Broussard brief, 23 March 2009

Anticipating rain for the rest of the week, Ellen and I decided to run mercury vapor last night, if only for a brief couple of hours. Not much to speak of at the sheet, except for the omnipresent Phyllophaga scarab beetles and a few of the other usual suspects. A walk down to the coulee produced several Hogna sp. wolf spiders (1st image below), numerous Acronicta oblinita (smeared dagger moth) caterpillars Ellen found (thanks to Linda "Bug Lady" Auld for the i.d.), a few Neoconocephalus triops (broad-tipped conehead, last image on right) & a remarkable site of a male Ischnura ramburii (Rambur's forktail) & a Zelus longipes (milkweed assassin bug) sharing the same perch!

-j