Journey to Natural: May 2012

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Leaf-footed Bug (Leptoglossus phyllopus) nymph

5/15/2012
found a little orange ant-like bug hanging out on a plant. according to THIS WEBSITE, it is the nymph of an assasin bug. (Hemiptera/Heteroptera: Reduviidae)
Quite possible the assassin bug species (Zelus Longipes), based on what I found HERE.
But then again, it could be a leaf-footed bug, based on THIS page. Yes, on second thought, it most DEFINATELY is. See HERE at this link, you can see the similarity much better.

This guy was mega tiny so, even though the pictures aren't perfect, they're still pretty fabulous for capturing detailed pictures of an insect about the size of a regular fire ant.

This is not my picture, but it shows the difference and similarity of what I thought it was.

So I found a toddler Leaf-footed bug. Interesting. Leptoglossus phyllopus is it's scientific name.

Here is some info about Mr. Pest. Because I cannot find any information about it other than **PEST CONTROL** I actually think it's kind of pretty :3

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) skull

5/15/2012
Found a skull! A small rodent skull though, nothing too exciting.
And, thanks to http://www.skullsite.co.uk/Squirrels/squirrels.htm, I was able to identify it as a squirrel skull!

I really like the fly on top of it, it really adds to it, huh?

Brown Lacewing (Hemerobioidea)

5/15/2012
dis is buggy, buggy sez hi
buggy keeps a ton of stuff on it's bag so it can blend with it's surroundings
woah, cool

Apparently... he might have been a larvae! I had no idea! I thought I saw some little legs or something. I mean I do... oh wait I found it! It's http://www.flickr.com/photos/lummydays/5125561965/ the same as this guy. My photos are not AS good but you can see a little detail maybe. HERE I found it, brown lacewing larva. It's not a larva like a butterfly, rather a little insect like thing that carries debris on it's back.

"Trashbugs are immature brown lacewings. Like green lacewing larvae, brown lacewing larvae are predators, but some species cover themselves with debris and with the skins of their prey as a way to protect themselves from larger predators."

cool. You don't see that very often! the species would be very difficult to determine because I don't have any defining characteristics about this guy

a little pile of trash walking? not quite

Passion Flower x alato-caerulea (Passiflora xalato-caerulea)

5/15/2012
went out mushroom hunting today! but I had to, just HAD to get some new fancy shmancy shots on my BRAND NEW CAMERA! well it's old but I just bought it off ebay. :D it's so nice. It's a Canon EOS Rebel. :D I love it! so here we go, check out this and my next few posts to see how AWESOME the pictures are <3
This, my friends, is a passion flower. Passiflora is a genus of flowers which contains about 500 species. And I'm going to find the exact one which this little guy is.
I believe it is X Alato-Caerulea, a hybrid apparently.

Passion Flower x alato-caerulea (Passiflora xalato-caerulea)
http://www.logees.com/Passion-Flower-x-alato-caerulea-Passiflora-xalato-caerulea/productinfo/R1470-2/

I wanted to make it original size but it literally takes up all of the page.

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Common Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis)

Went geocaching this afternoon and saw this little wildflower. pretty right?
Options I've come across include: evening primrose
http://lee.ifas.ufl.edu/Hort/GardenPubsAZ/Cutleaf_Evening_Primrose_Oenothera_laciniata.pdf
look at the growth pattern of the flower in the article and the similarity to my specimen. the only thing that differs is the leaf shape (look at the second picture for better leaf clarity)
I'm pretty sure that http://uswildflowers.com/images/full/pict1717.jpg is a match. Leaf shape and what not. I realize why I spotted it, it was beginning to darken outside. And this flower only blooms at the end of the daylight. So this moment in the flower's life it's only been blooming for a minute or so. It was super fresh, but I didn't understand that at the time. :D

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Frog Fruit (Phyla nodiflora)

Tiny flower made up of tiny flowers
Found it almost no trouble. The flower itself is pretty distinctive. PICTURE
It's called 'frog fruit'... precious... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyla_nodiflora
:D I love it when it's that easy!