Today I am taking a mental health break and just having fun outside. I spent a really long time this morning watching the edge of the woods to figure…
Sparrows of Hermits’ Rest
I just thought y’all might enjoy this blog.
Sparrows of Hermits’ Rest
Month: December 2020
Don’t Tread on Me
by Donna Lewis
I decided to go look at our pond to see if the water level had come up. I took my camera in case I saw something interesting. And lo and behold, there was a gorgeous Red Admiral butterfly nectaring on an elm tree just off the pond area.
So I very slowly worked my way around the tree near a ravine and stopped in front of a pile of limbs. Just as I looked down at my footing I just about had a stroke!!! Probably 24 inches from my hands holding the camera was a large snake lying on top of the limbs. It was fat, oily, and waiting for a meal…
I am not scared of most snakes, but when you are not expecting one, it can be scary! Luckily I was able to get a photo before I slowly backed away and went on my way.
As soon as I got back to the house I started trying to identify this snake. I had not seen this particular one before. I find it hard to look at a guide book to correctly identify a snake. So, I sent the photo off to Dr. Crump ( TPWD Herpetologist ) and our own Linda Jo Conn(the celebrated iNaturalist expert) to find out what it was.
Dr. Crump responded really fast and informed me that it is a diamondback water snake. Its scientific name is Nerodia rhombifera rhombifera. Gotta love these long names.
So this baby is a water snake and has an extraordinary ability to stink! They call that a musking ability, but you know what I mean. Thank goodness it is a non-venomous snake, but it will bite if threatened. It likes to eat frogs and carrion. Oh my.
I won’t be trying to pick it up anytime soon. It’s hard to say who would be more frightened, the snake or the human? Live and let live, I always say! All creatures have their place in nature.
As the sun set later on, I said goodbye to my new friend, and hoped he went to visit someone else.
Flying Spiders and Other Arachnid Tales
by Eric Neubauer
Flying Spiders
A while back a friend directed me to an article suggesting that spiders use the electrical gradient in the atmosphere to become airborne. When they produce silk, it has a charge and is attracted upward. Enough silk, and they’re up and away. So, the thing that causes lightning can also be used by spiders to fly.
After I read the article, I’ve wanted to see a flying spider. Yesterday, I was lucky and saw one go by at about 5 mph and 6 feet above the ground. I saw the spider, one of my guests saw the silk thread it was suspended by. Unfortunately it went by too quickly for either of us to see what was at the other end of the thread.
Whether it is pure instinct or involves some thought, the spider is purposefully flying. By dropping down on the thread, the spider can land at will. I have seen what I take to be silken spider balloons lying on plants.
I’ve also wondered how those silken threads that span the tall grass on either side of the driveway got there. It would be tedious for the spider to go down, across, and up while risking the thread getting entangled along the way. They probably simply fly it across. I’ll be looking for more flying spiders.
Additional information from Sue Ann
I’m busting in on Eric’s article, because this is also one of my interests. I found on Wikipedia that this is called ballooning. Apparently lots of spiders and some other organisms do this, and yes, it’s electrical!
I’ve also read that the wolf spiderlings are blown out of their nests on these little parachutes of silk, which is how they disperse. Here’s a close-up I found. At some times of the year at our ranch, they are everywhere. I can remember getting covered by the sailing webs while driving in our utility vehicle.
Are spiders disgusted by humans?
As the season winds down and the avian predators clean up the last of the grasshoppers, the mating season of Eastern Harvestmen (and women) is in full swing. Perhaps because of this they seem to be very curious.
Twice I’ve had them come to investigate while I was fussing around with something. Rabid Wolf Spiders also do this, but I figured in their case they were hoping for a meal like the swallows that appear when you’re out on a lawn tractor.
The funny thing was when I stuck my finger out to see what the Harvestmen would do with it, they turned tail and ran away immediately upon contact. It seemed as if they had the same gut reaction that some people have when they see a spider. It also suggests they have really poor eyesight and are probably as comfortable in total darkness as they are in light.
I later had another encounter with a harvestman. I kept my finger still as it approached. As soon as its leading foot touched me, it turned and ran. Primatephobia at its best!
Alternatives to Feeding Sugar Water to Honey Bees
by Donna Lewis and Mary M Reed, Chief Apiary Inspector, Texas Apiary Inspection Service
You may have read Donna’s recent post about feeding honeybees on her property. She got to wondering if the sugar water she was putting out was a good idea, so she contacted Mary Reed at Texas A&M, who has spoken to our chapter before, for more information. It’s so great that we Master Naturalists can contact credible resources like Mary Reed when we have questions. Their email exchange starts below the beautiful image of a bee.
Sue Ann Kendall
Donna
I wanted to ask about something I thought was OK, but after looking at some web sites, I may be wrong. I do not want to give incorrect information out on our blog.
So, is putting out sugar water for honey bee’s bad?
Mary
Thanks for reaching out! Feeding sugar to honey bees is a method beekeepers use to strengthen their colonies as needed. It gives honey bees the energy they need to generate wax to build the comb, conduct tasks in the hive, and forage for resources in the surrounding area.
It is recommended that if a beekeeper is going to feed their hives sugar water that they use in-hive feeders rather than open feeding. In-hive feeders help prevent robbing behavior from other colonies, and it cuts down on the possibility of disease transmission. Open feeding (i.e., placing sugar water out in a bucket, tray, etc.) increases the likelihood of disease transmission amongst hives in the area.
It’s also possible to see a flurry of bees coming to this open resource at certain times of the year when other nectar resources are not available. This can be alarming to some and is a potential public safety issue.
If your readers are interested in providing a resource for bees, my best recommendation is to plant a variety of flowering plants that bloom in succession over the year. The successive blooming periods provide bees a reliable food source throughout the year. It’s fairly common in Texas to have nutritional dearths, meaning there are periods of time where there is little to no natural resources for bees to feed on, so having a succession of blooms available really helps.
The other benefit to having a variety of flowering plants is that it also provides a diversity of nutrients to bees. The nutritional content of pollen can vary from plant to plant, and bees need this variety for their overall health.
I probably went way beyond what you were expecting for this question, but I hope this information is helpful. If you need anything else, please don’t hesitate to reach out!
Donna
I think I will discontinue with the sugar water and just do what I always do and provide lots of shallow water containers for them.
In the near future I hope we can meet again and share more knowledge about our pollinator friends with our chapter and the public.
Mary
No problem! I’m happy to help out any time. To be honest, providing a consistent water resource for bees is one of the best things you can do. We don’t often think about how insects need and utilize water for their own survival, but for bees it’s especially important when it comes to thermoregulating their hive.
I like to provide some type of water resource year round, but especially in the warmer months when bees are using the water to cool down their hives.
Central Texas “Snow”
by Carolyn Henderson
Central Texas received its first notable “snow” this morning. It was very pretty, but also disruptive. It started with my daily trip to check my CoCoRAHs rain gauge. It was frosted over inside and out, and I did not have on gloves. The frost did not melt when I removed the lid to get out the gauge so I could see it.
It was quite white on all surfaces that were not shaded by trees, and it was lovely to look at this morning. Of course, you all know it’s not snow, but it is often as close as we get around here.
After seeing news footage of what hit New England yesterday, that’s a good thing, really. Also on the bright side, my son has finally agreed that the tomato plant that wouldn’t stop has finally stopped, and I can remove it.
Nature Along the El Camino Real 