Texas Rat Snake

Texas Rat Snake, Elaphe obsoleta lindheimer

Often confused with the venomous Cottonmouth/Water Moccasin, Agkistrodon piscivorus, the Texas Rat Snake, Elaphe obsoleta lindheimer, sometimes called the Black Rat Snake, is a harmless non-venomous snake that can grow to impressive size. As the weather warms, more and more snakes are coming out of their dens to bask in the warm sun and  go hunting. Sadly, one of the first reactions many people have when they see a snake is to find a shovel and kill it. Whether or not snakes seem creepy, and whether or not it is actually venomous, it's always good to remind others that these creatures are the reason your carpet is not covered in mouse feces, why the large invasive Norway Rat isn't hiding in bed sheets. Snakes are one of the most important defenders for worse rat invasion to come. Next time a snake crosses your path, give him plenty of room and be on your way so that he may continue hunting that rat eating your pet's food.

This particular photo was taken only yesterday with a simple phone camera. He is the third snake in just four days that I've seen, but by far the largest. As crinkled as he looks in this photo, he straightened up just fine to enter the nearby tall grass. Don't forget that snakes are just as afraid of your presence as you might be of theirs.

Crane Fly

Crane Fly, Diptera

Often incorrectly identified as a "Texas-sized mosquito" or mislabeled as a "mosquito hawk" for belief they feed on mosquitoes, the Crane Fly seems to be a misunderstood common household pest, and an indicator of warmer days to come. The adult phase of this insect is harmless as in this phase they do not even feed. The larvae though do have chewing mouth parts used to ingest decomposing matter, helping to speed up the process. Crane flies live in moist environments which means a wet spring can bring out more than usual. One note of interest, thanks to the size of these flies you can clearly see the haltere, an organ that helps stabilize flight for insects in the Diptera order. If you ever find them in your house, know that they do not want to suck your blood, but rather find out where that bright light is coming from.

If you were wondering, this crane fly was taking a rest on my shoe.

Blackland Prairie

Protected Blackland Prairie

Historically, the Texas Blackland Prairie was once a sea of tall grass stretching 10.6 million acres, but now an estimated 1% is all that remains. For all we know of endangered ecosystems abroad (the Amazon Rainforest being the standard answer), this ecosystem is one of the most critically endangered habitats within North America. The reason for this lies in part from the development of agriculture, specifically livestock grazing, and the farming of cotton, corn, and wheat.

Coral Honeysuckle

Coral Honeysuckle, Lonicera sempervirens

Ranging north and south from the Central Plains to the Eastern Coastline, Coral Honeysuckle, also sometimes referred to as Trumpet Honeysuckle, is a common native vine. Unlike its invasive cousin, Japanese Honeysuckle, this native variety is more selective of areas for growth. It is also not as fragrant or giving of nectar which leads many to prefer the Japanese Honeysuckle even though it is listed as a noxious weed. This invasive cousin had once been used to prevent erosion due to its great adaptability and fast growth, but was left unchecked leading to the crowding out of many other native plants. The lovely red shade of the Coral Honeysuckle flowers are known to attract hummingbirds and butterflies, while the fruit often attracts other birds later in the season.

Tropical Raspberry

Raspberry?, Rubus?

As many would imagine, the tropical rainforest is host to a variety of fruits and other edible plants, more so than a temperate region. One of the seemingly common fruits we kept passing in this section of the Atlantic Rainforest was what could be described as a raspberry. A proper botanist could likely identify whether or not it actually belongs in the Rubus genus or possibly Vaccinium family, either by identifying features or molecular study. What I find interesting is that this well-known temperate fruit might have a tropical cousin, which certainly doesn't seem to be common. Either way, the locals knew it as a sweet treat off the trails.

One word of advice, as given at a lecture in college: never gorge yourself on what you think is a safe plant. I'm unsure if it was ever picked up in the news, but a team of scientists exploring a region of South America plateaus were stranded due to weather preventing helicopter pick-up. Thinking themselves lucky, they found a bush of blueberries which is one of the safer genuses in botany. Some members gorged, other had one or two then waited. Unlucky to the gorging members, they happened upon a previously unknown toxic genus member. Thankfully, no one died, but they did need treatment. Those who waited, didn't have to wait too long before seeing that this was not an edible fruit.

The point being, the locals knew this raspberry-like fruit as safe, but even then we'd have been careful for you never know what immunity they developed that we foreigners hadn't.

Blue-faced Honeyeater

Juvenile Blue-faced Honeyeater, Entomyzon cyanotis

The Blue-faced Honeyeater is an extraordinarily easy bird to identify if you happen to be near either the eastern or northern coast of Australia as no other bird quite looks like it. While the adults have the namesake blue face, the juveniles such as above are more a yellow-green face. The olive feathering and white underbelly are the distinguishing factors from other birds of similar size if spotted from further away. Contrary to the name, this species also feeds on invertebrates and fruits along with nectar. They have a preference for wetter environments, but can sometimes be seen in urban areas. This species is also sometimes seen in areas with or near Little Friarbirds, either feeding alongside with them or occupying abandoned nests. I mention this as this particular bird was not attacked by the Little Friarbirds living just a few branches away, unlike most other birds who so much as flew meters too close to the nest.

Tropics of Brazil

Parque Nacional Chapada dos Veadeiros, Brasil

One of the interesting pieces of information I learned before heading off to Brazil was about weather and natural disasters. The size of Brazil is 8,511,965 km² compared to the United States of 9,826,630 km² (about a difference of Alaska and Texas combined). Within the United States we have everything from tornadoes, to hurricanes, to earthquakes, blizzards, and flooding thanks to a combination of tectonic plate positions and weather patterns. For being quite close in size, the only major disaster Brazil must worry about is flooding. This is due to the position of the country being relatively far from the edges of its tectonic plate, the lack of dry air combining with humid in a way to form supercell storms, and the lack of ingredients to form cyclones in the southern Atlantic Ocean. The issue lies in being mostly a tropical environment where the season are two: wet and dry. That means, when it rains, it pours. In wilderness relatively untouched, adaptions for these flooding rains can be spotted in the buttress roots of trees to the the structure and behavior of ant colonies. In urban areas lacking the plant roots to prevent erosion and concrete that prevents draining, heavy rains averaging up to 1500 mm (59 inches) mean constant fears of flooding for near half a year.