sambiology's Favorites

Home Sweet Home! I'm just back (Friday night) from a 5,800-mile road trip to the West Coast. I'll have much more to offer from that journey but I thought I'd get Salton Drive back "on record".
This female Gray Fox has become very comfortable finding napping locations on our porch and those of our neighbors.

Platycryptus undatus juvenile. 5mm
Found inside on the floor in my kitchen. I later adopted this one as my pet after taking a few photos.

Image 1-4: how she looked when I found her
Image 5-6: after molting once
Image 7-11: after molting twice
Image 12+: after molting three times

She gained around 1mm with each molt.
She has now reached adulthood:
http://www.inaturalist.org/observations/125377359

My today-favorite wasp!! Reduced wings, cool coloration and hair pattern on the metasoma, and a pretty distinct gall to go with it!

2 emerged. Found 1 dead and 1 living on 1/13/22. Photographed 1/16/22 and preserved in vial 117.

Emergence hole is low on the gall, close to the attachment point.

Rescued this Redhead today. It had a fishhook in its bill / face, and the fishing line it was attached to was frozen into the ice and the bird was trapped. Captured the bird, broke the fishing line, and then, with a friend, cut the fishhook in half and removed it from the duck's bill / face. It seemed vigorous and healthy. When we released it, it flew away strong and fast. Good deed done.

Extremely odd behavior from a Watersnake and Ribbonsnake... has anyone else observed something similar to this before? Both healthy adults with no visible injuries and both escaped rather quickly under their own power without coaxing.

I originally walked up on this pair around noon but the ribbon snake took off before I could get a picture of the odd behavior so I immediately left and came back about three hours later to find them both in the exact same position. So it’s fair to assume it’s a reoccurring arrangement between the two of them. The minimal research I have done has turned up nothing but I would love to hear from someone more knowledgeable about this sort of thing!

A life species for me! This little squirrel was digging seeds out of the snow under the bird feeder. I've thought we might have flying squirrels here because sometimes late at night, we hear the typical sounds of red or gray squirrels racing along the outside of our log cabin walls, but likely not either of those diurnal species.

Photos taken through window glass and screen (left on to prevent window hits).

See her swinging her bolas: https://youtu.be/DKMrKwTNV5k

Some more wonderful photos of this lady by photographers much better then moi. She is quite a celebrity!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/101951926508391/permalink/4394361263934081/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/101951926508391/permalink/4397220953648112/

I had identified this bramble colony as R. bifrons (first time seen in DFW) from photos after I found R. pascuus for the first time in the metroplex too. I couldn't wait to go see it for myself and tick off all 5 TX species on my life list!

Picture descriptions and general notes:
1 - White abaxial leaf surfaces (general pic for ID)
STEMS
2 - Primocane #1
3 - Primocane #1 close up; nearly erect prickles with broad bases, pubescent
4 - Primocane #2; retrorse prickles
5 - Cross section of primocane #1 showing pentagonal shape
6 - Floricane #1; retrorse prickles with broad bases, pubescent
7 - Floricane #1 close up
8 - Older floricanes (#2) bicolored; red on top, green on bottom
9 - Floricane #2; features consistent with floricane #1
10/11 - Floricane #2 prickles 5mm wide and 6mm long
12/13 - Primocane prickles 4mm wide and 6mm long
14 - Stems growing densely underneath leaf canopy
LEAVES
15 - Dense leafy growth
16 - Terminal leaflet; shape: oval, base: rounded, margins: serrate, apex: caudate to attenuate; surface: not lustrous
17 - Abaxial leaf surface; petioles, petiolules, and primary veins armed; secondary veins and blade unarmed
18 - Petiole
19 - Terminal petiolule
20 - Primary and secondary veins
21 - Abaxial leaf blade white tomentose
22 - Stipules very long and narrow; Axillary bud present
23 - New leaves appear more corrugated and shinier than older leaves which are duller, less corrugated, and wider
24 - Several leaves with misshapen leaflets, or even a single oversized leaflet
GROWTH/HABIT
25 - New growth creeps along the edges, could be mistaken for vining/low habit
26 - 5 Leaflets on creeping floricanes more consistent than shrubby sections
27 - General growth habitat; between the bank of a creek and a concrete pathway; Full sun; This particular section was typically 4 ft high
28 - R. bifrons growing closest to path, with Cornus drummondii closest to the creek bank; Other nearby vegetation includes Celtis laevigata, Maclura pomifera, Salix nigra, Bothriochloa ischaemum var. songarica, Paspalum dilatatum, Calyptocarpus vialis
29 - Trying to estimate plant height using an isosceles right triangle based on the 6 foot wide path. Plants average 4-6 feet (12-18 dm)
30 - This particular colony of R. bifrons measured 166m along the edge
31 - Even when soil was scarce, the creeping canes would still spread thickly over the rocky ground.
32 - Soil along creek was clay over limestone
33 - USGS map indicates soil content: Thick clay units and thin limestone units alternating clay, marl, and limestone

Additional observations:

-- My first impression was this is the thickest growth, both in floricanes and leaf coverage, of any of the upright species. In heavy shade (under trees) the growth was not as thick or as tall. Probably the biggest colony of Rubus I've seen.
-- Several leaves had misshapen lateral leaflets, or a single leaflet, (1-)3-5 leaflets overall.

-- No prior season inflorescences seen at all. Nothing remaining on the stems or on the ground. (R. pascuus still has inflorescences attached at this time.)