Ox Beetle

I recently found this Ox beetle (Strategus Aloeus) which is one of the largest beetles that is part of the Scarab Beetle family however this beetle is a subfamily of the Rhinoceros beetle but it's completely harmless growing up to a maximum of 1 1/2 to 2 inches in length. Though not only large in size for a beetle they are also very powerful insects. An Ox beetle despite how hard and dry the ground can be at times of no rain will burrow underground with ease, using their thorax as a shovel. They'll stay underground for shelter and protection from predators during the daytime. Also when threatened the Ox beetle will enclose and tuck itself inside it's body like a turtle to stay safe from predators while their wings act like armor plates for protection.

Male Ox beetles tend to have two different type of horns, major and minor, while females don't have any horns at all. The major horned males have very large posterior horns with one horn coming out from the beginning of their thorax pointing upwards and the other two horns are adjacent to one another at the end of the thorax also pointing upwards. A major horned male's horn can reach up to a maximum size of 3/4 of an inch in length. While the minor horned males just have small nubbed horns like the one I photographed above. The main purpose of the horns is to fight with another male for a female to mate with or for territory.

After the mating, the female will be ready to lay her eggs in which she will lay them in rich soil, a compost heep, or in rotten wood. The female will also cover the eggs in leaves to help the process of production and development in the eggs. After the eggs hatch into a larvae, which are grubs, they will mainly feast on plant roots, fallen fruits or leaves, or on rotten wood and will stay underground. This is the longest process for an Ox beetle is during the grub stage. This stage can take up to a year or longer for the Ox beetle to actually morph into beetle. This is the process where the larvae turns into a pupae and is then created into a beetle. However this process can be sped up if the grub is in a warmer climate. After an Ox beetle finally turns into a beetle they don't have much time to live. The life expectancy of an adult beetle is only approximately four months or a little over that occasionally. Only enough time to mate and reproduce and to enjoy spectating them.

From left to right: Major horned male, Female, Pupae, Larvae.



But if you want to have some fun looking for a grub. You can look underneath almost anything that is on top of and laying on the ground and probably find a grub. If you find a fairly large grub, and depending on where you live in the States, chances are it's an Ox beetle but it could be a Rhinoceros beetle or a Elephant beetle but the most common large grub you'll find is an Ox beetle. If the grub you find is small in size it's probably a June Beetle. Those little small brownish tan beetles that are all over the place around a light during the night and are mainly active during the month of June.

An adult Ox beetle's diet consist mainly of fallen fruit, vegetables, roots, and whatever alse they can find. But the Ox Beetle is mainly active during the months of March to August here in Texas. The Ox Beetle lives in areas with a lot of misture but they can also live in areas where the weather is very arid. Ox Beetles can be found in Arizona streching all the way to Florida as well as Puerto Rico, Mexico and as far south as Brazil.

Ox beetle hotspots in Texas.

But all in all the Ox Beetle remains one of the most impressive beetles here in the States, for being able to withstand and survive all the different environments and climates that it encounters.

But one more thing in case you happen to find one. It's true they are harmless but if you close your hand on them they're so powerful that they'll try to pry out of your hand and that's when they can hurt but they can't bite nor sting so don't worry about that just don't close your hands on them. Also their feet have small little claws at the end of them that act like velcro so they're pretty hard to get off of your hands once they have latched on.

Acquainted With The Night

I have been one acquainted with the night.
I have walked out in rain - and back in rain.
I have outwalked the furthest city light.

I have looked down the saddest city lane.
I have passed by the watchman on his beat
And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.

I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet
When far away an interrupted cry
Came over houses from another street,

But not to call me back or say good-bye;
And further still at an unearthly height,
One luminary clock against the sky

Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right.
I have been one acquainted with the night.

By Robert Frost

Nothing To Write

Step forth and become anew,
But it's too good to be true,
To sit in your comfort and stare with the view,
Because everything I said you already knew.

Moving toward our world the endless life came to an end,
To reason with an unfimilar mind it alters you with a friend,
Another message written in dismay but with nowhere to send,
Held at the touch of listless discoveries you kept the words so they wouldn't descend.

Reading lost words that expand to boundaries only known in your mind,
Words in-depth with language from a writer of another kind,
A formed habit of telling a story to be behind,
Explanations curved to the thought that may one day find a way to be combined.

If it doesn't work, erase it, and start over again,
Aboard the train of thought and stay in the right cabin,
Let the fresh memories evoke what lies within,
Now you shall be able to move your fingers with the pen.

Knowing exactly what to express but just to comprehend the words together,
Thinking proceeds into a story read by others,
Unfolding a world to get away from your world of bothers,
But the mind knows better and realizes that you wrote fictitious characters.


