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There was a Red-Necked Wallaby in my backyard today.  It's not a common occurrence although it has happened 2-3 times previously.

 

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6 minutes ago, steve99 said:

There was a Red-Necked Wallaby in my backyard today.  It's not a common occurrence although it has happened 2-3 times previously.

 

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Nice photos Steve

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Gold Coast, Queensland Latitude 28S. Mild, Humid Subtropical climate. Rainfall - not consistent enough!

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  • 2 weeks later...
20 minutes ago, The Silent Seed said:

Not sure who this guy (or gal) is - first time seeing this type in my plant house. 

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One of the Sac Spiders,  Cheiracanthium sp.  Apparently there are a few that have been introduced / establishing themselves across the country..  Very common back in CA. Frequently make cocoon -like silk "retreats" in Roses ( leaves, flower petals ) Citrus, etc other leaves ( back in Calif. )  and inside the house. Fairly aggressive and can launch itself if disturbed. Bite can produce similar symptoms / reactions as those from Brown Recluse ( Lox. reclusa )  though most people only experience some swelling. 

Between Recluse, Black/ other Widows, and these, Absolutely detest these spiders. Many experiences w/ them falling off the sealing/ walls inside the house, roof of the inside of the car, out from hidden spots while working in the yard. 

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Silas, thank you very much for your input! I found this guy/gal while moving this plant, and he was actively moving up and down the leaves, but didn't "come after me" thankfully! Good to know these things. 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Some summer visitors..

Couch's Spadefoot, Scaphiopus couchii. Second summer one has shown up in the yard. No idea where they come from since there are no un- disturbed places that retain water during Monsoon season nearby, especially with yet another unnecessary ( and ugly ) 5 story apartment complex / Hotel being built around the corner.. Highly endangered where it is hanging on in S.E. California. Took this one to a catchment pond in a nearby park.
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Metallic Green Sweat Bee who found his way into the house
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Surprise large Mediterranean Gecko, Hemidactylus turcicus that appeared in the shade house while watering. Most of the ones that hangout on the patio during the summer tend to be smaller.
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Unknown Katydid sp.  Don't think i've seen one with battle stripes, giving me the slant eye..
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Unknown species of Blue ( Polyommatus sp. ) hanging out on Santa Rita Acacia, Mariosousa millefolia out front.
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One thing about the desert, esp. during Monsoon season, you never know who is going to show up on your doorstep.

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This nice couple flew in just before our Thanksgiving holiday. Thought they were just here for a relaxing weekend visit in beautiful Delray Beach but they've stayed a couple weeks now. While they do come over to the gardens they prefer to hang out on the side of the canal.

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The long seasonal drought has finally broken....the first rains of the season has brought joy to the wildlife and us humans.The run of days exceeding 105f ( 40 ) also broken with a 100f and 99f in the last 2 days.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Photobucket's been wonky the past couple weeks after they lost power and everything went down but they've got things fixed, so gotta catch up!

Neighbor came over 1st thing New Years Day and asked if I'd give this turtle a lift (on a shovel) over to the canal because it was digging in their lawn. Female nesting?

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Anyone know what these are? They 've got a BIG appetite! I let one eat all the leaflets on a 5-6' Coco frond before saying that's enough and removing it. They seem to show up around this same time each year, not a lot of them but I have to watch for them. One can strip a 2' crown of thorns in a couple days. This one ate all the leaves off a 3' Papaya before I noticed.

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8 minutes ago, NOT A TA said:

Photobucket's been wonky the past couple weeks after they lost power and everything went down but they've got things fixed, so gotta catch up!

Neighbor came over 1st thing New Years Day and asked if I'd give this turtle a lift (on a shovel) over to the canal because it was digging in their lawn. Female nesting?

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Possibly, but can't say for sure without seeing the underside of the shell. You can supposedly tell Males / females apart by various features on / along the Plastron ( bottom side of the shell ) You'll know for sure if you start seeing Babies scuttling about in a couple months.. 

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6 minutes ago, NOT A TA said:

Anyone know what these are? They 've got a BIG appetite! I let one eat all the leaflets on a 5-6' Coco frond before saying that's enough and removing it. They seem to show up around this same time each year, not a lot of them but I have to watch for them. One can strip a 2' crown of thorns in a couple days. This one ate all the leaves off a 3' Papaya before I noticed.

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Possibly Papaya Horn worm.. ( Larvae of Erinnyis alope Sphinx / Hawk Moth ) Little "fold" behind it's head opens up to show an "eye" to help scare off anything that might be tempted to eat it.

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You're good at answering questions in this game of mine to learn! Thank you!  It does have the little eye. I actually thought I'd accidentally cut it when the eye opened.

Meanwhile we're all losing Papaya fruit to an insect using the fruit as a host this year. I didn't have any Papaya the past 10 years or so but I planted about 15-20 last summer to create quick canopy for palm seedlings because I'm too cheap to set up shade cloth. All the fruit are dropping off them before the fruit fully develop. I certainly don't need all the fruit but.....  And, I feel like I'm just adding to the insect problem which might increase the local insect population making it harder for my neighbors to get any edible fruit on theirs.

