Frogs in the Kitchen - and Other Thirsty Critters

Rio Grande Chirping Frog

This is the worst drought in Texas’s weather history.  Along with the drought comes record breaking heat.   During last week’s prairie restoration workday, the Master Naturalists encountered lots of thirsty critters.  Animals that were naturally shy, reclusive, or nocturnal exposed themselves for a chance to reach water. 

Because of the drought, our usual prairie planting activities have halted.  Instead, we water.   John S., Tom B. and I drove into Attwater’s Prairie Chicken territory with a 275 gallon water tank and a bunch of buckets to care for our spring transplants.   Tom B., with his raptor-like vision, noticed that when he poured a gallon of water on a Yellow Indian Grass, little cotton rats would scurry out from deep cracks in the clay.  The usually timid rats would try desperately to lap the water before it vanished into the parched ground. As we filled containers, water sloshed forming a small muddy spot.  Two little sulfur butterflies soon settled on the puddle to sip.  Back at the tractor barn, we saw Texas City Prairie Preserve’s resident family of Crested Caracaras  swooping in to dip their beaks in a cow’s water trough.   Tom observed a swarm of honey bees that clustered briefly on a dripping water tank so the colony could drink. 

In my home, twice this week, I have found frogs in the kitchen.  The tiny Rio Grande Chirping Frogs, Eleutherodactylus (Syrrhophus) cystignathoides,  have come inside searching for water.  This desperate survival measure must be something other local frogs are trying:  Tom B. said he also found a frog in his kitchen this week.  He discovered a Green Treefrog, Hyla cinerea, soaking in the dog’s water bowl. 

Like other folks, I try to help:  I keep four birdbaths filled.  One of those is a dish hanging against the trunk of a shrubby tree.  Hopping from a nearby fence line, the squirrels can reach this sheltered water source without ever touching the ground.   Green anoles climb to sip in the shade.    For frogs, toads and geckos, I put a pan on the ground, near a popular amphibian hang-out.  I placed smooth stones around and inside the pan, so little critters could get in and out easily.      

Using  a critter catcher, a Schwegler Naturschutz, I scooped him up and took him outside. Can you see him? (Rio Grande Chirping Frog.) 

Rio Grande Chirping Frog:  Notice the pointed nose and dark spots,

as well as the dark stripe from eye to nose - all identifying features.

The tangle of dog fuzz from my kitchen floor was quite a handicap.  This frog was tired and easy to rescue.

Eleutherodactylus (Syrrhophus) cystignathoides are tiny, fast and secretive.  They are hard for me to photograph.  Thus I had to get lots of pictures of this one.

Rio Grande Chirping Frog making his exit from the critter catcher

An early-rising anole darted after him here, so I intervened and scooped him up again. (Rio Grande Chirping Frog)

 I put him down near my amphibian watering bowl. (Rio Grande Chirping Frog)

Spearmint Tea and Carpenter Bees

Carpenter Bee on Salvia, Indigo Spires

Carpenter Bee on Salvia, Indigo Spires

The snake tragedy described in the previous entry left me discomfited and a little headachy.  I need some mint tea. Happily, despite the parching weather, my garden is verdant with spearmint.  

According to my herbal, besides being delicious, mint is useful for alleviating disturbed feelings and headaches, and in restoring strength -  an excellent remedy!  There is also a bit about mint’s relieving flatulence and aiding the flow of bile, but let’s move on.

We just had the hottest June on record and this drought, also a record-breaker, shows no sign of ending.  There have been no butterflies visiting.  Only a black and red milkweed bug crawls over the tall milkweed.  The activity this morning is among the salvias where carpenter bees are nuzzling the purple blossoms. 

I’m walking to the opposite side of the garden where we have a 3 ft x 7ft raised vegetable bed.  The golden cherry tomatoes have been a delight all month.  I can’t resist popping a few of those jewels in my mouth.  Here is the mint, growing in subterranean pots, untroubled by the heat.  I gather a basketful.

Back in the cool, shady house,  I stuff leaves into a pot, add boiling water, and let it steep for a while.  The fragrance of mint fills the house. The resulting brew is a lovely greenish-gold.  In this hot weather, iced tea is the way to go.  I decant my concoction over crushed ice and crunch in a straw.  Refreshing!  

Spearmint Tea steeping.

After posing for this picture, the mint tea was served over ice!

Snake Killed by Air Conditioner

Side of body and top of head:  Rat Snake killed by Air Conditioner

This is distressing.  I was working in the yard before it got dark.  Evening sounds included birds, cars, chirping frogs, barking dogs and the ubiquitous drone of air conditioners.  Suddenly there was a sharp clanging of rattling metal coming from my air conditioner.  Did my AC unit have a tin can trapped inside with the fan blade?   I was horrified to see that there was an ANIMAL inside the unit.  A snake was being tossed like a pizza by the whirling fan.  Each time the snake’s body slammed against the top of the housing, a flurry of scales and skin would blow out  before he fell back, banging among the spinning blades.  

