El Mesteño Ranch™ and Arboretum

“Male Mesoxaea texana on the South Texas Sand Sheet”

Camille — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 14:49:50 +0000

by C. M. Rich, Texas Master Naturalist

Male Mesoxaea texana nectaring on Waltheria indica.

“Knocking the competition off the bloom!”

Thank you for visiting elmestenoranch.com!

The post “Male Mesoxaea texana on the South Texas Sand Sheet” appeared first on El Mesteño Ranch™ and Arboretum.

“Female Mesoxaea texana on the South Texas Sand Sheet”

Camille — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 14:32:49 +0000

by C. M. Rich, Texas Master Naturalist

Female Mesoxaea texana nectaring on Waltheria indica.

Thank you for visiting elmestenoranch.com!

The post “Female Mesoxaea texana on the South Texas Sand Sheet” appeared first on El Mesteño Ranch™ and Arboretum.

“Making more Mesoxaea texana on the South Texas Sand Sheet”

Camille — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 14:38:28 +0000

by C. M. Rich, Texas Master Naturalist

Female: Shiny, black eyes ~~~ Male: Green, jewel-toned eyes

When I first encountered these two rare bees, they were in flight.

In fact, they flew right in front of me, and I almost ran into them.

I was confused as to what I was seeing.

Front view of the two, conjoined Mesoxaea texana in the act of copulation.

Initially, these two rare bees appeared to be a very long insect flying about three (3) feet above the ground.

It took me a few seconds to realize that this “really long insect” I had nearly bumped into was actual two Mesoxaea texana—conjoined—while in flight.

The Texas native plant these two Mesoxaea texana alighted on was a Salvia ballotiflora, also known as Shrubby Blue Sage.

By the way, this plant has been observed to be a favorite nectar and pollen source for them.

These two remained conjoined for quite some time.

Rough estimates, based on the metadata for all images and videos taken that day, suggest that they were in this state for approximately several minutes.

I have been stewarding this land for these bees since the Fall of 2020.

Their watch, care, and preservation has turned into one of the main “Passion Projects” of this chapter of my life.

Stay tuned. There is definitely more to come.

Thanks for your time!

The post “Making more Mesoxaea texana on the South Texas Sand Sheet” appeared first on El Mesteño Ranch™ and Arboretum.

“Mesoxaea texana nectaring on Waltheria indica on the South Texas Sand Sheet!”

Camille — Mon, 02 Sep 2024 03:38:17 +0000

by C. M. Rich, Texas Master Naturalist

He’s BACK!!!!!

A “hovering” display….

A green-eyed male Mesoxaea texana is a repeat visitor to the South Texas Sand Sheet!

This rare, ground nesting bee has earned a few terms of endearment: “MT” and “El Guapo!”

The post “Mesoxaea texana nectaring on Waltheria indica on the South Texas Sand Sheet!” appeared first on El Mesteño Ranch™ and Arboretum.

“Tepanec Long-horned Bees Nectaring on Coma on the South Texas Sand Sheet,” by C. M. Rich, Texas Master Naturalist

Camille — Fri, 16 Aug 2024 15:44:59 +0000

Tepanec Long-horned Bee ~ Melissodes tepaneca

A Tepanec Long-horned bee enjoying a brief stop on a glossy, dark green Coma leaf.

About the Texas native bee:

“Abundant throughout the United States and Canada, these fast-flying bees are hairy and generally large. Males have extraordinarily long antenna.”

Source: Wilson, Joseph S., and Olivia Messinger Carril. “The Bees in Your Backyard: A Guide to North America’s Bees.” Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2016.

“Melissodes means ‘bee-like.’ Meslissa means ‘bee’ and -odes means ‘looks like’ or ‘resembles.'”
Source: Wilson, Joseph S., and Olivia Messinger Carril. “The Bees in Your Backyard: A Guide to North America’s Bees.” Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2016.

Note: Less than twenty-four hours after its initial capture, this Tepanec Long-horned bee was returned, alive and unharmed, to the exact tree he was found on. He buzzed off without skipping a beat!

This particular bee was found nectaring on a Coma tree (Bumelia celastrina).

About the Coma tree:

“Shrubs or trees up to 30′ tall (usually less), with milky sap, forming thickets from root sprouts. Side branches usually long slender thorns. Flowers: Radial, fragrant, in clusters from the leaf axils; petals 5, white, up to 3/16″ long. Leaves: Alternate; blades spatulate to ovate, tapering onto the petioles, up to 1 and 5/8″ long. The sweet fragrance of plants in bloom can be detected from long distances.”
Source: Richardson, Alfred, and Ken King. “Plants of Deep South Texas.“ College Station: Texas A & M University Press, 2011.

Tamaulipan Thornscrub is an endangered habitat.

Coma is an attractive evergreen tree that is part of the Tamaulipan Thornscrub habitat that dots the landscape out on the South Texas Sand Sheet.

A glimpse into the Tamaulipan Thornscrub on the South Texas Sand Sheet.

Books referenced:

Bravo, Esteban. “Incredible Edibles of South Texas.” (What to Eat & How to Get It). Copy Zone. McAllen, Texas. 2013.
Peacock, Dexter and Forrest S. Smith. “A Photographic Guide to the Vegetation of the South Texas Sand Sheet.” ” Texas A & M University Press. College Station. 2020.
Eason, Michael. “Wildflowers of Texas.” Timber Press Field Guide. Timber Press, Inc. Portland, Oregon. 2018
Richardson, Alfred, and Ken King. “Plants of Deep South Texas.” College Station: Texas A & M University Press, 2011.
Wilson, Joseph S., and Olivia Messinger Carril. “The Bees in Your Backyard: A Guide to North America’s Bees.” Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2016.

