megachile sp.  Leaf-cutter Bee
        Unknown sp.  Leaf-cutter Bee
      halictidae  Unknown sp.  Green Sweat Bee

    diptera  dolichopodidae  Unknown sp.  Long-legged Fly
      syrphidae  Copestylum mexicana  Black Flower Fly
        Copestylum sp.  Flower Fly
        Ocyptamus fascipennis  Flower Fly

    orthoptera  acrididae  Lactista aztecus  Aztec Bandwing
        Chortophaga viridifasciata  Northern Green-striped Grasshopper
        Schistocerca nitens  Gray Bird Grasshopper
        Schistocerca obscura  Obscure Bird Grasshopper
        Schistocerca sp.  Bird Grasshopper (nymph)
        Melanoplus sp.  Spur-throated Grasshopper
        Melanoplus differentialis  Differential Grasshopper
        Unknown sp.  Spur-throated Grasshopper (nymph)
        Mermiria sp.  Slant-faced Grasshopper (nymph)
        Mermiria bivittata  Two-striped Mermiria
      tettigoniidae  Scudderia furcata  Fork-tailed Bush Katydid (adult & nymph)
        Pediodectes bruneri  Bruner's Shieldback

    neuroptera  mantispidae  Unknown sp.  Mantisfly

    mantodea  mantidae  Stagmomantis carolina  Carolina Mantis (nymph)

    araneae  araneidae  Argiope aurantia  Black and Yellow Garden Spider
      oxyopidae  Peucetia viridans  Green Lynx
        Oxyopes salticus  Striped Lynx
      salticidae  Anasaitis canosa  Jumping Spider
        Phidippus arizonensis  Arizona Jumper
        Phidippus audax  Bold Jumper
      lycosidae  Rabidosa rabida  Rabid Wolf Spider

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