Couple of collecting trips on October

[yen_saw]

Have been away collecting as Oct is prime time for spotting mantis. Visited both Arizona and South Texas. Both are great places for mantis.

Here are some pics of the recent trip to Estero Llano Grande State Park at Weslaco, TX few days ago.

Park entrance

Trail into the visitor center/butterfly garden

Observation deck overlooking Ibis pond

Try my luck with butterfly net, but all i caught were spiders, katydids, grasshoppers, even lizards, but no mantis at the main buterfly gardcen.

 

[yen_saw]

There is another smaller garden at the back of the park. The garden has been replanted with other flowering plants so definitely not primary.

But i was very surprise to spot my first Texas unicorn mantis in their natural habitat. (See circle)

She was trying to blend in.

Didn't take very long to spot the second one. Another adult female.

The park also has high density of snakes. I have actually never seen so many snakes in one park before. There are many Texas indigo snake spotted during my visit in ELG, it is the longest snake species in Northern America. This one is 'only' about 5 feet long. The park ranger told me it is just a baby. There was one that is close to 8 feet long, it was next to me when i was looking for mantis next to a grassy area. Freak me out!

Prime area to look for snake

Here is probably one of the food for Texas indigo.

 

[yen_saw]

A few insect photos taken while looking for mantis

A nice flower beetle, nice mettalic green. Could be either Cotinis nitida or Cotinis mutabilis.

A spider with her nest

Spotted a stick insect but the reflective glass messed up the pic

So took another pic at closer range.

It is butterfly festival in the park. Lot of different butterfly species.

Found an adult male, likely Stagmomantis carolina in this flowering bush

Apparently the adult male must have been following the female. She was trying to flee.

i saw you!

 

[yen_saw]

The park was decorating for the Halloween.

Walking along the trail I found this open field with some small trees, still wary of the snakes (although Texas indigo is non-venomous) but too good of a spot to skip.

Upon checking on the tree, I saw a huge Stagmoamntis carolina adult female feeding on a grasshopper.

There were several oothecae closeby as well

Some of the oothecae collected

All the friendly staffs working in the park helping me with all my questions.

Park superintendent Martha Garcia showing me several trails in the park

Park ranger Jose Uribe who I have been talking to since last year when he was still working in Bentsen Rio-Grande-Valley State park

and John Yochum the Park naturalist, a great guy!

Wonder what kind of plant this is

More pic later....

 

[yen_saw]

I left out an important message before the start of this thread. That is collecting in the state park is prohibited without a permit. I have the collecting permit from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD).

Here is what i know about collecting in Texas state.

Public park - Free to collect.

Private property - Need land owner permission.

City park - Need approval for park manager.

State Park - Need collecting permit from TPWD.

National forest - Free to collect.

National park - Need collecting permit from National Park Service (NPS).

Wildlife sanctuary and wildlife refuge - Need collecting permit from specific refuge management. Game hunting is allowed on certain season but not for insects.

Park with Nature center or Protected - NO COLLECTING!

 

[Precarious]

Awesome pics! Especially loved seeing Unicorns in the wild!

 

[LauraMG]

Amazing pics Yen! Thank you very much for sharing them! Did you keep any of the unicorns?

 

[Seattle79]

Great pics and info.

 

[yen_saw]

Thanks precarious and Seattle 79.

Yes Laura I kept all the mantis collected in the park, but only mantis. Need to prepare a report to TPWD for my visit.

Also visited another Lower Rio Grande state park - The Resaca de la Palma state park. Spent a morning there collecting.

The friendly Park manager Pablo de Yturbe.

Pablo shows me around the park with this tram to look for potential mantis habitat.

One of the trail

Resaca de la Palma river

After the tram ride I went back to the main building and found this adult male mantis on the wall. Could be Oligonicella scudderi.

Also found this fat stick insect trying to escape a concrete path

At the end I decided to look for mantis in this open field, looks like a great place.

 

[yen_saw]

Soon more mantis are found.

Mantis ootheca

There is one mantis out of focus here

 

[yen_saw]

The park also has lot of butterflies

More mantis

A souvenier shop in the park

 

[more_rayne]

Fantastic spider! Wow, must be awesome to see them texicorns in the wild.

 

[Hypoponera]

I think that fuzzy mantis is Bactromantis mexicana. Oligonicella scudderi has the rear portion of the pronotum equally long as the front part. Though Helfer shows B. mexicana only being found in the US in Arizona, not in Texas. I will have to pencil in that!

I think that walking stick is Sermyle mexicana, the Mexican walking stick. Please tell me you kept it! I would love to get some of those.

 

[yen_saw]

Fantastic spider! Wow, must be awesome to see them texicorns in the wild.

Thanks! yeah first time for me observing this species in the wild.

I think that fuzzy mantis is Bactromantis mexicana. Oligonicella scudderi has the rear portion of the pronotum equally long as the front part. Though Helfer shows B. mexicana only being found in the US in Arizona, not in Texas. I will have to pencil in that!

I think that walking stick is Sermyle mexicana, the Mexican walking stick. Please tell me you kept it! I would love to get some of those.

Thanks Mike! It does look similar to the B. mexicana collected in Green Valley, AZ a month ago, which I am going to post the pic here later. Sorry I didn't keep that walking stick as I am only allowed to keep mantis. It was a cool looking phasmid though, about 6 inches long with two tiny 'horns' on the head.Following are some of the pics from my early Oct bugs collecting.

Couple of Litanuetria sp. collected at Arivaca.

A Yersiniops sophronica adult female found in Arivaca.

Also found a velvet ant near the hotel in Green Valley

Couple of the adult male Litanuetria sp. collected near the light in hotel area.

Some beetles attracted by hotel light

View from outside the hotel

The next morning with bug collecting friends Lowell and Ken before heading to Madera Canyon.

 

[yen_saw]

View of Madera Canyon in early October, dfinitely greener than my previous trip on May.

Collected some S. californica, S. limbata, Litanuetria sp. and more Yersiniops.

The surprise was Bactromantis mexicana

 

[yen_saw]

Something else I found while searching for mantis

Egg case, might be S. californica

Stick insect

Mantidfly

Caught some Stagmomantis nymphs too. Mainly at Box Canyon.

Pairing up wild collected Litanuetria

Pairing up wild collected S. limbata

Pairing up wild collected S. californica

Adult female S. californica with ootheca

 

[Rick]

Wonderful pics Yen. I didn't get out but once this year.

 

[Mex_Ghost]

You have real good trained eyes!!!!

 

[Precarious]

Ooh! I wish you could keep Mantidflies as pets! They're cool!