Aaaaaaa!!!   Panicking, I ran into the house to turn off the electricity, then I raced back outside.  When I returned to the air conditioner, I saw that the poor, broken snake had somehow managed to climb to a metal lip above the blades.  He was curled up, dead.  Seeing his injuries, I cannot imagine how he achieved that final, excruciating climb.  With a coat hanger, I extricated him - like pulling a sad thread through a needle.

Why had he gone in there?  Was he looking for shade, moisture, food, or a rough place to shed skin?   A green anole ( Anolis carolinensis) hangs out in that AC unit.  Maybe the snake was after the anole.  I called our air conditioning service company and asked how this tragedy could be prevented in the future.   I was told that it could not be avoided.   I hate that answer.  The AC technician said that insects, bugs, lizards and shed snake skins are not unusual to find when they perform service on these units.  

I have looked my copy of A Field Guide to Texas Snakes, by Alan Tennant and I think this may be a rat snake, Elaphe spp.   Dear Readers, some of you are experts on Texas snakes.  Please look at the grim photos and identify this unfortunate young ‘un.  Post your identification in the comments for all to see. Thanks!

Dorsal view of his markings:  Rat Snake killed by the Air Conditioner

Ventral view of head and tail:  Rat Snake killed by the Air Conditioner

If his back had not been broken in two places, he might be about 29" long. Poor Snake:  killed by the Air Conditioner Fan.

Carolina Sphinx Moth Caterpillar

Carolina Sphinx Caterpillar, Manduca sexta.  Despite the scary-looking horn, this hawk moth larva is harmless.

His story could be a graphic novel.  

Our innocent protagonist is orphaned, unloved and shunned.   If you cast eyes upon him, you might describe him as interestingly attractive, but others look at him with fear, even loathing.  He’s marked for death, although he doesn’t know why.  In order to survive, he must hide and he must steal food.  This fellow has no weapons and will not fight.  Instinctively, he has an aptitude for disguise and stealth, but those abilities may not be enough to keep him alive.  Every moment, of every day or night, there is danger.  He can never relax. 

Food is so scarce, that if he loses his supply, he may starve.  There are people here that would battle him to the death for his food.  

He must avoid fearsome predators that that would literally devour him.  From his hiding place, he has watched as unfortunates have met their end. The ruthless raptors slash and dismember their victims’  bodies, then carry away the pieces.  It’s all too gruesome.  

There is yet another way to die that is slower and more dreadful.  He has seen a wasp that renders a violent sting, but it does not kill. At least, the victim does not die right away.  Those who have been stung develop ghastly, bulbous tumors all over their bodies.  As the growths swell, the tumors consume the victim who dies slowly, in terrible agony.

If by some amazing chance our hero can find enough food, avoid the competitors, and evade the predators, he will be in for a shock.  When he comes of age, he will undergo a bizarre, disfiguring mutation and gain a super power!  No one has warned him about this; he will have to suffer the pain of transformation and figure things out on his own. This is his family’s legacy.

Such is the secret identity of the Carolina Sphinx Moth caterpillar!  Despised by many gardeners, he is cursed with the epithet, "Tobacco Horn Worm".  Yet, as a beautiful and powerful adult, he is blessed with the sobriquet, "Hawk Moth" or perhaps, "Hummingbird Moth".  He is the size of a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird.   We admire this lovely pollinator in the evenings as he hovers at flowers, extending his long proboscis to sip nectar.  

The super power?  Tune in next week to find out…  Just  kidding.  Ok, the Sphinx Moth is the most powerful flyer of the entire order!  That’s right!  No other Lepidopteran is faster.  That means there is not a moth or butterfly that can out-fly a Sphinx Moth.   Super!   

Early Instar of Manduca sexta on Tomato leaf

Carolina Sphinx Moth Larva on Cherry Tomato.  I have enough to share.

Abdominal Prolegs of Manduca sexta.  Note the crochets, little hooks on the prolegs, that help the caterpillar grip the plant stem.

Carolina Sphinx Moth Frass on cucumber leaf.  Frass is usually the first clue of a caterpillar's location. This Caterpillar was on the Cherry tomatoes just above the cucumbers.

Head of Manduca sexta.  Six Thoracic legs are tucked under mandible.  He looks like a thoughtful professor.

Manduca sexta, Carolina Sphinx Caterpillar.  Note the camouflage:  color, texture, even the fine hairs on the caterpillar mimic the fine hair-like features of the Cherry Tomato stem.

