Nature is my classroom. Archives - El Mesteño® Ranch and Arboretum

Lycus fernandezi – a species of net-winged beetle on the South Texas Sand Sheet.

Camille — Sun, 24 May 2026 00:13:54 +0000

by C. M. Smith Rich

September 17, 2025—my first sighting.

Lycus fernandezi on Roemer’s Acacia.

Nicknames: “Fernando” &”Hang Glider.”

The first time I saw this creature was back on September, 17, 2025, late in the morning. It stood out as a bright pop of color on a verdant green, blooming Roemer’s Acacia – Senegalia roemeriana.

As I approached this boldly-colored, orange and black beetle to come in for a closer look, it lept off the native tree it was poised on and helicoptered itself up, up, and on out of my way—just like an action figure in a movie or cartoon. I was starstruck!

Its unique wing spread and flight pattern as it flew away from me that day left quite an impression on my mind and in my imagination. I wanted the chance to see it again. I wanted the chance to see that impressive liftoff again.

Consequently, I set out to try and record its “liftoff” for us to experience and enjoy.

Fast forward to May 20, 2026.

As a friend and I made our way about the endangered Tamaulipan thornscrub habitat looking for native bees on a walking survey, she saw something and called out for me to look.

I spun around and, yet again, that bright pop of color against the greens and greys stood out against the landscape.

Could it be? After all this time of looking, watching and waiting? Had “Hang Glider” returned?

“Hang Glider is back!”

“Hang Glider”

I am happy be able to present “Hang Glider” taking flight for your review and enjoyment:

Up, up, and away…

Thank you for visiting the website! Thank you for your time!

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Mesoxaea texana update from the South Texas Sand Sheet, and guess what? The Protoxaea gloriosa are back!!!!!!!

Camille — Sun, 25 May 2025 16:25:55 +0000

Male Protoxaea gloriosa nectaring on Waltheria indica on May 21, 2025! It’s been four long years since I last laid eyes on them!

by C. M. Rich, Texas Master Naturalist

Dear Fellow Nature Enthusiast,

As I was making the rounds on my little place out in the South Texas Sand Sheet on Saturday, May 17, 2025, scouting for bees, birds, butterflies, and blooms, I was ecstatic to see and record a male Mesoxaea texana (Mt) nectaring on Waltheria indica once again! Just like clockwork, and according to the records I have been keeping in my phenology journal, it was time for Mt to return!

The male Mt, which I have affectionately nicknamed “El Guapo” back in 20221” did not disappoint me. However, what made El Guapo’s sighting even more remarkable is that it was heralded just moments before by its fellow subfamily Oxaeinae member, the Protoxaea gloriosa!

The Protoxaea gloriosa, which I affectionately nicknamed “El Glorioso” back in 2021, was also nectaring on Waltheria indica!

Alternate view of the male Protoxaea gloriosa nectaring on Waltheria indica.

As an aside, the last Protoxaea gloriosa that I recorded on my place was in the Spring of 2021. Remaining hopeful that “El Gloriosa” would one day return, I have been looking for them ever since. It only took approximately four (4) years of waiting, and it was worth it! Now, I have given myself a photo / video challenge: Record as much of “El Glorioso” as possible.

Protoxaea gloriosa caught in a Lynx spider’s deadly embrace circa May 2021.

My phenology records show a cyclical trend—maybe pattern or cycle might be better descriptions—on the amount of time I might expect to see the Mesoxaea texana and indicate that I will get to document the male a few weeks before the female Mesoxaea texana show up. The overall trends on when the cycle starts and stops for this rare native bee, according to my phenology journal data entries, demonstrate that its arrival on the South Texas Sand Sheet has historically been from the months of May to June—even sometimes carrying over into the first week of July.

