Hole-y Mantis Casing, Bugman!

Photo by Ned Harris 5/23/2014

Mantis egg casings (like this one) often have tiny exit holes. (They aren't from the mantises hatching, though.) Soon after the female mantis extrudes her eggs and the foamy goo that hardens into the egg casing, a parasitic wasp female lays her eggs in the goo. The wasp's eggs hatch first, the hatched wasp-lings eat some (but not all) of the mantis eggs (and such), then eat their way out of the egg casing. (Don't try this at home.)
Great molting mantis photos from our favorite bug lady, Margarethe Brummermann.

Wild Cotton

Photo by Ned Harris 5/23/2014

Photo by Ned Harris 6/2/2012

Fruit of Wild Cotton
Photo by Ned Harris 10/17/2010

Wild Cotton (Gossypium thurberi) is in the Mallow family. Plants in this family have flowers with five separate (as opposed to fused) petals. Their fruits (fruits are those things that have the seeds) are capsules. If you broke open the dried fruit above, you'd see dark seeds in each chamber of the capsule. You'd also see very sparse cotton fibers. (Click on the link above for a close up of the fruit.) These aren't the plants whose fibers are used for cloth, although they are related.

They're back!

Photo by Ned Harris 5/23/2014

Giant Mesquite Bug nymph, all alone (rather unusual, at this stage). They are in piles in many of the mesquites along the road. After hatching, they eat, shed their exoskeletons, eat more, shed more, and get their wings after the final shedding. The winged adults are less colorful than the nymphs, but they can fly : -)
Click on the link for more info on these cool insects.

On the move

Photos by Nancy Carey 5/25/2014

Still following their mom, four of this year's ducklings take a Sunday stroll down the road. Too cute for words!

Raspberry Mount Lemmon-ade

Photo by Marty Horowitz 5/19/2014

New Mexico raspberry (Rubus neomexicanus) is in bloom on Mt Lemmon, along with a whole host of other plants. When you head up to beat the heat, remember to be VERY careful with fire. Very, very, very dry - even where things look lush and green.

More news you can use:
If you like learning about plants, join Frank S. Rose (yes, the author of Mountain Wildflowers of Southern Arizona), Joan Tedford, and other bot heads for Mount Lemmon Summer plant walks. Thursdays starting June 5 through July 10. Meet at 9 am at the Palisades Visitor Center. Bring lunch and water.

If you've got kids 8 and under (older siblings welcome, too), there's summer story time. (All children must be accompanied by an adult.) All six Thursdays from June 5 through July 10, 9-10:30 am at the Sabino Canyon visitor center. Terrific topics! Fun and friendly naturalists! Crafty projects! Air conditioning! Collect them all!

Bleg (And Bonus Pic!)

My employment situation changed in March, and I'm still looking for full-time work. Although I'd love to do this blog (and related activities) full time as a volunteer, I need to be gainfully employed (for another 15 years or so).

I looked into various ways to 'monetize' this blog and found them all even less optimal than this blog-beg. Ads are annoying; founding a non-profit and getting tax-exempt status is expensive and time consuming; getting a percentage from amazon would require more hawking of books than I can reasonably do; finding sponsors for the blog would mean even less time actually blogging.

And so I ask you, dear readers, to consider sending a gift.*

If you like Your Daily Dose of Sabino Canyon, please click on the button below to make a secure contribution via Paypal. (You don't need a Paypal account.) (If you have a problem, click here to view the post online).

I'd rather be independently wealthy, of course, than ask perfect friends and perfect strangers for money. I agonized for weeks about this post. In the end, though, I'm looking at it as a fair trade. I hope you do, too.

Thanks so much.

*It's my 51st birthday on 5/27!

Anne is 51?! Outstanding!

Time for Tranquility

Photo by Dancing Snake Nature Photography

Peaceful Wings

Reakirt's Blue butterfly on a Willow Smartweed (Persicaria lapathifolia) near the dam. Part of Arizona Highways' Friday Foto gallery on the theme 'Tranquility' (5/16/2014).
Take a look at the entire show!

Got seeds?

Photo by Dancing Snake Nature Photography 5/1/2014

Cardy says: Give me your seeds and no one gets hurt!

On calling a leopard a spade...

It turns out I shouldn't have licked all those frogs before posting this photo from Suzi. It's not a spadefoot after all. (I fixed the post, too.)

