Creatures of the Sonoran Desert

[AntlerAlchemist]

This is a wolf spider, Hogna, maybe carolinensis

Oh dang! You are right, now that I looked up the huntsman again. I've seen them before so I should have known Doh! This spider was so big I was thinking the giant crab spider. I've never seen a wolf spider this big!

 

[AntlerAlchemist]

Definitely an adult male Carolina wolf spider!

 

[GingerC]

Those are some cool pics! I just took a trip to the Sonoran desert museum yesterday, and we really do have an awesome biodiversity. Forget about the enclosures, I was happy just to see a phainopepla for the first time!

 

[AntlerAlchemist]

It truly is an awesome place! The Sonoran desert the best desert there is!

 

[Ran]

Great photos of those beautiful desert fauna! Thank you for sharing

 

[Ratmosphere]

Such awesome finds!

 

[AntlerAlchemist]

I found another tailless whip scorpion Walking in the dark with a flashlight has opened my eyes to the amount of arachnids just hiding and waiting for nightfall!

 

[Chris LXXIX]

No centipedes?

 

[Biollantefan54]

Looks like Paraphrynus mexicanus

 

[AntlerAlchemist]

No Centipedes yet... Todays finds though include another regal horned lizard and a possible taratula burrow? Now that I look at it again, it looks similar to the Carolina wolf spider burrows.

 

[AntlerAlchemist]

Looks like Paraphrynus mexicanus

Yeah it most likely is

 

[AntlerAlchemist]

Other things I've seen the past two evenings include a ring necked snake and two prowling western banded geckos. Too dark and too fast for pictures

 

[AntlerAlchemist]

The Iron Cross Blister Beetles are out in full force. They are hard to photograph when they are walking around! They barely hold still! I did eventually find one eatting so I could take a better picture. In doing a bit of research I learned that they contain cantharidin. Which can cause blistering and was ( and still is) used in making "Spanish Fly"

 

[AntlerAlchemist]

A few more insects from yesterday. A katydid and a praying mantis. Both are immature, I'm not really sure of the exact species.

Edit: Actually the Mantis is an adult agile ground mantis https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litaneutria_minor

 

[AntlerAlchemist]

Hummingbird eggs April 2nd. Hummingbird babies April 24th.
I believe these are broad billed hummingbirds. The mother is always flitting around chasing other birds away, so I never get a good look.

 

[GingerC]

The picture of the blister beetle is giving me so many memories! I remember once, when I was around six or so, my dad found one in a parking lot and brought it home because it was entirely unfamiliar. With the help of Wikipedia, we identified it, but only after digging through a few hundred insect pages, lol. A pretty pointless story, but a fond memory of mine.

Also, that black mantis is incredibly cool. I know it's a young one, but how big was it?

 

[AntlerAlchemist]

The picture of the blister beetle is giving me so many memories! I remember once, when I was around six or so, my dad found one in a parking lot and brought it home because it was entirely unfamiliar. With the help of Wikipedia, we identified it, but only after digging through a few hundred insect pages, lol. A pretty pointless story, but a fond memory of mine.

Also, that black mantis is incredibly cool. I know it's a young one, but how big was it?

Ah trying to figure out a bug species can be so hard! I figured out that the mantis is probably an adult agile ground mantis! It was about 1.5 inches I would guess. Wikipedia says they get to be around 1.2 inches

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litaneutria_minor

I didn't actually see it, my husband did My eyes are better, but he is more observant!

 

[aphono]

Nice pics! Thank you for the ID on ground mantis. I've seen tiny mantises just like that except not as dark, on the ground in my yard. When mowing weeds I try to catch and put them up on a plant but they are nearly impossible to catch(very fast!) and they refuse to stay up on anything. Just never occurred to me there might be some kinds that favor the ground.. Interesting!

 

[GingerC]

Ah trying to figure out a bug species can be so hard! I figured out that the mantis is probably an adult agile ground mantis! It was about 1.5 inches I would guess. Wikipedia says they get to be around 1.2 inches

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litaneutria_minor

I didn't actually see it, my husband did My eyes are better, but he is more observant!

Interestingly enough, my little brother just found a blister beetle in the yard today! Had absolutely no clue they lived in my neighborhood.

 

[AntlerAlchemist]

Nice pics! Thank you for the ID on ground mantis. I've seen tiny mantises just like that except not as dark, on the ground in my yard. When mowing weeds I try to catch and put them up on a plant but they are nearly impossible to catch(very fast!) and they refuse to stay up on anything. Just never occurred to me there might be some kinds that favor the ground.. Interesting!

I was able to find a list of the mantis species of Arizona, but they were all latin and no pictures! So I copied and searched each until I found a picture of one that looked like the one pictured. It was the only one that resembled it! They do come in a lighter form as well it seems I'm pretty stoked. I've never seen a mantis species like this.