A few weeks ago a young female Garden Spider (Argiope aurantia) found her way through our warehouse and shop into our office. We first noticed her and her web to the right of our 130 gallon display tank. She has since moved to the other end, probably because one end of web was anchored to a ... Read More
Farm Fauna
Texas Garter Snake
The Texas Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis annectens) is one of the three snakes that have established breeding populations in our greenhouses. All three species (the other two are water snakes) share a common characteristic: they are livebearers. Since there is no sand or soil in our greenhouses ... Read More
Copperhead in Tree
Around noon today I was walking toward the greenhouses in our yard when I spied a copperhead about 10 feet up in a redbud tree. I’ve noticed over the last 10+ years that it’s right about mid-July that our copperheads cease hunting cicadas and June bugs emerging from the ground and switch to hunting ... Read More
Scorpion and Greenhouse Ecosystems
This afternoon I was removing a broken vat and, Robyn, a hatchery employee asked, “Do you know there is a scorpion on the vat?” As a matter of fact, I’d noticed it when I pulled the vat out. I figured it could ride along to the dead vat cache. It was fortunate I’d seen it. I get stung by ... Read More
Albino Cockroach
Ashley, one of our employees found an albino cockroach (Periplaneta americana, common names American cockroach and waterbug) in the office bathroom on another employee’s (Robyn) boots that are left here for when they are necessary. I photographed it in its habitat, next to the boots. When I told the ... Read More
Duckweed and Chickens
The most feared phrase for our employees is “Go do duckweed.” Duckweed, sometime within the first couple of months of our operations, got introduced into the vats. It is impossible to eradicate; it can only be controlled…somewhat controlled. Since our livebearer vats contain fry, it’s not ... Read More
Fish Photography
Today I finished (a day before deadline) an article on lyretail mollies for my column in Tropical Fish Hobbyist (TFH) magazine. Unfortunately, I still have to take photos of the mollies. I’m not a photographer and my editor and her staffers at TFH insist on what I deem “artistic” photos. Whereas I ... Read More