Buggin' Out on Thursdays :: The Giant Leopard Moth Does Not Say Meow

I found this moth on the trail of McKinney Roughs Nature Park (outside of Austin, Texas). It's a Giant Leopard Moth (Hypercompe scribonia), also known as an Eyed Tiger Moth. I'm not sure if he was hurt or just tuckered out but I didn't want to bother him aside from taking a quick photograph. Well, it's more like a portrait.

When I was little we used to spot a LOT of little hairy caterpillars in the herb garden or trying to cross the street (which always worried me). My family called them "woolly" caterpillars. I considered them the teddy bear of the caterpillars. Therefore, I liked them. Granted, there are a lot of fuzzy bear worms out there but if you ever see a woolly caterpillar it might just be a baby Giant Leopard Moth. Don't try to pick them up and snuggle them though because, while they look fuzzy and sweet, the bristles on the caterpillars can irritate the skin and cause a rash!

The abdomen of a giant leopard moth is orange and blue. I think of it as God's way of showing us that as soon as we think we are seeing it all "in black and white" there is often something lurking beneath. In this case, something good, and pretty, and surprisingly delightful.

To see the orange and blue enlightenment of a Giant Leopard Moth's six pack abs: click here to check out BugGuide.net!

What kind of bugs have you seen lately?

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)

No Taxon (Moths)

Superfamily Noctuoidea

Family Arctiidae (Tiger Moths)

Subfamily Arctiinae (Tiger Moths)

Tribe Arctiini

Genus Hypercompe

Species scribonia (Giant Leopard Moth - Hodges#8146)

Buggin' Out on Thursdays :: Bee Flies for the Virtual Bug Collection

Bee fly drawing copyright © 1996 by Louise Kulzer

Eating larvae and sipping nectar is a way of life.

It's a bee? It's a fly? It's a bee fly!

It's also Buggin' Out on Thursdays.

When my husband and I celebrated our wedding anniversary a couple years ago, we stayed at the Lost Pines Resort and Spa outside of Austin, Texas. The resort has a small butterfly garden. Even though it was nearing the end of September there were still flowers in bloom and insect activity. I was mesmerized by a little fuzzy buzzy "bee" sipping the nectar of yellow wildflowers.

After checking out BugGuide.net (a site where naturalists post and identify bug photos) I tracked down my "strange little bee" and found out it's actually related to flies and is, in fact, a true fly which mimics a honeybee so as to ward off predators.

It has a plump, fuzzy body with stripes of (sometimes) brown and yellow. The species I captured in my photos has a long proboscis with which to reach nectar. There are different types of bee flies and the Family name for them is Bombyliidae. Their name reminds me of Tom Bombadil from J.R.R. Tolkien's writings!

They have been called the Harbingers of Spring. The early "bee fly" gets the "worm", so to speak, because these insects get busy at the very beginning of Spring to lay their eggs near the eggs of beetles, bees, wasps, butterflies, moths, or on eggs of grasshoppers. The bee fly larvae hatch first, have a chance to mature a bit, and when the host egg hatches our little buddy has something good and nutritious laying within easy reach!

If you think you spot a bee fly I hope you have your camera ready because they hover and dart. They are much faster than true bees. They remind me of hummingbirds! I had trouble following this little one around with my camera because she was so speedy. I love the way her back legs trail behind her as she zips to the flowers!

If you have a bug story, blog post, or photo you'd like to share leave a comment and add to the Virtual Bug Collection!

What kind of bugs have you seen lately?

Teddy

Meet Teddy!

He's a teeny Lhasa Apso who belongs to my Gran. He is so small, like a cat, and only eats about a 1/2 Cup of dog food a day. Quite a difference from my two dogs who seem to have bottomless pits for stomachs.

While my Gran was out of town I got to be Teddy's "dogsitter" and he ran with the big dogs for five glorious days. Such a cutie. He took a few tumbles but held his own while they were playing in the backyard. Whenever he tried to boss Darcy around, Banzai would come join the fray and break up the tussle.

1. Running with the big dogs, 2. Teddy, 3. Ted, 4. Everyone after the tug toy

Silver and Gold

We've been praying for rain because we've been in a drought for a long, long time. Still in the drought but we did get some rain yesterday! I noticed the clouds rolling in and took advantage of the overcast day to play soccer with my doggies in the backyard. They love to chase the ball and it gives me a reason to run around chasing after them. It makes me laugh aloud to see them bounding after a bouncing ball.

After we settled down it started to sprinkle. Here are my two dogs getting wet in the rain while they stare at me taking their picture. I imagine they are wondering why I stopped playing soccer and am now squatting in the rain with my camera.

I find it very interesting that when the flash goes off, my white dog's eyes reflect a silver blue color while my brindle's eyes reflect gold amber! For a closer look, please click on each picture to be directed to my Flickr photostream.
I love their sturdy stance and alert, steady gaze.

Big Huge Labs

Not big huge, adorable Labradors or big huge, smelly Lab Rats...

Biologie's Flickr

I've been playing with Flickr and it's 3rd party applications. Big Huge Labs is a site featuring "fd's Flickr Toys". I'm liking the Mosiac Maker. It allows you to make a mosaic from a photoset, favorites, tags, or individual digital photographs/images ~ including ways to customize colors and layouts ~ !

The only drawback to this tool is you must have a public photostream. If you have pictures listed specifically for friends, family, or private photos on your photostream you won't want to use the Mosaic Maker because the application accesses all your Flickr photos.

It's great fun and an excellent tool for bloggers!

Pictured here:
Black & White Doggie
Blue Planet Clusters
Crystal Sky Clusters
The Sentry