Tag: Eric Neubauer

Pigged Out!

Sue Ann (Suna) Kendall2 Comments

by Eric Neibauer

She’s an adult and significantly underweight suggesting she just used up all her reserves during her adult molt. While I was trying to photograph her, there were dozens of moths fluttering around the bowl she was in. As I dodged the moths myself I saw her grab three moths in less than a minute. One is in her jaws with the wings showing at the lower left. The other two are pinned down with her forelegs and their heads are clearly visible. Pound for pound these must be some of the most ferocious animals in the world. If I ever see a tiger take down 3 antelopes in less than a minute, I may change my opinion.

Schizocosa mccooki? Or not?

This is possibly another unnamed species, and thanks to my most recent expedition to Val Verde County, I finally have enough photos to characterize the macroscopic appearance of both adult sexes. I’ve come up with a provisional common name, Buttermilk Wolf Spider, and created a project on iNaturalist under that name. We first found some at a bioblitz in April, 2024, and thought it might be Schizocosa mccooki. Further study suggested significant differences. Specimens were collected for DNA analysis this time around have and will help provide answers.

Another novel experience on the same trip was photographing four juvenile Hogna coloradensis that had recently left their mothers. Catching them was the first major challenge. Not only are they surprisingly fast but they’re unable to climb over the edges of most containers. I had designed a special scooper, a solo cup with the rim cut off and sides trimmed to a scoop shape. Cups are only a couple thousandths thick and the spiderlings had no trouble climbing over the edge. In general they
didn’t like being there, and I had to upend the scoop quickly before they turned and ran out.

Hogna coloradensis

I don’t think anyone got spiderling photos of this species before and the usual practice would involve taking them off their mother. I had tried scooping up Hogna incognita spiderlings a couple of years back but I had to push dirt with spiderlings on top into the scoop and then separate everything. Going after free running ones with confidence was something new.

Hummingbirds from March

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by Eric Neubauer

This pair of male hummingbirds appeared on March 23rd and immediately started chasing each other around. It seemed to be play rather than combat as one would dare the other while they took turns being the aggressor. There were quiet moments when they both refueled on the feeder or shared the perch nearby. I like to think they were among the three males that had staked out the feeder last year or had been juveniles that grew up here, and that they had been together ever since.

PS I missed the pair sharing the perch the first time I saw it but they were kind enough to give me another chance later.

Hi everyone — the blog uploading person (Sue Ann) had a series of events happen that made getting blogs uploaded difficult. We will be sharing the backlog over the next few days, so get ready to learn about Milam County nature and activities from the end of March through mid-May!

Wolf Spiders of Winter

Sue Ann (Suna) Kendall2 Comments

by Eric Neubauer

Finding wolf spiders during winter is a challenge since favorable temperatures are uncommon and often short lived. It’s a good time of year for me to concentrate on local species that need better photo
coverage. One such species is Gladicosa pulchra, the contrary wolf spider that dwells in the treetops. They seem to be absent from the Blackland Prairie, and I’m only aware of them being at one location in each of Burleson and Milam Counties.

Female – dark

On December 25, I visited the Cedar Hill Nature Preserve, and on January 7 I visited Edwards Ranch. Spotlighting was the easiest way to find them. I quickly discovered they are more plentiful than I expected, and that December-January is the height of their mating season. I also found that while they live in the canopies of post oaks most of the time, they all follow the leaves down to the ground where they became a lot easier to catch for my photos of several adult females, some already gravid, and two adult males.

Male – light

Gladicosa pulchra was first described in 1877, spent time in several different genera, and was ultimately put into a new Gladicosa genus by Brady in 1987. Regarding the color, he wrote,

“The range of color in G. pulchra is greater than that of G. gulosa. I have noted light forms and dark forms of pulchra. These do not represent a genetic polymorphism but are the extremes in a color continuum. There is no discernible correlation between geographic locality and color pattern among the specimens examined. The darker forms are much more numerous than the light colored ones.”

With my recent observations, I believe I have a natural explanation for the two forms, and it’s most certainly genetic polymorphism though of the sexual dimorphism variety. A little field work certainly paid off. True to the last sentence, I saw more dark females than pale males which is typical of most species since males don’t live as long as females as adults. Females may even delay egg production while waiting for better conditions.

Addendum: Coincidentally, as I was getting this blog ready to upload, I looked over and there was a Hogna antelucana watching me. I took this friend outside to a warm spot — Sue Ann Kendall

My phone doesn’t take as clear photos as Eric’s camera and lighting.

Little Brown Spiders

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by Eric Neubauer

The wolf spider world never shuts down in Texas if you know where to look. About a dozen species from a number of genera mature over winter when they can hide among fallen leaves. They can be quite active at night during rare warm spells. They all look generally similar and are often hard to tell apart unless you know exactly what details to look for.

Here we have the obscure S. perplexa, which I’ve written about before. Turn it over and the white on black abdomen pattern makes identification easy. This is a juvenile male just one molt away from adulthood.

The other is Varacosa avara. I had found some a couple of weeks earlier and speculated they were this species mostly because of the strongly pinched carapace medial band at the posterior lateral eyes. This time it was another adult male, and I was able to confirm it from the spine lengths on the underside of tibia I thanks to a better image. The pinched medial band is a lot easier to see than the translucent spines, but the medial band pinching isn’t mentioned in the literature. Body lengths of both spiders are a little over 8 mm (a third of an inch).

Also seen was a much larger Tigrosa georgicola. The presumed female has been in about the same place for over a month. Previously she had retreated into her burrow as I approached but this time she held her ground. I didn’t attempt to capture her for photos since I already have a lot of photos of that species.

New and Unusual Wolf Spider Observations

Sue Ann (Suna) Kendall2 Comments

by Eric Neubauer

Here are two spiders I’ve recently observed in my quest to identify all Texas wolf spiders

Do wolf spiders intentionally lie on their backs?

Yes! Here a juvenile Hogna baltimorina does just that while subduing a moth it captured a
second earlier and just seconds after I finished photographing it. It has all legs free to hang on to the moth. After the struggle ended, the spider quickly flipped over, prey and all.

The spider was released later and took its dinner with it.

A few years back I saw a wolf spider pounce on a grasshopper about the same size. The grasshopper jumped a couple of feet into the air, taking the spider with it. The grasshopper immediately made a much smaller second jump with the spider still hanging on. Then it was all over.

Moral of the story: If you meet a really big wolf spider, don’t try wrestling with it. You won’t win.

New Hogna Species Spotted

For years I’ve been trying to sort out the various Pardosa species in Texas. There are over a dozen of them and many are very difficult to tell apart by either appearance or genitalia. One common species in Texas appears to be a more southern species (Mexico and Central America), and the species it’s supposed to be is actually many miles east Texas. Others have sketchy ranges or none at all. It would be easy for an unnamed species to be hiding in Texas but I’ve been avoiding this possibility, which could seriously complicate an already messy situation.

Well apparently here’s one that is fortunately different enough from others to not be confused with them. It also has the most shocking appearance of any. There are at least 5 details besides pattern boldness that set it apart from others. Ostensibly it’s in the lapidicina species group which is known for its evenly banded legs, at least as juveniles and females. They also love rocks of all sizes and often sun on them. Steep clay slopes will do in a pinch.

 I’ll be working with a professor at UT on this. I was visiting his ranch surveying wolf spiders and these just popped up out of nowhere. I’ve been working on that genus for years with only middling success but instantly knew this was something that was different than anything I’d seen in Texas in person or on iNat. Funding for domestic taxnomic research is scarce, so being able to interest professors in that area is important.