Texas day hike

[Galapoheros]

I've been getting over the flu, sitting in too much, so I decided to get out and explore. I don't collect around here now(unless I find something freaky) because I have what I'm interested in, but I needed to walk around after being sick and I like to dig around, but putting things back like I found them.
lithobius

ferral hog remains

Spitting spider, too lazy to look up species name.

Coryphantha sulcata ..like the rockin tortoise!

Queen YellowJacket

Local termites (Austin Tx)

Small local millipede

Aphonopelma henzi

sp of carrion beetle(?) What species?

Echinocactus texensis

Centruoides vittatus, very common in Texas and considered a pest in cities and towns to urbanites

Centipede, Geophilomorpha

Scolopendra heros castaneiceps baby, ...or young teenager.

ditto

 

[skippy]

nice day out

 

[Galapoheros]

It was really nice, just me, 60 degrees, no noise, rode my bike with jeans on to the location, prob looked a little suspicious, hid my bike and wormed around.

 

[plo]

Wish we had those big pedes here ! We used to have scorpions everywhere, at least one or two under every flat rock, but the fireants moved in and I guess they attack the scorps because I havent seen them since the fireants got this far North. Anyways...Thanks for the pics

 

[Galapoheros]

I think you might have the giant heros pedes there, I've found them in Meridian, south of FW. I would search out bedrock in the area and start hunting. I think we are missing locality info. I grew up in Bryan Tx, mostly in the 1970's, age 6 to 18. Our street ended with a cul-de-sac, there was a field there we would play around in and hide, mini-bikes, explore. C. vittatus were very common and still are. I would fill up a gallon jug with water and pour down holes thinking a T was going to come up. Sometimes it was a T, sometimes it was a big Wolfspider. Right now, you'd be lucky to find holes there to search for spiders. Vittatus is still there with the fire ants and imo there seems to be no change in population when it comes to C. vittatus as they relate to fire ants. But the hornytoads are almost gone from the area, pretty obvious it's from the Fire ants in that case. I'm surprised global warming followers haven't blamed it on CO2 loll. Going west as it gets dryer, the TX hornytoads become more common again, places where fire ants can't survive because it's too dry. Sc heros pedes and vittatus are doing well here even though there are fireants. I don't know if it has to do with concentration of fireants or if it has to do with fireants at all when it comes to Ts, scorps and pedes. I have all those three "and" fireants in Austin. Why the decline of Ts around Bryan Tx and not in the Austin area? I don't see the reason right now.

 

[sharpfang]

Pretty.....

......Wasp! Appreciate the visuals.......No Gray-Bands ?

 

[plo]

Yea, the hornytoads are for sure gone. Never would have thought that when I was younger as they were all over:8o I'll have to find some bedrock around here to hunt in. If it wasn't the fireants that ran the scorps off, I can't think of what it could have been. It seemed like within two or three years and they were completly gone. Yea global warming ! Thats it!!!!

 

[eelnoob]

Nice pix and finds.

 

[Galapoheros]

......Wasp! Appreciate the visuals.......No Gray-Bands ?

Some people really like wasps, I'm not a big fan but I knew some would like it. No gray-bands in my area, no wild ones anyway. They start popping about 170 miles west of where I live.