Online resources:

A Texas native bee photographed on the exact same Coma Tree in 2022. Although the exact species of Texas native bee is unknown, those antennae are definitively characteristic of male Long-horned bees.

“Roemer’s Acacia” by C.M. Rich, Texas Master Naturalist

Camille — Sat, 18 May 2024 19:45:00 +0000

Roemer’s Acacia

Senegalia roemeriana

Exquisite blooms…

“This is a prickly, 3-7 ft., round-topped shrub or, more rarely, a small tree to 20 ft. with spreading branches. Branchlets with scattered straight or recurved prickles. Leaves divided into numerous leaflets 1/2 inch long or less. Fragrant, cream to greenish flowers 3/8 inch wide arising mostly from the axils of the leaves are followed by a narrow, leathery fruit. Fruit a brown to reddish, flat, curved pod up to 4 inches long and 1 1/8 inches broad. Young trunks are covered with smooth bark, becoming scaly with age. Twigs are armed with short, curved prickles; hence the common name, Catclaw.”
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Roemer’s acacia is a shrub that can grow from 15 to 20 feet in height and has a spread of 10 to 15 feet. It is a perennial, deciduous shrub that prefers sand, clay, gravelly, rocky, or limestone soil types. It requires full sun, and, once established, requires very little water to survive. It blooms in the Spring. Flower color varies from white to green. It provides both nectar and seeds for wildlife.
Native Plant Society of Texas

Leguminosae (Fabaceae)

“Roemer Acacia grows in dry limestone or gravelly soils. In good, deep soil it grows to 15′-20′, although on thin limestone hillsides in Edwards County it is a scraggly shrub of 3′ to 6′. It is drought resistant and fairly cold hardy, as are Gregg and Wright Acacia. Its globe-shaped flowers are a good source of honey.”
Texas Native Plant Database

“Fruit Characteristics: pods, flatter and not as twisted as Gregg Acacia’s.”
Texas Native Plant Database

Want to share with others?

References:

“Blooms on the South Texas Sand Sheet,” by C.M. Rich, Texas Master Naturalist

Camille — Sat, 18 May 2024 15:49:44 +0000

Blooms on the South Texas Sand Sheet

Fishhook Cactus

Red Poppy – pink-flowering form

Blue Curls

Swan Flower

Roadside Guara

Cardinal Feather

Squarebud Daisy

Rio Grande Phlox

Red Poppy – Cow Pen Daisy – Three Lobed Florestina

Red Poppy

Spanish Dagger, Palma Pita

Southern Indian Blanket , Fire Wheel

Yellow Flowered Alicoche

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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!

The post “Loeflingia Squarrosa” by C. M. Rich, Texas Master Naturalist appeared first on El Mesteño Ranch™ and Arboretum.

“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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The post “Cochineal Gallery” by C. M. Rich, Texas Master Naturalist appeared first on El Mesteño Ranch™ and Arboretum.

“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!

The post “Cochineal: The Rest of My Story,” by C. M. Rich, Texas Master Naturalist appeared first on El Mesteño Ranch™ and Arboretum.

El Mesteño Ranch™ and Arboretum

“Male Mesoxaea texana on the South Texas Sand Sheet”

Male Mesoxaea texana nectaring on Waltheria indica.

Thank you for visiting elmestenoranch.com!

“Female Mesoxaea texana on the South Texas Sand Sheet”

Female Mesoxaea texana nectaring on Waltheria indica.

Thank you for visiting elmestenoranch.com!

“Making more Mesoxaea texana on the South Texas Sand Sheet”

When I first encountered these two rare bees, they were in flight.

In fact, they flew right in front of me, and I almost ran into them.

I was confused as to what I was seeing.

Initially, these two rare bees appeared to be a very long insect flying about three (3) feet above the ground.

It took me a few seconds to realize that this “really long insect” I had nearly bumped into was actual two Mesoxaea texana—conjoined—while in flight.

The Texas native plant these two Mesoxaea texana alighted on was a Salvia ballotiflora, also known as Shrubby Blue Sage.

By the way, this plant has been observed to be a favorite nectar and pollen source for them.

These two remained conjoined for quite some time.

Rough estimates, based on the metadata for all images and videos taken that day, suggest that they were in this state for approximately several minutes.

I have been stewarding this land for these bees since the Fall of 2020.

Their watch, care, and preservation has turned into one of the main “Passion Projects” of this chapter of my life.

Stay tuned. There is definitely more to come.

Thanks for your time!

“Mesoxaea texana nectaring on Waltheria indica on the South Texas Sand Sheet!”

“Tepanec Long-horned Bees Nectaring on Coma on the South Texas Sand Sheet,” by C. M. Rich, Texas Master Naturalist

About the Texas native bee:

Note: Less than twenty-four hours after its initial capture, this Tepanec Long-horned bee was returned, alive and unharmed, to the exact tree he was found on. He buzzed off without skipping a beat!

About the Coma tree:

Coma is an attractive evergreen tree that is part of the Tamaulipan Thornscrub habitat that dots the landscape out on the South Texas Sand Sheet.

Books referenced:

Online resources:

Related articles accessed online:

“Roemer’s Acacia” by C.M. Rich, Texas Master Naturalist

Senegalia roemeriana

Want to share with others?

References:

Archives

“Blooms on the South Texas Sand Sheet,” by C.M. Rich, Texas Master Naturalist

Want to share this with others?

Archives

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

Spreading Pygymyleaf

Online sources for the information presented in this photo story:

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

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

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

Thank you!