Yellow-Collared Scape Moth

Note the feathery antennae of this Yellow-collared Scape Moth nectaring on Blue Mist Flower (Eupatorium spp.)

Yellow-collared Scape Moth nectaring on Blue Mist Flower (Eupatorium spp.)

I love learning!  This insect was new to me.  Have you seen it before?

If you spotted this fellow, who is clearly enjoying sweet nectar from the Blue Mist flowers, it would be completely understandable if you assumed he was a wasp.  Blue-black wings, tight shape, flying during the day – none of these features would make us think “moth,” yet that’s what he is!  Hiding in plain sight, this is the Yellow-collared Scape Moth, Cisseps fulvicollis .   I agree, he is poorly named, because clearly that collar is bright red.  He is a wasp-mimic.  Other creatures accept his disguise and let him sip nectar in peace. 

 

The Yellow-collared Scape Moth may look like a wasp, but he does have moth features.   Notice the feathery antennae, a bit of a fuzzy thorax, and  long, coiled proboscis.   Another day-flying moth, Virginia Ctenucha,  Ctenucha virginica, looks similar, but has a red head.  Our Yellow-Collared Scape Moth has a black head.

To understand and hopefully remember names, I try to learn what the root words mean.   My simple Latin dictionary shows that fulvus means reddish-yellow or tawny.  Collum means neck.  Therefore, fulvicollis  means tawny-necked. OK, we'll say yellow-collared.  

“Scape,” from the common name, is a botany term and refers to the stems eaten by the larvae.  Yellow-collared Scape Moth caterpillars feed on grasses, lichens, sedges and spike rushes (Eleocharis spp.)

Cloudless Sulphur

Cloudless Sulphur laying eggs on Senna, Cassia spp.

Early Instar of Cloudless Sulphur on Senna

Munching Senna leaf, Cloudless Sulphur caterpillar

Cloudless Sulphur sheltering in Senna leaf

Killed by Wasp:  Decapitated Cloudless Sulphur caterpillar on Senna leaf

Beautiful Cloudless Sulphur caterpillar, chewing Senna. "Frass" is the word for caterpillar droppings.

Did you see that yellow butterfly?   What kind was it? 

Those lemony flashes are Sulphur butterflies.  If you prefer, you may use the "f" word and spell it "Sulfur".  They are fast, flitty and rarely alight long enough for my little camera to focus. There are different types of Sulphurs and each has a specific larval host plant.  Larval hosts include:   legumes, partridge pea, senna, acacia, clovers and alfalfa.  Adults will enjoy nectaring at your flowers. 

I have a shrubby senna tree (Cassia spp.).  It froze to the ground during our cold snap, but has cheerfully re-grown from the roots.  During April, this made my garden very popular with female Cloudless Sulphurs, Phoebis sennae.  Notice that the larval host is part of its scientific name.  You have to look closely to spot these caterpillars which are the same shade of green as the senna leaves.  The senna also offers physical protection for the larvae;  in the evening, the leaves fold together like butterfly wings, forming a shelter over the caterpillar. 

I was worried that the short plant could never support all the caterpillars I was seeing.  I needn't have worried because the wasps obliterated the caterpillars.  One day there were scores of larvae, in various instars, covering the senna.  A few days later, despite camouflage and hiding, only two remained.  I hope they were able to survive to pupate.  Timing is important.  When the next female Sulphur lays her eggs, the senna will be larger and the wasps may not be nesting.

Monarchs in the Milkweed Patch!

Early instar of Monarch Caterpillar on Asclepias curassavica

Monarch Caterpillars on A. curassavica.  How many do you see?

Four Monarchs munching - they are running out of leaves.

When the leaves are gone, but you're still hungry, gnaw on the stem. Monarch Caterpillar on A. curassavica.

Ultimate Instar of Monarch Caterpillar, Ventral View

Finished Monarch Chrysalis &  another caterpillar in J-Stage, preparing to shed skin and form chrysalis.

Newly eclosed Monarch

     Yay!  Monarchs! They are the reason we plant milkweed (Asclepias spp.) They are having such difficulties that I am thrilled when they can rest, refuel and reproduce in my garden & my Milkweed Patch.  I am a registered Monarch Waystation; perhaps they see the sign?
          A nice brood developed in mid-December. It was probably too early for butterflies to be migrating north from Mexico, so I believe it was a year-round resident female monarch who visited.   Alas, the day several adults eclosed (hatched), we had unusual, record-breaking, freezing weather that lasted for days.
     By the end of March, another female monarch found my milkweed.  How do they find it, I wonder?  A nice bunch of caterpillars grew fat munching on the fresh milkweed. We counted eight jade-green chrysalides suspended from the soffits;  there were surely more in the shrubbery or on the flowers that we did not see.
     Safe journey north, little guys.