Fred Heath sets me straight:

Sorry Anne, but it’s in the True Frog family: Ranidae and further. it is one of the leopard frogs (note the leopard-like spots). The spadefoots usually don’t appear (from underground) until the monsoon rains start. I’m assuming this frog was not photographed at Sabino, as our only species, the Lowland Leopard Frog (Rana yavapaiensis) was per David Lazaroff (in his Sabino herp book), “Possibly now extirpated in the Recreation Area and from a wide area in the Santa Catalina Mountains.” If it was photographed recently in Sabino, I’m sure David would want to know about it and I’d like to know the exact location. I suppose there is the possibility that it has been introduced by someone who was tired of their pet.

I heard from John Ferner, too:

It seems to me from the resources I have that it is more likely to be a lowland leopard frog if it is from Mt. Lemmon and this part of the county, but either way both of these species are protected. So I think it would be good to forward the photo to someone who is more up on their current distributions like Phil Rosen at the U of A. Arizona leopard frogs are extra special as you know and in these dry times it may be of interest to someone.

And I heard from Rene, the Serpent Princess, as well. 

I found out from Suzi that her photo was taken on Mount Lemmon (at some point in the past), most likely in the wilderness of rocks area. 

Fred says: 

Wilderness of Rocks is mostly over 7000 feet. The Lowland Leopard Frog can get up to the Oak Woodland belt, so this seems a bit high for them. But frogs don’t read the books.

Suzi doesn't have easy access to the original photo, so the truth of time and place can't be revealed. Bottom line, though, NOT a spadefoot. 

The moral of this story is:  Don't put your spadefoot in your mouth!

Taking time to smell the javelinas

Photo by Alexa von Bieberstein 5/9/2014

A pack of wonderful women from the SCVN class of 2007 took a happy hike (well, more like a wonder walk) in order to send some wacky photos (not posting those!) to our classmates Bryna and Maggie, who couldn't come out to play that day. We saw the 2nd Queen, a bunch of birds, and two javelinas! (This was the more photogenic of the two.) Anne also pontificated on plants. Then there was coffee...

Bunny

Photo by Marty Horowitz 5/4/2014

Desert Cottontail

Click on the link to read more about these herbivores.

Second Queen

Photos by Marty Horowitz  5/9/2014

The second bud on the Night-blooming Cereus (Peniocereus greggii) in Sabino Canyon opened the evening of 5/8/2014. Marty took these great photos the next morning. I'd like to dispel a few myths about this cactus. Yes, the flowers do open at night, but they stay open for hours. You can still see them in the morning, assuming you get to them early enough. Yes, each flower only opens once, but not all of the buds on any given plant will open on the same night. Not even at Tohono Chul!
Tohono Chul Park's Bloom Night is definitely worth going to (at least) once in your life. The dozens of NBC plants there are tended, studied, recorded, and watched so that the optimal bloom night can be determined; but even those flowers don't all open on the same night. There are always a few late bloomers. Why? Well, it just makes good reproductive sense not to count on all the hawk moths being available to pollinate your flowers on the same night. There are late hawk moths, too!

Diamondback ahead

Photos by Wayne Klement 5/7/2014

Wayne saw this well-fed Western Diamondback on the Bear Canyon bridge. And has just the right equipment for this head shot. Don't try this with your phone!

And the answers to yesterday's Lizard Quizard!
Lizard Number 1: Ornate Tree Lizard
Lizard Number 2: Desert Spiny, detached tail to escape being eaten.
Lizard Number 3: Regal Horned Lizard
How did you do?

Lizard Quizard

It's time again to learn your local lizards! Answers in tomorrow's post.

Photo by Ned Harris 4/27/2014

Lizard Number 1

Photo by Marty Horowitz 4/23/2014

Lizard Number 2 

Bonus points for knowing what's unusual about this individual. 

