Author | Lightnews

Stag

@staggolee41.bsky.social

190 followers 160 following 170 posts

On a wild journey to rehab my yard and document what I observe. Follow me on iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/people/staggolee

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Stag @staggolee41.bsky.social · Sep 8

Not very Big of them, though I suspect they were just trying to make a Splash. Their loss - his talent will not be Cast Away so easily, and they’re just alienating future Volunteers.

Stag @staggolee41.bsky.social · Sep 5

🚨🚨OOTHECA SPOTTED🚨🚨

Very excited to have praying mantis nymphs to watch next year! 😁

#prayingmantis #ootheca #eggs #insects

An ootheca, or egg case, has been left by a praying mantis on a branch of a chasteberry tree. It is cream in color and a few inches long, maybe one inch wide. It is shown against a clear blue sky with green leaves around it.

Stag @staggolee41.bsky.social · Sep 5

Lots of praying mantis activity these last several days - a minimum of 12 hours mating between two, an increasingly large abdomen on the female, and then a significantly flatter abdomen today. Time to look for an ootheca!

#prayingmantis #mating #mantids #stagmomantis

Two views of two mating praying mantises, approximately twelve hours apart. One is at night, one during the morning. The male praying mantis is brown; the female is a vibrant, light green. Both are likely one of a few Stagmomantis species. They are mating on a branch in a chasteberry tree.

The female praying mantis is shown the day after the mating ended, then again one day later. She has gone from having a very distended abdomen to a much flatter one. She is bright green and resting on a chasteberry tree branch in both daytime pictures.

Stag @staggolee41.bsky.social · Sep 5

Took a long break to grieve - I lost my beloved older dog to cancer, and it broke my heart. Abby was somehow both the sweetest and spiciest dog I’ve ever met.

Enjoy every moment - there aren’t enough of them. 💙

An adult woman holds a dog that is light in color, with very soft, thick fur. The woman looks at the camera while the dog looks at her.

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Stag @staggolee41.bsky.social · Aug 29

When did they learned synchronized flying?! Don’t act like you’re not impressed!

#bluedashers #dragonflies #insync

Branches of two crepe myrtles are shown at night. Two blue dasher dragonflies are perched at the same height and angle and in the same direction, but about a foot apart.

Stag @staggolee41.bsky.social · Aug 27

This stink bug nymph, casually doing pushups while making eye contact: “Do you even lift, bro?”

#stinkbugs #nymph #doyouevenlift

A stink bug nymph is shown twice; in the first image, it is holding tight to a branch. In the second image, it has pushed up with its forelegs to maximum height, as if doing a pushup.

Stag @staggolee41.bsky.social · Aug 27

I’d rather not admit how long it took me to see her in this spot. 😅

#prayingmantis #camouflage

A praying mantis is shown on the flowering portion of a chasteberry tree. The section has not flowered yet, so it is a light green, much like the mantid.

Stag @staggolee41.bsky.social · Aug 27

Love blue dashers, but this is nightmare fuel.

#bluedasher #dragonflies #donteatme

The underside of a blue dasher dragonfly is shown. Its apparently open mouth and the color variations in its compound eye make it look like it’s very excited about eating you.

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Stag @staggolee41.bsky.social · Aug 26

I don’t recall there being a chapter about caterpillars in Everybody Poops, but they do. A lot. And they’ll release a lot of it with some force as a defense mechanism.

#caterpillar #frass #everybodypoops

A dozen tiny bits of caterpillar frass are shown with a dried rose leaf on a white sheet of paper.

Stag @staggolee41.bsky.social · Aug 26

The friend with the freakishly long tail reappeared while I was clearing debris next to the patio. I’m pretty sure his tail is longer than him. 😅

#Texasspinylizard

Three views of a Texas spiny lizard are shown. He is hiding in the shady spots behind a wooden trellis. He appears to be a juvenile and has an insanely long tail.

Stag @staggolee41.bsky.social · Aug 26

All this time on spider-centric communities, I’ve adored the pictures of mama wolfies with their babies in tow. Finally, I saw one for myself! Look at this hard-working mom!

