Scratcher of heads, rubber of bellies
A few years back I was delighted to find a katydid sampling the wares in our yard. It brought back fond memories of the katydids in Oregon, once I found they loved eating our rose petals it not only changed how I pruned the roses but changed my opinion of roses altogether. This one is an elegant bush katydid, the dramatic white-striping is quite different than the green of the fork-tailed bush katydids in Oregon.
📷: Nikon Z fc | Nikon 105mm macro
🗓️: November 5, 2022
The adult tarantula that was living in our backyard hasn’t been seen since the spring so I was delighted when a tiny one dug an equally tiny burrow beside our patio. I thought she wasn’t staying long as the hole was covered after a few days but she may have been molting as within a week or so she came back out and was a regular fixture each night. With the cooler weather the burrow is covered again, hope to see her in the spring.
📷: Nikon Z 7II | Nikon 105mm macro
🗓️: October 5, 2025
I named the two female tarantulas in the backyard Janeway and Seven so my initial thought was to name our new arrival Picard. However if he’s of age and ready to mate and Janeway invites him over … perhaps naming him Red Shirt would be more appropriate.
📷: Sony A6700 | Sony 100-400mm | Sony 1.4X
🗓️: July 20, 2024
It looks like one of our backyard tarantulas has gone missing and a male has taken over her home. He doesn’t seal off the opening to the nest every morning the way she did, I miss that. Amusingly though when he comes out after sunset he just sticks his legs out for a while before emerging completely, perhaps testing to see if the coast is clear while he can still beat a hasty retreat.
📷: Sony A6700 | Sony 100-400mm | Sony 1.4X
🗓️: July 20, 2024
My favorite California patch is in the north in Redwood National and State Parks, but this little California patch is impressive in its own right (assuming I identified it correctly).
📷: Sony A6600 | Sony 100-400mm | Sony 1.4X
🗓️: March 27, 2022
That this green lynx spider only had seven legs didn’t seem to be holding it back, as I’m sure this leaf-footed cactus bug would agree.
📷: Nikon Z fc | Nikon 105mm macro
🗓️: March 18, 2022
Both of our backyard tarantulas emerged from their winter slumber last month though one completely sealed off her entrance again and this one I haven’t seen in a few days, though perhaps I’ve just missed her. She didn’t retreat to her hole one night a week ago when I let Bear out to go to the bathroom, so I grabbed my camera and she sat still for the 2.5 second exposure (sitting still is what she does most of the night).
📷: Sony A6700 | Sony 100-400mm | Sony 1.4X
🗓️: May 31, 2024
A green lynx spider sets to devouring the insides of a leaf-footed cactus bug. It never left a small region high in one of our saguaros, it would spin a thread and attach it to a spine, giving it freedom to leap after prey without fear of falling. I watched its reign of terror over the course of several months, it had no qualms about going after insects larger than itself, until one day I found its lifeless body swaying in the breeze, hanging from a large spine.
📷: Nikon Z fc | Nikon 105mm macro
🗓️: March 18, 2022
A Harris’s hawk silhouetted on saguaro blossoms at sunrise, surrounded by bees. A feeding frenzy often follows when the giants bloom though I didn’t get that sense so much this year. To be fair I wasn’t able to get up early very often on the weekends this spring, on this occasion I struggled to sleep and decided to make the best of it. It was a planned short hike, soon it was back home to join my wife and Bear for a hike in a county park.
📷: Sony A6600 | Sony 100-400mm | Sony 1.4X
🗓️: June 10, 2023
I believe the artists who created this scene are termites, the left side showing the protective mud layer they place over the hardened black areas at the base of old saguaros, the right showing where they have recycled most of the bark-like material and returned its nutrients to the desert soil.
Boolie 