Photo by Marty Horowitz 5/7/2014

Lizard Number 3 

Not a toad

Rocky 5

Photo by Marty Horowitz 4/6/2014

Shadows of Fairy Duster (Calliandra eriophylla) fruits on rock. At least 4 of the 5 common minerals found in Sabino Canyon rocks can be seen in this rock. Quartz - white, sugary looking; feldspar - white, not sugary; mica - shiny; magnetite - black, magnetic; and garnet - red, also called sand rubies. These are what you pan for if you go panning in Sabino Creek. (Any gold you find can be sent to me.)
Speaking of rocks, if you haven't been watching the new Cosmos series, I urge you to do so. I can't recommend it highly enough. Neil deGrasse Tyson is just wonderful at explaining the wonders of the universe. Really. Fantastic. Even if you normally start to snore when a sentence begins with: "X million years ago..." (as I do), you'll be amazed at how easily you understand how the universe works. Prepare to be dazzled.

Flowers are always in

Photo by Gene Spesard 4/30/2014

This beauty is very tiny. About the size of the very tip of your finger. Fortunately, Gene took on the challenge of getting a close up of Carlowrightia (Carlowrightia arizonica). There's a small patch of these on the Bluff trail.

Photo by Marty Horowitz 5/7/2014

Caliche Globe Mallow (Sphaeralcea laxa) flower and fruits. Remember, a fruit is that which holds the seed(s).

Photo by Marty Horowitz 5/7/2014

Near the creek is the setting for this plant-a-palooza. Some Fremont Cottonwood (Populus fremontii) leaves on the far left and bottom right. Something interesting (not sure what it is) in the background; Common Mullein (Verbascum thapsus) leaves in the lower foreground, and a branch of Common Cocklebur (Xanthium sturmarium) fruits across the entire photo. The stars of this show are the red flowers, though, Slender Paintbrushes (Castilleja tenuiflora).

Dots are always in

A little help!

Both photos by Alan Kearney 4/27/2014

This is a mighty male Eastern Collared Lizard. Click on the photos for larger views. (Makes it easier to count the dots.) On the close up, you can see the external opening of his ear by following his smile line back to the shadowed 'break.' These lizards eat insects, of course, but also other lizards. Don't try their diet. And that means you, Paul K!

Don't forget to look up!

Photo by Ned Harris 4/27/2014

That's what I say whenever I'm watching a suspenseful movie. You just know the bad guy, sneaky thief, disgruntled teenager, or ill-mannered Norse god will be hovering near the ceiling somehow. And yet the protagonist NEVER remembers to look up! Unless you are in your car, don't forget to look up occasionally. You might see a Belted Kingfisher (or perhaps Thor, my personal favorite of the petulant Norse gods). Click on the link to read the wonderful description of this bird. (And make sure to send me a photo if you encounter Thor.)

Look for these on your next hike

Photo by Marty Horowitz 4/23/2014

Wire Lettuce (Stephanomeria pauciflora) 

Photo by Marty Horowitz 4/23/2014

Fendler's Globe Mallow (Sphaeralcea fendleri) 

with bonus Marine Blue butterfly

Not a Spadefoot (from) Suzi

Photo by Suzi Manthorpe

Regardless of spadefootedness (What? That's not a word?), there's a great article in the Desert Leaf on how these and other critters survive in our harsh desert. Click here and give it a bit to download. Double click to make larger.

Fred Heath sets me straight:

Sorry Anne, but it’s in the True Frog family: Ranidae and further. it is one of the leopard frogs (note the leopard-like spots). The spadefoots usually don’t appear (from underground) until the monsoon rains start. I’m assuming this frog was not photographed at Sabino, as our only species, the Lowland Leopard Frog (Rana yavapaiensis) was per David Lazaroff (in his Sabino herp book), “Possibly now extirpated in the Recreation Area and from a wide area in the Santa Catalina Mountains.” If it was photographed recently in Sabino, I’m sure David would want to know about it and I’d like to know the exact location. I suppose there is the possibility that it has been introduced by someone who was tired of their pet.

I heard from John Ferner, too:

It seems to me from the resources I have that it is more likely to be a lowland leopard frog if it is from Mt. Lemmon and this part of the county, but either way both of these species are protected. So I think it would be good to forward the photo to someone who is more up on their current distributions like Phil Rosen at the U of A. Arizona leopard frogs are extra special as you know and in these dry times it may be of interest to someone.

I found out from Suzi that her photo was taken on Mount Lemmon (at some point in the past), most likely in the wilderness of rocks area. 

Fred says: 

Wilderness of Rocks is mostly over 7000 feet. The Lowland Leopard Frog can get up to the Oak Woodland belt, so this seems a bit high for them. But frogs don’t read the books.