 

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4 minutes ago, NOT A TA said:

You're good at answering questions in this game of mine to learn! Thank you!  It does have the little eye. I actually thought I'd accidentally cut it when the eye opened.

Meanwhile we're all losing Papaya fruit to an insect using the fruit as a host this year. I didn't have any Papaya the past 10 years or so but I planted about 15-20 last summer to create quick canopy for palm seedlings because I'm too cheap to set up shade cloth. All the fruit are dropping off them before the fruit fully develop. I certainly don't need all the fruit but.....  And, I feel like I'm just adding to the insect problem which might increase the local insect population making it harder for my neighbors to get any edible fruit on theirs.

 

:greenthumb: You're welcome.. Have spent almost as much time getting acquainted w/ bugs and other critters, alongside plants.  Sounds like Papaya Fruit Fly ( whats using the fruit as a host ) UF/IFAS has a good article on it, and how to control it..  You're probably helping keep populations down if you toss any fallen fruit / any you don't use.  As far as the Horn worms, nature will usually keep them in check. You can also offer them to the local lizards in the yard/ neighborhood too, lol. Used to do that with June Bugs that would get into my Apartment when i lived in Largo. Anoles around my building seemed to know when it was feeding time too..

If you're brave, sometime in spring or summer, hang a piece of cloth somewhere in the yard after soaking in Basil or Sage infused oil.. Supposedly irresistible to male Orchid Bees which collect the scent compound on a appendage on their hind legs.. They were just starting to expand their range up into Bradenton / Tampa Bay area from S. FL. when i moved.. Fascinating insects.. Don't think they sting either. Want to say they've only been in Florida since the mid-2000's. if i remember correctly. Pollinate all sorts of stuff also.
 

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Will research the fruit fly, and yes I've been picking and disposing the infected fruit.

Had some bees that seemed to be feeding on Spider plants back in June. They'd only work on one section of one plant even though four other planters hanging nearby.

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Not an actual garden visit but......  Apparently this guy followed me into the garage yesterday when I was done with yard work and got trapped when the doors were closed. Went out to clean some seed after dinner and it was sitting on my blue tooth speaker on the bench where I clean seed. I thought for sure it'd take off as soon as I started working banging seed and what not (didn't turn music on) but it just sat there occasionally moving a little for a long time while I cleaned the whole pan of seed! Then I shut the lights and went in the house, it was gone this morning. Hope it made an escape when I opened the doors.

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  • 4 weeks later...

That's an odd looking possum in the second picture. ;)  (You did say, nuttin' but possums.) 

Cute little guys. 

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14 hours ago, edbrown_III said:

nuttin but possums here 

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That's actually an Opossum, not a Possum. Possum photos below. When the young get too big for the pouch they ride on the mother's back.

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On 2/8/2020 at 1:33 PM, The Silent Seed said:

That's an odd looking possum in the second picture. ;)  (You did say, nuttin' but possums.) 

Cute little guys. 

she's going as a Trans species 

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On 2/8/2020 at 4:44 PM, tropicbreeze said:

That's actually an Opossum, not a Possum. Possum photos below. When the young get too big for the pouch they ride on the mother's back.

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I talked it over with him --- he assures me he is a possum 

 

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6 hours ago, edbrown_III said:

I talked it over with him --- he assures me he is a possum 

 

There's the "Opossum Society of the United States", but funnily enough no "Possum Society of the United States". Looks like you need to contact them to tell them they've got it wrong. Afterall, you have it "straight from the horse's mouth", so to speak. ;)

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On 2/13/2020 at 6:25 PM, RyManUtah said:

Sceloporus tristichus. A sign of spring..4B53B0B1-8775-41C3-9620-5FE09D61A03C.thumb.jpeg.3409a0fee06af5de1507a769fb7806cd.jpeg

Interesting you're already seeing them. Haven't even seen our resident Med. Geckos out yet so far this year.

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21 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Interesting you're already seeing them. Haven't even seen our resident Med. Geckos out yet so far this year

Interesting indeed. I hope it’s a sign it’s going to get to the hot days earlier. I’d love to see a long growing season!

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2 hours ago, RyManUtah said:

Interesting indeed. I hope it’s a sign it’s going to get to the hot days earlier. I’d love to see a long growing season!

Long growing season would be great as long as we don't jump from great weather to the 100s / 100F+ too quickly. In no rush at all lol. If all goes well, will avoid having to deal w/ another summer scorch fest.

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1 hour ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Long growing season would be great as long as we don't jump from great weather to the 100s / 100F+ too quickly. In no rush at all lol. If all goes well, will avoid having to deal w/ another summer scorch fest.

Fair enough. I enjoy it until it gets over 109. Plus, we don’t have the summer “too hot to grow” that I forget you have, because it cools off significantly more at night up here. 
I don’t want the 100s really fast either, that causes flooding downstream. I was thinking more around the 80s haha. When the breeze isn’t “hot” but the air sort of is. 
looks like two more little groups of freezes for us, then we should be in the clear. 

