Author: Anita Westervelt
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Fall caterpillars are on the move
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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…
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Anita’s Blog — Changes are Afoot
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…
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Two Valley frogs
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— 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…
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Anita’s Blog — Signs of Autumn
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…
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It’s a rare treat when the wood storks visit
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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…
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Fun fungi to find
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Story and photos by Anita Westervelt, Texas Master Naturalist Heavy summer rain in the Deep South of Texas makes for hot, dripping-humid days and sultry, mosquito-infested hours at dawn and dusk. Only the brave and curious venture out to find the odd surprises that nature bestows on the land. Those hot, humid conditions, so annoying…