Last year, the Mesoxaea texana showed up between approximately May 26, 2024, through July 2, 2024. They were spotted on Salvia ballotiflora. A special treat occurred last Fall, 2024, when the Mesoxaea texana reappeared for a second cycle above the ground on the South Texas Sand Sheet from approximately August 24, 2024, through October 26, 2024. During their second cycle, they were spotted predominantly on Waltheria indica, but were also observed on Salvia ballotiflora, Eysenhardtia texana, and Funastrum cynanchoides.

Over the past four years, I have not been able to conduct the same amount of Citizen Science research for the Protoxaea gloriosa as I have for “El Guapo” because I have not laid eyes on it in four years. My luck seems to be changing this year, however! So now what? What about “El Glorioso?” How long will we possibly get to see it on the South Texas Sand Sheet? Will it be long enough to start collecting data? My hunch about “El Glorioso,” based on what I have learned, is that the patterns I have observed and documented for the Mesoxaea texana, its subfamily member, will also apply and hold true for it as well. I guess we will see. Time (and data) will tell their tale.

Male Mesoxaea texana nectaring on Waltheria indica.

I will be, once again, starting up my intermittent, random walking surveys of all nine monitored sights. I will be looking, in earnest, for their nests this year; it is on my bucket list to be able to document them! I will continue to record ground temperatures at the monitored sights, track rainfall, record what’s blooming, and generally keep my eye out for anything that seems remarkable and worthy of note during these two rare, native bees time above the ground in this cycle of their lives on the South Texas Sand Sheet.

A slideshow for you:

Please stay tuned! There is more to come, and thank you for your time!

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“Loeflingia Squarrosa” by C. M. Rich, Texas Master Naturalist

Camille — Thu, 07 Mar 2024 01:35:30 +0000

Loeflingia squarrosa

Spreading Pygymyleaf

Family: Caryophyllaceae (Pink Family)

Flower Month: February – August

Bloom Color: White, Yellow

Duration: Annual

Growth Form: Forb

Armed / Unarmed: Unarmed

Leaf Complexity: Simple

Leaf Shape: Subulate

Size Notes: Up to 5” tall

Fruit Type: Capsule

Online sources for the information presented in this photo story:

Lovely microplant!

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“Cochineal Gallery” by C. M. Rich, Texas Master Naturalist

Camille — Wed, 06 Mar 2024 22:12:59 +0000

Cochineal Gallery of Images…

Cochineal mixed with Cream of Tartar.

Cochineal mixed witih Alum.

Experimenting on a journal page.

Cochineal extract added to white acrylic paint on ready-made canvas.

Handmade paper dyed with cochineal extract.

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“Cochineal: The Rest of My Story,” by C. M. Rich, Texas Master Naturalist

Camille — Wed, 06 Mar 2024 21:39:55 +0000

“Cochineal: The Rest of My Story”

In the last edition of “The Chachalaca,” I went into detail about the substantial amounts of cochineal on the prickly pear cacti population at El Mesteño Ranch and Arboretum over the last six (6) months. I shared research about the historical use and economic importance of scale insects.

I most especially had a lot of fun photographing them under my microscope. However, my article, “Cochineal: Under the Microscope,” was just the first part of my cochineal story. This article will bring my cochineal story full circle.

How did I extract dye from the insect?

After harvesting the cochineal, I was able to extract a dye from them by boiling the dried insects, including the “white fluff,” in filtered water in a pan on my stove top. Next, I strained the dye concoction through a small colander into a glass jar. Then, I was ready to begin my journey into dyeing assorted items with my cochineal extract.

What did I do with the cochineal extract?

I “went to town,” so to speak, finding unusual ways to apply cochineal to canvas, watercolor paper, and homemade paper. I tried to leave no stone unturned. I worked with the cochineal extract application process using sponges and paint brushes, but mostly I used my hands. I quickly learned that cochineal would dye your skin and fingernails quite nicely. Hence, I began using disposable, vinyl gloves going forward. (Although the dye on my skin was not permanent, it did take a day, or so, of lots of hand washing to thoroughly remove.)