By Mavin

Spurs vs. Suns, Series Tied 2 - 2

Come on Spurs pull through the Suns, beat them at their own game and shoot for the net. You're the team to beat the Suns but they're still getting ahead when we have an 11 point lead. Don't try to waste the clock down, just make your shots and get the ball in through the hoop. Yes there were bad calls made, yes there was phyiscal contact, and yes Robert Horry was ejected from the game at the last 18 seconds for elbowing Steve Nash but, don't let that stop the momentum from flowing.


So y'all lost this game but there are more to come, do whatever it takes to beat the Suns, bring the skills you have with you and play.

They won this battle but the war is not over yet.

Nature

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

Hummingbird Sphinx Moth

A moth of wonderful color and pattern. I can't believe people would be afraid of such a harmless moth. I was talking and hanging out with my friends when this beautiful critter came flying abound. Everyone freaked out while I got a laugh out of it. :P As soon as I went over and picked up the moth, everyone said, "What are you doing, are you crazy? I said, "No it's just a harmless moth. It's called a White Lined Moth or also known as the Morning Striped Moth. It's part of the Hummingbird Sphinx Moth Family."

I love large moths, it's amazing the colors and sizes they can be. To think and wonder how these creatures evolved into such magnificent beauties is beyond me? To have such a remarkable design to camofluage themselves, but yet they're so fragile. I love their furry little coats they have surrounding their whole entire body, they're so soft.

This moth flies like a hummingbird. The body stays stout while the wings flap rapidly, they're also called a hawkmoth as well but for what reason I don't know. Mainly active during night time hours they will gather nectar from nearby flowers. One main purpose of these moths is that they are pollenators. If you ever happen to see one, look under their bodies or at their legs and see if there is any pollen, just like a bee. The White Lined Moth grows to an average of about 3 inches in length. Sadly, this moth only lives long enough to morph from a caterpillar into a moth and to be able to breed, the male dies after mating and the female dies shortly after laying her eggs then the whole process begins again next year and so on.

Even though they feed at night and don't live long, I'll occasionally see one from time to time during the day or night. But out of most moths I have to say this is one of my favorite moths here in Texas, I hope to see another one soon. :D

Shrouded Sunset

What is a sun without the clouds? Beautiful but not as beautiful as when they work together. So there must be clouds otherwise the sun is alone. Going down below the horizon with nothing there to create the wonderful sunset to stare at when there's nothing more to see. But even though there are clouds the sun won't be out for long so you have to harness everything when the sun is at it's time of color. Because after the sun has fallen the world grows dark and evaporates the light.


I love sunsets..... :D

Mysterious Feeling

Honestly what do you do when everything you have done and known that felt so right and good becomes unknown, wrong, and fades into a phase of something that cannot be undone? I know why I fell for it again. So I can just lose myself into this heavenly lifestyle I'm so dying for that I cannot have. But when it doesn't take place it feels like a slow mind numbing feeling that never ends......

How did everything escape with me knowing? That deep caring, those feelings, that life that was awesome to be around..... all I ever wanted was to just be with someone loving, it makes me sooo happy. To be honest I don't remember the last time I felt really alive.

I know I'll never know everything and to be honest I don't ever want to know but I know, over time, I will, because if I don't, life wouldn't be an adventure of understanding, knowledge, and experience.

I'm holding on with the feeling, with love, I do believe but wish I could live the feeling even once. I can be sad. . . but I'm more just emotional and thoughtful right now. Maybe in a long time, if I ever find her before it's forever too late, she will revive that life and feeling but if not then. . . I leave it at that because I can't afford to be constantly lonely.

Can you understand that?

Virginia Nightingale

Red Bird, Songbird, Northern Cardinal, Virginia Nightingale, Cardinalis Cardinalis, all names of this wonderful bird I love to hear outdoors. Listening to their morning songs as they break the silence when the sun rises.

I was recently reading about this bird and discovered some information I had no idea about. So, in my own way I'm going to tell you what I know.

First off, Cardinals distinctive colour is forged from the food they eat but it's only the males that are red the female, as you've probably seen, are a slight dark brown coloration. One third of the Cardinal's diet consist of insects and only during the warm months of the year. Nearly 90 percent and the rest of the year between fall to spring, the Cardinal's diet is made up of vegetaion. Devouring anything from leaves and flowers, to small berries and fruits, to seeds and small nuts.

The known habitat for Cardinals consist of mainly woodlands, mountain ranges, forests, residential areas, and so forth. But cardinals didn't used to be everywhere in the United States like they are today. They're called the Northern Cardinal but they only moved northward in the last 100 years. Originally this bird was from the Southeast part of the United States but over the years this bird has migrated to lands far beyond.



If Cardinals are a nonmigratory bird, then what's making them migrate?


But Cardinals have a very distinctive way of living. Male Cardinals tend to find a mate and live with her for up to a year or more. One thing that differs Cardinals from other species is that they mate for life whereas other species will only mate during their youthful years. Also, Cardinals will sometimes stay with their mate for life.

Lightning