Author: Anita Westervelt

  • A Rabble of Butterflies

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    Anita Westervelt

    — Bring in the butterflies with just a couple of plants Story and photos by Anita Westervelt, Texas Master Naturalist September’s rains provided a tremendous boost to our fall kaleidoscope of butterflies. What’s rain got to do with it? September rains create a burst of blooms in our native plant communities — in time for…

  • Fall caterpillars are on the move

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    Anita Westervelt

    Story and photos by Anita Westervelt, Texas Master Naturalist Some moths and butterflies are still laying eggs, and in six to 10 days, those eggs will hatch and tiny caterpillars will be on the move. Moth and butterfly caterpillars grow through about five instar stages. After the final stage, moth caterpillars form a cocoon while…

  • Anita’s Blog — Changes are Afoot

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    Anita Westervelt
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    The temperature is a-changing; we’re promised a drop soon in the humidity levels. The birds in the trees are more diverse — different species passing through with the annual migration. There are more hummingbirds darting around tubular-shaped blooms in the garden, far less dragonflies in the air and more species of butterflies than you can…

  • Two Valley frogs

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    Anita Westervelt

    — Night hunters help control the insect population Story and photos by Anita Westervelt, Texas Master Naturalist The Lower Rio Grande Valley is the northern most range of the common Mexican tree frog, Smilisca baudinii. Their range includes the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, Cameron and Hidalgo counties in Texas and south to Costa Rica. They…

  • Anita’s Blog — Signs of Autumn

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    Anita Westervelt
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    Amazingly, summer noticeably turned into fall here in the Deep South of Texas for a couple of days. This short cold front gave us a fall-like respite for tending to outdoor chores. Most notably making yard work fun again on our small squiredom are the legions of dragonflies. Hundreds of them are flying over the…

  • It’s a rare treat when the wood storks visit

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    Anita Westervelt

    Story and photos by Anita Westervelt, Texas Master Naturalist Wood stork, Mycteria Americana, is the only member of the stork family (Ciconiidae) native to America. There are 20 species in the Ciconiidae family, all generally found in temperate and tropical regions. In America, wood storks breed primarily in the Florida Everglades and along the coasts…