As I pointed out in "Another Royal Sighting," there are two royal lineages in the Order of Lepidoptera: the Monarchs and the Emperors. Where there is royalty, there must certainly be commoners. In fact, there are a number of commoners: the Common Sootywing, the Common Streaky-Skipper, the Common Buckeye and the Common Wood-Nymph (It always helps to have a nymph or two in the Kingdom).
However, the Common Mestra is perhaps the richest of the commoners. The stripe on the margin of its hindwing is usually described as pale orange, but when the sun strikes this stripe at just the right angle, it flashes a bright gold:
In the first four photographs, this Common Mestra is enjoying the nectar of Low Verbena flowers. in the last photo, it has found a patch of Straggler Daisy.
This set of photographs was taken along the Water Loop Trail in Hardberger Park on Monday, October 14, 2013.
(Voiceover in an exaggerated soft whisper)
"We are standing very still here on the edge of the meadow watching this Greater Roadrunner, a large ground-dwelling cuckoo, contemplate its next move..."
This set of photographs was taken along the Water Loop Trail at Hardberger Park on Monday, October 14, 2013.
In the Order of Lepidoptera, there are two royal lineages. The best known is the Monarch. Then there are the Monarch's cousin, the Queen, and the royal wanna be, the Viceroy (really nothing more than a mimic). There are also the Emperors: the Tawny Emperor and its cousins the Hackberry Emperor and the Empress Leilia.
The larval host plants for both the Tawny and Hackberry Emperors are Sugar Hackberry and Netleaf Hackberry trees. Empress Leilia's larval host plant is Spiny Hackberry, more commonly known as Granjeno here in South Texas.
This Tawny Emperor was fluttering through the brush along the trail until it landed to bask in the warmth of the sun on a Velvet-leaf Mallow:
This set of photographs was taken on the Water Loop Trail at Hardberger Park on Monday, October 14, 2013.
The persimmon is the only native Texas tree in the Ebony Family*. Like their Asian cousins in the Ebenaceae Family, the larger trees have a black heartwood surrounded by a yellow sapwood. The Chapote Prieto, better known as the Texas Persimmon (Diospyros texana), is very common in South Central Texas woodlands.
Texas Persimmon is an ideal tree for native landscaping as long as two things are kept in mind. They are dioecious, meaning there are separate male and female trees and the ripe fruit produces a nearly permanent black stain. Therefore, male trees should be planted next to sidewalks and driveways so the fallen ripe fruit does not stain them.
The sensuously curved branches with smooth bark is quite attractive. The fruit is ripe when it is black and is edible for both people and wildlife. (But, again, keep in mind the fruit juice will stain one's fingers black.) This is the larval host plant for the Grey Hairstreak butterfly.
It has been a very good year for the Texas Persimmons here in Bexar County as the trees are currently loaded with an abundance of fruit:
This set of photographs was taken on the Water Loop Trail at Hardberger Park on Monday, October 14, 2013.
* The Ebano, also known as Texas Ebony, is not a true Ebony. It is actually in the Legume (Fabaceae) Family.
This beautiful rose-colored flower, Pavonia lasiopetala, goes by a number of common names, such as Pavonia, Rock Rose and Rose Pavonia, but Rose Mallow is the best indication this really isn't a rose, at least not one in the Rosaceae Family. Rose Mallow, as the name indicates, is in the Malvaceae Family.
Rose Mallow is a distant cousin of the Velvet-leaf Mallow. Its leaves have a similar shape to Velvet-leaf Mallow's leaves, but have serrated edges. And its leaves are almost as soft as those of Velvet-leaf Mallow.
This set of photographs was taken along the Water Loop Trail at Hardberger Park on Monday, October 14, 2013.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
This series of photos is a continuation from my walk yesterday on the Water Loop Trail at Hardberger Park:
Monday, December 3, 2012
Hardberger Park, Water Loop Trail
Today's photos:
This is the first of two posts of the photos from my walk today. It will be continued in tomorrow's post.
