"What a thousand acres of Silphiums looked like when they tickled the bellies of the buffalo is a question never again to be answered, and perhaps not even asked." -Aldo Leopold
Dicerca pugionata (Buprestidae) photographed at Victoria Glades Conservation Area, Jefferson County, MO.
Many thanks to Ted MacRae for introducing me to another stunner of a beetle. On more than one occasion Ted has taken me and others out to the field to find one of the strikingly beautiful and rare beetles that he knows so well. This time the treasure we sought was the jewel beetle, Dicerca pugionata (Buprestidae), also known as the Witch-hazel Borer. Witch-hazels (Hamamelis spp.) may be the preferred host plant but they are also found on alders (Alnus spp.) and ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius). In this opportunity, we went to a specific patch of ninebark at Victoria Glades where Ted had found them previously.
Dicerca pugionata (Buprestidae) on its host plant, ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius)
This past August while visiting the Weldon Spring Site Interpretive Center in St. Charles, County MO, I stumbled upon one of my favorites that I have not seen since taking entomology at the University close to 20 years ago. When first encountering this insect you immediately think it must be one of the spider wasps or perhaps the great black wasp (Sphex pensylvanicus). For those who don’t immediately flee the area and instead look a little closer, you will see this is actually a very special species of fly.
Mydas tibialis, the golden-legged mydas nectaring from one of its favorite food sources, the blossom of Eryngium yuccifolium (rattlesnake master).
Mydas tibialis (golden-legged mydas) are Batesian mimics, meaning they are harmless mimics of a potentially harmful species, such as wasps. The adult form of mydas flies are purportedly short-lived. They spend the most of their lives underground where they feed on grubs in the soil.
In order to truly appreciate the size of a mydas fly, one must see them in person. If you are familiar with the size of a typical rattlesnake master inflorescence, then you might be able to appreciate this from these photos.
After doing a short bit of research, there doesn’t seem to be nearly enough known about the life history of our mydas flies. This is a shame. Not only are they fascinating animals with much waiting to be discovered but it also looks like they can be good biocontrol agents. Hopefully it won’t be another 20 years before I find one again.
Mydas tibialis, the golden giant of the Dipterans.
More from Sand Prairie Conservation Area. These members of the bee fly family (Bombyliidae) were owning this patch of blooming Stylisma pickeringii (Convolvulaceae). Be sure to check out the image of a male coming in to spit game at a female that was not giving him the slightest bit of attention.
This summer I finally got to spend a little quality time wandering through Sand Prairie Conservation Area in Scott County, MO. Within and bordering the dunes one walks by large numbers of Stylisma pickeringii (Convolvulaceae) and Polygonum americanum (Polygonaceae), the later called American jointweed. If you arrive at or near sunrise there does not seem to be a lot of interest in regards to pollinators. Wait until the day heats up, say around 9 or 10 am, and then things get hopping. I saw all sorts of insects I had never seen before, mostly in the Hymenoptera. One of these was the green-eyed wasp (Tachytes sp.). Of course, when everything is warmed up, getting the photographs you want of these small and active insects becomes an epic story of frustration. But, try and try again and you might get something you’re happy with. The following pics aren’t as nice as I had hoped but I think they show this splendid little wasp as you might find them in situ.
A green-eyed wasp (Tachytes sp.) nectaring at a blossom of Polygonum americanum (American jointweed) as the gracious photographer works.
With a head that is almost all eyes, the green-eyed wasp (Tachytes sp.) is always wary and alert to potential threats.
Back in mid-June I discovered a number of Synchlora aerata (camouflaged looper, wavy-lined emerald moth) that were using our coreopsis as host. Not only are these spectacular adult moths in the family Geometridae, but they are obviously special while in the larval phase as well. These caterpillars are known for attaching bits and pieces of the plant tissues they feed on (often flower petals) to their backs as means of camouflaging against their predators.
The Synchlora aerata, on Coreopsis sp. in a suburban wildflower garden in St. Louis County, MO, USA
I often find these guys with their camouflage dull, dry and not very attractive. You can change this pretty easily by placing them in a container with a fresh native flower of your choice. Hopefully within a day or two the caterpillar will have adorned itself with a fresh and colorful coat!
The nine-banded armadillo invasion of Missouri is over. Armadillos have now been found near the Missouri-Iowa border and in the St. Louis metro area they are now almost as common roadkill as are racoons. I find these animals fascinating and Sarah and I once kept one as a pet for a brief time. Casey and I found several armadillos digging up plant bulbs in the fields of Peck Ranch while looking for elk last winter.
One of several nine-banded armadillos we found at Peck Ranch C.A. during mid-December, 2020.
There are all sorts of interesting bits of information that can be shared about these guys. Here are a couple of my favorites. 1) Twenty five years ago you would not find armadillos anywhere in the state. 2) The armadillo is the only other known animal, besides humans, to carry the disease leprosy. These two factoids are related because they likely have the same underlying cause behind them – the lower body temperature of armadillos. Armadillos have a lower working body temperature than most mammals, maintaining it at about 89 °F. The increasingly warmer winters over the past few decades has allowed the armadillo to get through the previously limiting winters, allowing their northward expansion. Their lower body temperature also allows them to be carriers of the bacteria (Mycobacterium leprae) known to cause leprosy. This bacteria thrives in tissues of lower temperatures, such as the tips of our noses and fingers and within the armadillo.
Much like most mammals in our state, the nine-banded armadillo has famously bad eyesight. They rely primarily on their keen noses to sense the world around them.
From February – Pete and I took a trip to Kaskaskia Island to see if we could find the Whooping Cranes. We had great looks of these two adults and a juvenile.
It is always nice finding your targets on a big photography trip but the icing on the cake is finding the unexpected. That is what happened here when Casey and spent some time at Moro Bay State Park in southern Arkansas. When speaking to a very friendly park ranger, he let us on to where a pair of these birds setup territory and were virtually oblivious to humans. These birds completely ignored us as they flew to and from their favorite perches, often flying mere feet over our heads. We watched the male handoff their insect prey a number of times and even witnessed a copulation, but those photos were ruined by branches.
Dave and I found this Bay-breasted Warbler on May 20th this year at Creve Coeur Lake in St. Louis County. Always a pleasure to find a singing Bay-breasted.
A Thousand Acres of Silphiums 