Boba the Bat

Last week i noticed that every time i did the evening chores, right around sundown a certain squeaking noise would become evident around and about my head area. When i looked up there was nothing out of the ordinary to witness but i knew the click and squeaking noises to be those of a bat. …

Dragonfly Mating Season

It is that time of year. You cannot walk very far without being pelted by busy dragonflies looking for one another. They buzz about the air and occasionally run into your head or torso but they are harmless. They’re not paying attention to their human or dog shaped obstacles. They’re driven by a mission to …

A Cicada Molting

These little guys are good eating but this is a bit too late in the cycle to harvest. I would have had to get this guy right when he came out of the ground, before he went to look for some place to climb a tree and transform from an insect with paper thin skin …

The Scorpions are Back

I was wondering when we were going to transition from not seeing any scorpions to seeing them all the time. They begin appearing outside in march or april but as to when they start coming out of the woodwork in the house, its usually late spring or early summer. This year we made it until …

A Black Swallowtail named “Blue”

I was outside working in the yard one day when i noticed a pop of color underneath the car. It was a butterfly! I was immediately terrified i’d run him over or hit him with the grill of the car earlier when i’d parked, since that was where i found him, beneath the front of …

A Long Way from Home

i found this alien looking creature in the yard. It was very large for an insect and had these menacing looking pinchers on the front of it. After interviewing friends and neighbors i realized it was a male dobson fly. Though it looked menacing the pinchers were actually meant for use during mating and it …

Mystery Eggs

One day i noticed these eggs hanging from the underside of the porch railing. The last eggs i discovered turned out to be praying mantis and brown widow eggs. I dispatched both of the batches of eggs. Praying mantises grow up and behead my humming birds and orb weavers in order to eat their brains. …