#spiders #wolfspider #hardworkingmom #mama #wolfie

A female wolf spider is shown mid-crawl through grass. She has a number of her offspring on the back of her abdomen.

Stag @staggolee41.bsky.social · Aug 25

Yes, definitely! Lucky to have spotted it, on top of right place and right time. Thank you!

Stag @staggolee41.bsky.social · Aug 25

Thank you! 😃

Stag @staggolee41.bsky.social · Aug 25

Wings up becomes wings down in a millisecond. Antlions fold their wings down to rest.

#antlion

An antlion is shown at night, first with wings up, then with its wings folded down around its body. It is a thin-bodied insect with lace-like wings and pronounced antennae.

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Stag @staggolee41.bsky.social · Aug 25

TFW your midnight snack becomes aware of your intent to eat him and leaves. 😔

#crabspiders #armywormmoth #midnightsnack

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Stag @staggolee41.bsky.social · Aug 24

Trimming the rose bushes, I found that some of the thicker branches had been hollowed out in the middle. I’ve seen small carpenter bees and pallid twig ants, but they’ve mostly been in thinner stems or branches. Kind of impressive, interesting… but also, STAHP. 😅

#roses #hollowbranches

A thick branch from a rose bush is shown. It has been broken in half up to a point, showing all of the layers of growth as well as a hollow center.

A thick branch from a rose bush is shown. It has a hollow section, where you can see through the branch to the green grass below.

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Stag @staggolee41.bsky.social · Aug 24

Camouflage so good, I jumped out of my skin once I finally saw it. 😅

#prayingmantis #camouflage #sneaky

A well-camouflaged praying mantis is shown on a branch at night. It has a mostly brown, mottled body and green legs.

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Stag @staggolee41.bsky.social · Aug 24

Some blooms and fresh growth. Happy weekend!

#roses #bloomscrolling

A red rose begins to bloom over green leaves

A red rose blooms with reddish-brown-green new growth all around it

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Stag @staggolee41.bsky.social · Aug 23

The butterfly party continues! Managed to (just barely) capture some video of a red admiral and a western giant swallowtail today.

#butterfly #redadmiral #giantswallowtail #swallowtail

Three pictures of a red admiral butterfly are shown, resting on a tree, then taking flight. It is mostly black with a ring of orange markings around the outer edges of its wings and white spots in the top outer corners of its forewings.

A western giant swallowtail butterfly is shown, feeding on a hibiscus flower before flying away. It is a black butterfly with many orange markings.

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Stag @staggolee41.bsky.social · Aug 23

End state? Maybe. For now, it’s about surveillance and control.

Stag @staggolee41.bsky.social · Aug 23

This hackberry emperor hung out for a few hours in my backyard today. Truly mesmerizing, the markings and colors.

#butterfly #hackberryemperor

A hackberry emperor butterfly is shown perched on a crepe myrtle. Its wings are orange and black with white and black markings; the undersides of its wings are a variety of shades of brown, with black and white markings.

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Stag @staggolee41.bsky.social · Aug 22

WOOHOO! The last to molt has molted! It’s kinda weird, though - looks like he has the beginning of wings but not actually wings?

#prayingmantis #molt

A bright green praying mantis hangs upside down from a crepe myrtle as he finishes molting in the mid-morning sun.

Stag @staggolee41.bsky.social · Aug 22

It’s not about taking the internet away from us. It’s about monitoring what we do online and potentially criminalizing it.

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Stag @staggolee41.bsky.social · Aug 22

This is the first brown one I’ve seen! 😀 Heavy rain today may have brought him/her down from higher up in the crepe myrtle.

#prayingmantis #insect

A brown praying mantis with banded legs and abdominal markings is shown on a green crepe myrtle leaf at night.

Stag @staggolee41.bsky.social · Aug 21

Leaf-footed bug eggs detected!

#leaffootedbugs #insect #eggs

A line of neatly-placed, cylindrical eggs glows golden in bright light at night. The eggs are on a stem on a Texas lilac tree with many green leaves.