Author: Anita Westervelt

  • Rattle purr, knock, knock, knock

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    Anita Westervelt

    Story by Anita Westervelt, Texas Master Naturalist In the eerie stillness between late afternoon summer storms, I heard the soft guttural rattle of a rain crow — a vocal yet illusive summer visitor to our yard these past three or four years. I raced to the house, grabbed my camera and swiftly swept back into…

  • Anita’s Blog — Siren Song of Summer

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    Anita Westervelt
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    Last summer brought us the superb dog-day cicada, Neotibicen superbus and its nostalgic, resonating song. Another Texas songster is filling the night air this summer with decibel-alarming pitch: the giant cicada, Quesada gigas, the widest ranging cicada in the Western Hemisphere — and quite possibly, the loudest insect in Texas. The giant cicada’s northern most…

  • Anita’s Blog — Nature’s Smokescreens

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    Anita Westervelt
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    Camouflage isn’t always all it’s kicked up to be. Just when you think it’s safe, along comes a mockingbird and plucks a large green something out of the grass, flies off with it and lands not quite close enough to capture with a phone camera. This particular quarry was bright green — the color of…

  • Odd things in the garden might be beneficial

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    Anita Westervelt

    Story by Anita Westervelt, Texas Master Naturalist Tiny baubles suspended on strings might look odd hanging from leaves in your garden but check them out before you wipe them out, they may be lacewing eggs. Green lacewings are a beneficial insect with a unique way of laying eggs. The eggs are usually found on vegetation…

  • Anita’s Blog — Startling Garden Finds

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    Anita Westervelt
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    I couldn’t believe my luck! The most awesome find in my garden was pure magic. It was SO exciting, I probably wasted three seconds in open-mouthed stupor while my mind circled between disbelief and eye-mind cognizance before I began taking photos with my phone camera. Lebeau’s silk moth, Rothschildia labeau: Initially, I thought the large…

  • Searching for caterpillars for summertime fun

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    Anita Westervelt

    Story and photos by Anita Westervelt, Texas Master Naturalist While you’re perhaps still staying close to home — and looking for new activities as springtime turns to summer — be on the lookout for caterpillars, they may be anywhere. Surprisingly, the now-blooming yellow cascades of lluvia do oro (Cassis fistula) may be full of yellow-colored…