OAK SILK MOTH

UPDATE OF PREVIOUS POST... A limb fell from the top of an Oak tree in my neighbor's yard and just HAPPENED to have this big beautiful white silk cocoon on it.  What are the chances of THAT particular limb falling ... just for me to share with you.  After looking it up on the internet, it seems it IS a type of OAK SILK MOTH.  

After a 6 week wait...Early this morning a BIG beautiful moth emerged, then released.  Here are some of the photos of the cocoon, chrysalis and moth.  

COCOON 

CHRYSALIS

EMPTY CHRYSALIS

WINGED BEAUTY

FEATHERED ANTENNA

SMALLER IO MOTH TO SHOW SIZE OF OAK SILK MOTH

JUST AFTER RELEASE

CHECKERED GARTER SNAKE

I recently found this little Checkered Garter Snake lying between two cats.  Whenever he would move,  the cats would take turns swatting him with their paw.  I rescued him before he was badly injured and was able to get some great photos before releasing him in a safe area.  The small Checkered Garter Snake is harmless to humans.  A beneficial member of any garden, they help keep an eco-balance by eating small toads, frogs and earthworms.  Even when mature, they only reach an average length of 24 inches or smaller.  Beautifully patterned and colored, their namesake is the obvious checkered pattern with a dominant stripe down the center of the body and a single dot in the center of their head.  Like most snakes, they smell with their tongue.  There is an organ in their head which interprets whether something is predator or prey, even the direction and distance.  Although most snakes lay eggs, garter snakes are unusual, in that they give live birth.  An average litter size is 10 to 13, but most fall victim to their own natural predators, including humans, before reaching maturity.  The delicate babies look just like their parents and are capable of feeding  themselves from the moment they are born.  Like most small creatures in a backyard wildlife habitat, it is a rare and exciting sighting...another sign all is well in the garden.

TINY BABY LIZARD

Today, I met a tiny baby Anole Lizard not long out of its egg.  Saved from being swept into a pile of leaves going into the trash, I kept it just long enough to take a few pictures, then released it into a Jasmine vine.  You never know when some tiny wonderful creature will cross your path to share a "moment".  I share this one with you...

SIZE COMPARED TO MY THUMB.

SIZE COMPARED TO MY INDEX FINGER.   

JUST AFTER THE LITTLE GUY'S RELEASE.  CAN YOU SEE HIM?

NIGHTHAWK & BABY

There is a building close to my home which I check periodically to be sure the roof drainage has provided a small water supply for local birds and other wildlife.  Today, I noticed a bird sitting motionless.  Assuming it might be wounded, I approached it slowly.  It was a Nighthawk.  Suddenly alert, she jumped up, spread her wings wide and threatened me warningly.  Then I saw why.  She had been sitting on and protecting her small baby.  The baby was alive.  The mother was exhausted, not able to leave to eat or get food for her baby.  I noticed several Grackle birds anxiously waiting in the nearby tree, wanting desperately to get a drink.  For the time being, there was shade on the cemented area where the baby lay.  But the Texas summer sun was moving fast and the temperature on the cement would reach above 100 degrees soon.  This would surely kill the baby and possibly the mother, who would not abandon her baby.  I knew I had to hurry to help give them both a chance.  I quickly went to a dollar store nearby and purchased moss, kleenex, wire and a small basket.  I created a make shift nest and attached it firmly in the nearby shade tree.  When I approached the baby, the mother Nighthawk once again spread her wings and clucked loudly.  I stopped, crouching low, and explained in a soft voice my intentions.  Telling her what a wonderful mother she was and  assuring that her baby would not be harmed.  I gently picked up her precious baby and placed it into the new nest.  The baby was chirping loudly when I left, so I knew the mother would have no problem finding it.  In life, it is the moments of opportunity we are given to do something noble and experience compassion through action.  We may have no control of the final outcome, but a new chance was given.  

"LIFE CYCLE" of the SPHINX MOTH

I found this little baby caterpillar on a wild vine while working in my yard.  He ate so much and grew so big, so fast.  He was very shy and would pull his little head in as far as possible and clutch his six little hands together...as if praying I would just go away.  Once he stopped eating, he began to run around and around the sand at the bottom of the container.  It was as if he were trying to get away from himself and what was going on inside his body.  Humans romanticize the transformation from caterpillar to moth or butterfly, but I can tell you it must be very frightening and even painful for them to experience.  As his body began to contract and harden, he would writhe and thrash as if in pain.  Once his body had become the brown chrysalis, only his torso would move back and forth periodically.  After waiting for almost a month, the exquisite Sphinx Moth emerged.  (One of the species in my "Life Cycles" Exhibit displayed in Children's Museum of Houston and San Antonio Children's Museum.))

BABY CATERPILLAR 

MATURE CATERPILLAR

"PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, LET THEM GO AWAY!"

CHANGING INTO CHRYSALIS

CHRYSALIS

EMERGING FROM CHRYSALIS

BEAUTIFUL LARGE EYES

UNDERSIDE VIEW OF WING

TOP VIEW OF WING

"LIFE CYCLE" of the GULF FRITILLARY BUTTERFLY

This was the first butterfly I raised.  I have a lot of Purple Passion Vines, so I often see them flitting about my yard in pairs.  One of the vines is growing across the window behind my computer screen and I watch them laying eggs almost daily.  Of course, I also see the anole lizards darting across the outside screen hunting.  The spots on the underside of the butterfly wings appears white, but is actually a silver metallic color.  (Another one of my "Life Cycles" Exhibit species displayed in Children's Museum of Houston and San Antonio Children's Museum.)

MATING

LAYING EGG

EGG

MATURE CATERPILLAR

CATERPILLAR CHANGING INTO CHRYSALIS

CHRYSALIS WITH SHED SKIN AT TOP

UNDERSIDE VIEW OF WING 

TOP VIEW OF WINGS

"LIFE CYCLE" of the "SUNFLOWER" PATCHWORK BUTTERFLY

The family I raised were very active on a tall wild sunflower plant in my backyard wildlife habitat.  I was fascinated there were so many eggs in one place.  Most other butterflies lay one egg at a time, with the caterpillar living a solitary life.  But these little patchworks are a very close little family.  As caterpillars, they travel in a group from one leaf to another, until they get too big for too many to fit.  Their cocoons are very small, as are the little butterflies that emerge.  (Also part of my "Life Cycles" Exhibit displayed in Children's Museum of Houston and San Antonio Children's Museum.)

MATING

                                     

EGGS

TINY BABIES COMING OUT OF EGGS!

BABY CATERPILLARS TRAVEL TOGETHER IN GROUPS

ONLY A FEW FIT ON ONE LEAF WHEN THEY GET BIGGER

CATERPILLAR TURNING INTO CHRYSALIS & A CHRYSALIS WITH SHED SKIN AT TOP

SINGLE TINY COCOON

WHAT A FACE!