Suzi doesn't have easy access to the original photo, so the truth of time and place can't be revealed. Bottom line, though, NOT a spadefoot. 

The moral of this story is:  Don't put your spadefoot in your mouth!

Monkey lips

Photo by Gene Spesard 4/23/2014

Yes, there are monkeys in the canyon! Yellow Monkeys - well, Yellow Monkey Flowers, anyway! The genus name has changed (now Erythranthe guttata) since the 2nd edition of A Naturalist's Guide to Sabino Canyon was published in April 2012, but the information on page 98 is still true. This photo shows the hairy, reddish-spotted throat quite well!
A big monkey flower kiss to Joan Tedford for keeping up with the botanical name changes for Sabino Canyon plants.

Mommy!

Photos by Mark Hengesbaugh 5/2/2014

A baby Bell's Vireo calls for mom.

And a House Wren - even more emphatically!

Yes, it's blooming!

All photos by Matt Ball 5/8/2014

My Honey-Matt and I changed the hummingbird feeders in Sabino Canyon on Thursday morning. I suggested that we check the Night-blooming Cereus aka Queen of the Night (Peniocereus greggii) in front of the women's restroom by the visitor center. We were rewarded with a still open flower and several buds!! Keep your eye on this plant in the next week or so. There are sure to be more flowers!!

Bees, please

Photos by Ned Harris 4/27/2014

These are Carpenter Bees. Both sexes are the same color (black), so let's call them both Pat. Note that both pairs of wings and all six legs are attached to - you know it - the thorax.

Blooming yellow

Photo by Ned Harris 4/27/2013

Bur Marigold (Bidens aurea). Look along the creek for these flowers on tall, thin stems. They are often in bloom (like now) when they aren't supposed to be (late summer and fall). They may look slightly different than in this photo, of course. The appearance of all living things is influenced by genetics and environment. Sometimes the variations in appearance between members of the same species are great. Take humans, for example.

Photo by Ned Harris 4/30/2014

If you've been walking along the road into Sabino Canyon, you've probably noticed the bright yellow flowers of Jackass Clover (Wislizenia refracta, now in the Cleome Family). And yes, that's really the common name! I didn't make it up :-) Feel free to use freely.

Paper Wasps

Photo by Ned Harris 4/30/2014

Paper wasps tending a nest on one of the restrooms in Sabino Canyon. Bug Eric (Eric Eaton) had this to say about them:

Yes, those are eggs in some of the cells. The capped ones have pupae inside. All wasps are the same species: Polistes major, but different subspecies. Yellow one is P. major major, dark ones are P. major castaneicolor. This might be a rather unusual situation.

More info on the wasps of this area can be found here (on the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum site).

Aye, Matey!

Photo by Ned Harris 4/30/2014

These Marine Blue butterflies are - you guessed it - mating. The female will fly off and lay eggs on host plants; for this species, Leadwort (Plumbago zeylanica) and Velvet Mesquite (Prosopis velutina), among others. The caterpillars that hatch from these eggs will need to eat an appropriate host plant, so it's important to get it right. The caterpillars (larvae) eat and grow, then pupate; i.e., take themselves almost completely apart and re-build with wings. After emerging, they fly off to start the cycle again. That, my friends, is complete metamorphosis.

Up snake-i-scope

Photo by Ned Harris 4/30/2014

Click on this (and all photos in this blog) for a larger view. This beauty is a Sonoran Whipsnake (click the words for more info from the Reptiles of AZ site). Another great photo on page 41 of A Naturalist's Guide to Sabino Canyon, 2nd edition, 2012. If you don't have one of those yet, wait no longer! Send me an email and I'll let you know how to purchase.

Squirrely

Photo by Ned Harris 4/30/2014

Last stop on Ned's last nature walk of the season was a photo session with this Round-tailed Ground Squirrel, calmly munching on a saguaro flower bud under the ramada by the tram hut. Please don't feed these little guys human food, as cute - and seemingly tame - as they are. (We were all happy to see that something other than a cheez-it was being consumed.) Keep 'em wild!

Whoooo are yoooo?

Photos by Lenor Lavelle, late-April 2014

In a nest in a tree in a neighborhood near Sabino Canyon, (at least) two Great Horned Owlets are hooting it up. Look a bit like koalas, to me.