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  ABC > Home > THE FAUNA PROJECT > Survey March 17, 2011


The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Fauna Project

Our seven volunteers enjoyed a cool overcast morning, which kept butterflies to a minimum but allowed us to find plenty of moths that had been attracted to lights the previous night. The two snakes were definitely highlights, although we were too late to actually see the mating rattlesnakes. They had already discretely retreated under a large rock and we could hear them rattling. The minute Frit Fly (Thaumatomyia sp.) was found hanging around a large colony of aphids on potted milkweeds in the nursery area. The larvae of these flies feed on those pests!

Select Photos and Complete List of Sightings:


Rindgea cyda (moth)
photo by Val Bugh


Mocis texana (Texas mocis)
photo by Val Bugh


Charadra dispulsa (moth)
photo by Val Bugh


Unknown sp. (braconid wasp)
photo by Val Bugh


Knulliana cincta (banded hickory borer)
photo by Val Bugh


Cryptocephalus notatus (leaf beetle)
photo by Val Bugh


Sitona sp. (broad-nosed weevil)
photo by Val Bugh


Alypia octomaculata (eight-spotted forester)
photo by Val Bugh


Euerythra phasma (red-tailed specter)
photo by Val Bugh


Xerociris wilsonii (Wilson's wood-nymph)
photo by Val Bugh


Goniapteryx servia (moth)
photo by Val Bugh


Schizura unicornis (unicorn caterpillar moth)
photo by Val Bugh


Hemaris diffinis (snowberry clearwing)
photo by Val Bugh


Acanthocephala terminalis (coreid bug)
photo by Val Bugh


Thaumatomyia sp. (frit fly)
photo by Val Bugh


Copestylum marginatum (flower fly)
photo by Val Bugh


Opheodrys aestivus (rough green snake)
photo by Val Bugh


Crotalus atrox (western diamondback rattlesnakes mating)
photo by Joe Marcus

  • Birds:
    Bewick's Wren (Thryomanes bewickii)
    Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus)
    Black-crested Titmouse (Baeolophus atricristatus)
    Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis)
    Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus)
    Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)
    Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina)
    Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe)
    Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla)
    Great-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus)
    Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria)
    Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
    Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
    Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)
    Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)
    White-winged Dove (Zenaida asiatica)
    Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata)

  • Mammals:
    Eastern Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger)

  • Reptiles:
    Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox), mating pair
    Rough Green Snake (Opheodrys aestivus)

  • Misc.:
    Harvestman (Unknown sp.)
    Garden Snail (Otala lactea)
    Land Snail (Rabdotus sp.)

  • Insects & Spiders:
    orderfamilygenus/speciescommon name

    lepidoptera  lycaenidae  Callophrys henrici  Henry's Elfin
        Strymon melinus  Gray Hairstreak
      noctuidae  Phoberia atomaris  Common Oak Moth
        Charadra dispulsa  Moth
        Goniapteryx servia  Moth
        Cissusa sp.  Moth
        Mocis texana  Texas Mocis
        Xerociris wilsonii  Wilson's Wood-nymph
        Alypia octomaculata  Eight-spotted Forester
        Hypena scabra  Green Cloverworm (larva)
      arctiidae  Euerythra phasma  Red-tailed Specter
        Estigmene acrea  Saltmarsh Moth (& larva & eggs)
      nolidae  Meganola minuscula  Confused Meganola
      notodontidae  Lochmaeus bilineata  Double-lined Prominent
        Schizura unicornis  Unicorn Caterpillar Moth
      geometridae  Anavitrinella atristrigaria  Gulf Coast Gray
        Eupithecia bolterii  Pug
        Chlorochlamys chloroleucaria  Blackberry Looper Moth
        Nemoria zygotaria  Emerald
        Phigalia strigataria  Small Phigalia
        Phigalia titea  The Halfwing
        Glena quinquelinearia  Five-lined Glena
        Lobocleta ossularia  Drab Brown Wave
        Rindgea cyda  Moth
      crambidae  Uresiphita reversalis  Genista Caterpillar (larva)
      lacturidae  Lactura sp.  Moth
      elachistidae  Ethmia semilugens  Ethmia Moth
        Ethmia zelleriella  Zeller's Ethmia
      copromorphidae  Ellabella editha  Tropical Fruitworm Moth
      pterophoridae  Emmelina monodactyla  Plume Moth
        Pselnophorus belfragei  Plume Moth
      tortricidae  Unknown sp.  Leafroller (larva)
      sphingidae  Hemaris diffinis  Snowberry Clearwing
      coleophoridae  Blastobasis sp.  Moth

    coleoptera  coccinellidae  Cycloneda sanguinea  Red Ladybird
        Coccinella septempunctata  Seven-spotted Ladybird (larva)
        Unknown sp.  Ladybird Beetle (larva)
      chrysomelidae  Asphaera lustrans  Flea Beetle
        Diabrotica undecimpunctata  Spotted Cucumber Beetle
        Systena hudsonias  Flea Beetle
        Cryptocephalus notatus  Leaf Beetle
      cerambycidae  Unknown sp.  Longhorn Beetle
        Knulliana cincta  Banded Hickory Borer
      scarabaeidae  Phyllophaga sp.  June Beetle
      anthribidae  Trigonorhinus limbatus  Fungus Weevil
      curculionidae  Sitona sp.  Broad-nosed Weevil

    hemiptera  coreidae  Acanthocephala terminalis  Coreid Bug
      miridae  Lopidea major  Plant Bug (nymph)

    homoptera  cicadellidae  Cuerna costalis  Leafhopper
      aphididae  Aphis nerii  Oleander Aphid
        Unknown sp.  Aphid

    hymenoptera  vespidae  Polistes exclamans  Paper Wasp
      crabronidae  Liris sp.  Cricket Wasp
      braconidae  Unknown sp.  Braconid Wasp
      formicidae  Crematogaster sp.  Acrobat Ant
        Camponotus sp.  Carpenter Ant
      apidae  Apis mellifera  Honey Bee
        Ceratina sp.  Small Carpenter Bee
      megachilidae  Osmia sp.  Mason Bee
      halictidae  Unknown sp.  Green Sweat Bee

    diptera  syrphidae  Copestylum marginatum  Flower Fly
        Copestylum avidum  Flower fly
        Copestylum mexicana  Black Flower fly
        Allograpta obliqua  Flower fly
        Eupeodes volucris  Flower fly
      anthomyiidae  Unknown sp.  Root Maggot Fly
      scathophagidae  Unknown sp.  Dung Fly
      chironomidae  Unknown sp.  Midge
      tachinidae  Unknown sp.  Tachinid Fly
      chloropidae  Thaumatomyia sp.  Frit Fly

    orthoptera  acrididae  Melanoplus plebejus  Plebeian Grasshopper (nymph)
        Chortophaga viridifasciata  Northern Green-striped Grasshopper (nymph)
        Lactista aztecus  Aztec Bandwing (adult & nymph)
        Schistocerca nitens  Gray Bird Grasshopper
      tettigoniidae  Scudderia furcata  Fork-tailed Bush Katydid (nymph)
        Dichopetala catinata  Spoon-tailed Short-winged Katydid (nymph)

    neuroptera  chrysopidae  Unknown sp.  Green Lacewing

    araneae  salticidae  Thiodina sylvana  Jumping Spider
      thomisidae  Mecaphesa sp.  Crab Spider

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