Making both homemade paper and homemade seed paper were two of my biggest cochineal dye project undertakings. Let me just say that making paper is messy, so it is no surprise that I made huge messes in my garage with this part of my cochineal experiment. Regardless of any drawbacks to my “paper caper,” I found it very satisfying to see the result of homemade seed paper in a lovely lilac hue. The cochineal-dyed seed paper, sprinkled with a hand-picked “South Texas Sand Sheet” mix of seeds that were available at the time I made the seed paper, looked so beautiful and resembled delicate, small flat bread pizzas!

What did I use for this project?

Some of the things I used, while working with cochineal extract for craft projects and dyeing natural and synthetic fibers, are as follows:

Textiles dyed: 100% Raw silk fabric, 100% cotton fabric, 100% cotton yarn, 50% / 50% cotton blend fabric, synthetic fibers (lace type), and gauze.
Mordants used for dyeing textiles: Alum and Cream of Tartar
Ready-made canvases.
Watercolor paper.
Inexpensive white acrylic paint.
Paint brushes and eyedroppers.
Melted wax, which was used to experiment with the Batik method of dyeing.
Recycled paper scraps, an old blender, plastic tubs, buckets, sponges (to remove excess water from paper pulp), and a mould and deckle (that I made from old picture frames and plastic screen repair fabric) to make the homemade recycled paper and seed paper.
Wildflower seeds, which were collected from the South Texas Sand Sheet, for use on the homemade seed paper.
Natural materials, like leaves, rocks, twigs, orange slices, and coffee grounds, to create designs on watercolor paper.

Cochineal mixed witih Alum.

Cochineal mixed with Cream of Tartar.

Summary of the process I used to dye textiles:

Method used for dyeing textiles: Solar

Most of the textiles spent days sitting in the dye bath solution and being gently moved and stirred around in the dye bath to try and achieve a uniform appearance.
After a few days in the dye bath, I removed the different textiles and allowed them to air dry for a few days to try and “fix” the dye.
I could never quite get the dye’s level of saturation on the textiles to stay as intense as they appeared initially on the textiles coming out of the dye bath for the first time.
I tried re-dyeing all the textiles numerous times to try to achieve darker, deeper, intense shades of purple and pink. Nevertheless, the colors achieved by subsequent dye baths never appeared to be any more intense than when they initially came out of their first dye bath.
The textile that, in my opinion, yielded the nicest shade of red was the raw silk.
After trial and error, including rinsing the textiles with tap water by hand and laundering some of the textiles in my washing machine on the gentlest cycle possible, I arrived at the conclusion that there are no fixed rules for dyeing with cochineal.
The creative process and experimentation of using the cochineal scale insect in natural dye processes are equal parts science, adventure, and mystery.

What did I learn?

Alum yielded darker, intense shades of purple.

Cream of Tartar & Alum produced pinker shades.

Experimenting on a journal page.

Cochineal mixed witih Alum.

Cochineal mixed with Cream of Tartar.

Methods of application I found interesting :

Using an eye dropper to create designs on both ready-made canvases and watercolor paper that I purchased at a local big box store.
Drizzling cochineal extract over nature textures on watercolor paper to see what impressions were left behind once the nature material was removed.
Mixing the cochineal dye extract with white acrylic paint to achieve a more uniform material that adhered nicely to the ready-made canvases when applied with a simple, inexpensive paint brush.

Handmade paper dyed with cochineal extract.

Cochineal extract added to white acrylic paint on ready-made canvas.

My cochineal journey—and my stories about it—have been a labor of love in my personal quest for knowledge about, and experience with, this tiny, crimson insect. What was my favorite thing produced in my cochineal experiment, you might wonder? That is an easy answer. The homemade seed paper was, by far, the most enjoyable, rewarding product produced.

If you missed the first part of my cochineal story, you may access it here:

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Thank you!

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