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2 minutes ago, RyManUtah said:

Fair enough. I enjoy it until it gets over 109. Plus, we don’t have the summer “too hot to grow” that I forget you have, because it cools off significantly more at night up here. 
I don’t want the 100s really fast either, that causes flooding downstream. I was thinking more around the 80s haha. When the breeze isn’t “hot” but the air sort of is. 
looks like two more little groups of freezes for us, then we should be in the clear. 

80s ..with a few low 90s  thrown in through the summer are perfect, especially when it cools off nicely at night, say the mid 60s to around 72 or so.. Pretty much optimal growing conditions for practically anything, except maybe stuff that likes it frigid, not much thrives when it is 110-115 for weeks on end either..  It amazes me how much things grow like crazy here until late may.. then its as if everything hits a wall and slows down ..or stops growing completely.. until moisture returns in July or August.

Saw that also.. We might see a night or two in the high 30s over the next 3 weeks but looking more and more like spring is setting in. Ready to see how this years' stretch of cool days/ cold nights and roughly average rain effect how certain cacti i have flower over the next 3 months.. Hopefully more of my rarer Echinocereus decide to flower this year

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3 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

80s ..with a few low 90s  thrown in through the summer are perfect, especially when it cools off nicely at night, say the mid 60s to around 72 or so.. Pretty much optimal growing conditions for practically anything, except maybe stuff that likes it frigid, not much thrives when it is 110-115 for weeks on end either..  It amazes me how much things grow like crazy here until late may.. then its as if everything hits a wall and slows down ..or stops growing completely.. until moisture returns in July or August.

Saw that also.. We might see a night or two in the high 30s over the next 3 weeks but looking more and more like spring is setting in. Ready to see how this years' stretch of cool days/ cold nights and roughly average rain effect how certain cacti i have flower over the next 3 months.. Hopefully more of my rarer Echinocereus decide to flower this year

That is about perfect! I’m ready to see what happens as well. Keep me posted on the Echino. That’s my favorite columnar genus. I particularly like any that are blue tinted or golden spined.

here’s to a happy spring! 

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  • 2 weeks later...
59 minutes ago, RyManUtah said:

Centruroides sculpturatus. Way too early for them too. Interesting year so far. 5AF31FDB-6B87-4FF8-B89E-8590140DE273.jpeg.8aaffae8eca77b2a7b93f8c636d602ae.jpeg

:bemused: Yea, lol.. a bit early for thee guys to be out and about.. Haven't seen any ( yet ) around here. Not sure why but have not seen any Scorpions here at the house / on the block wall out back the entire time i have been here in Arizona.  Take a walk w/ a black light almost nightly during the summer since my dog will often investigate almost anything that crawls on the ground. Kinda creepy that these can crawl up walls / across cealings as well..

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36 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

:bemused: Yea, lol.. a bit early for thee guys to be out and about.. Haven't seen any ( yet ) around here. Not sure why but have not seen any Scorpions here at the house / on the block wall out back the entire time i have been here in Arizona.  Take a walk w/ a black light almost nightly during the summer since my dog will often investigate almost anything that crawls on the ground. Kinda creepy that these can crawl up walls / across cealings as well..

Right? Everything is out early. Maybe it was the above average winter we’ve had. Maybe it was the higher rainfall this winter, who knows. 
that’s a good thing! These guys multiple by the 30s. Catch em when there’s only a couple.
These are a mandatory capture and kill, or call wildlife species here. They’re invasive to the native scorpions and wildlife. Rumor has it, they appeared with the palm trees in the 70s. Not sure how accurate that rumor is. 

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6 minutes ago, RyManUtah said:

Right? Everything is out early. Maybe it was the above average winter we’ve had. Maybe it was the higher rainfall this winter, who knows. 
that’s a good thing! These guys multiple by the 30s. Catch em when there’s only a couple.
These are a mandatory capture and kill, or call wildlife species here. They’re invasive to the native scorpions and wildlife. Rumor has it, they appeared with the palm trees in the 70s. Not sure how accurate that rumor is. 

Since they can shelter in between palm fronds, totally possible that was one way some have spread outside AZ. For the most part though, they like to stay where it is cooler and moist, closer to the ground. These showing up in your part of Utah and over in Las Vegas could be part of natural range expansion also. 

Agree, if i were to find any here at the house, they'd be disposed of.  Trust me, lol glad i haven't had to deal w/ these..  there are homes not all that far away where homeowners have collected dozens in a night or two during monsoon season. Can't imagine how many you could capture in a year.  Have heard infestations are worse in areas of town where there has been recent or on-going development, or in areas that have well irrigated lawn space/ landscaping..

Not sure if it's range extends up your way but the Giant Hairy Desert Scorpion supposedly eats Bark Scorps.  While a bit bigger in size, ( Supposedly the largest Scorpion sp. in the U.S. ) sting is much less potent, unless one is allergic to the venom of course, ..and they can't climb vertical surfaces.

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