Texas Bush Katydid

Posted on December 12, 2025 by tspuckler

It’s always fun to come across “big bugs,” and this insect certainly fits that description. While exploring the edge of a forest in southern Illinois, I came across this example of a leaf lookalike. It is medium-sized, usually about an inch and a half, with long antennae.

The Texas Bush Katydid is considered less arboreal than any other species of katydids; it is commonly found clinging to tall course grasses and sedges growing near the edges of wetlands, lakes, ponds, damp ravines and amid prairies, meadows, weedy fields, roadsides and fencerows.

This creature is also often found in forests, woodlands, and shrublands where known for its distinct rattling or lispy songs. Immature examples feed mostly on flowers, while adults feed on the leaves of a variety of plants, especially deciduous woody plants.

When disturbed, it flies a long distance, silently, in a zig-zag manner to another clump of grass or weeds. This insect relies on camouflage to avoid being detected by predators. It has been observed congregating in small colonies of six or more individuals in favored microhabitats.

The Texas Bush Katydid overwinters in the egg stage. Babies hatch in mid-June or July and adults can be found from mid-July to mid-September, sometimes to mid-October, depending on frost occurrence.

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Flat Oysterling

Posted on December 5, 2025 by tspuckler

While at the entrance of Snake Road in southern Illinois, I noticed a few logs covered with fungi. These compact, stalkless, white mushrooms are sometimes mistaken for small Oyster Mushrooms. They often grow in loose or dense clusters, forming shelf-like groups.

Their shell-shaped caps range from 1/2 to 1-5/8 inches wide. Unlike oyster mushrooms, they are not very fleshy. The caps are directly attached to the dead hardwood substrate.

Flat Oysterling is commonly found growing on decaying logs, stumps, and other dead wood, particularly in deciduous forests dominated by Oak, Elm, and Maple Trees. Fruiting typically occurs from Spring to Fall, with peak abundance in late Summer and early Fall.

Fungi play a crucial role in ecosystems as decomposers, nutrient recyclers, and symbiotic partners, significantly contributing to soil health, biodiversity, and the overall balance of ecological systems. This one was a neat example that wasn’t at all hard to find.

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Brown Bullhead

Posted on November 28, 2025 by tspuckler

While checking the minnow traps that I set in southern Illinois, I found that I caught a fish that I had not previously come across. The Brown Bullhead thrives in a variety of habitats, including lakes, ponds, and slow-moving streams with low oxygen or muddy conditions. In many areas of the United States they are opportunistic bottom feeders.

The species has few natural predators and is not popular with anglers in most areas (albeit very popular in some, such as the Oneida Lake area of Upstate New York, where it is featured each Spring by restaurants and the fish is a local delicacy) so it has thrived.

Their diet consists of algae, leeches, worms, mollusks, crustaceans, insects, crayfish, other smaller fish species and fish eggs. Brown Bullheads are typically nocturnal feeders. These fish have poor eyesight and are heavily reliant on their sensitive barbels to locate their food. They are omnivorous are said to eat almost anything that fits in their mouth.

Averaging 8 to 12 inches as adults, they have protective coloration to avoid predation. As a mode of physical defense against predators, they have a sharp spine on the leading edge of their dorsal and pectoral fins. To use this adaptation to avoid predation, Bullheads stiffen the spine while being attacked, impeding the predator’s ability to swallow while simultaneously releasing a venom to sting and burn the predator.

The Brown Bullhead is also widely known as the “Mud Pout,” “Horned Pout,” “Hornpout,” or simply “Mud Cat” – a name also used with the other Bullhead species.

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Partridge Pea

Posted on November 21, 2025 by tspuckler

I saw several examples of this very cool plant on my latest adventure to Illinois and Missouri. The Partridge Pea is found in the eastern United States, excluding Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire. A member of the Legume Family, like other legumes, it is a nitrogen-fixing plant, with microorganisms helping to produce the nitrogen compounds necessary for the plant to survive. The microorganisms inhabit root nodules, which provide them with a safe habitat, while giving the plant access to the nutrients.

Partridge Pea’s leaves consist of 10 to 15 pairs of small, narrow leaflets that are somewhat delicate to the touch. Like other members in its family, the plant displays nyctinasty, wherein the leaves open and close in response to day and night cycles.

This is considered an important honey plant, often occurring where few other honey plants are found. Nectar is not available in the flowers, but is produced by small orange glands at the base of each leaf. Ants often seek the nectar and are frequent visitors. Partridge Pea’s seed is one of the major food items of Northern Bobwhite and other quail species, because it remains in sound condition throughout the Winter and early Spring.

Partridge Pea thrives in areas that have been burned recently before declining in numbers in the following years. It is a pioneer species, growing densely in depleted sites that cannot support other plants. It is considered an excellent choice for planting in disturbed areas, as it will quickly cover an area, preventing erosion, while still allowing other plants to become established.

Hanging from this species, the fruit is a flat green pod that closely resembles a vegetable you may have in your garden. These pods will slowly brown until they are mature, eventually falling into the soil to become their own individual plant. The flowers have yellow anthers that produce reproductive pollen, and purple anthers that produce food pollen, but no nectar. Long-tongued bees such as bumblebees, honey bees, long-horned bees, and leafcutting bees pollinate the flowers.

This was a really neat native plant to come across on my travels.

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Hentz Orbweaver

Posted on November 14, 2025 by tspuckler

I saw a couple examples of this arachnid on my recent trip to southern Illinois. One had her web in the vegetation along Snake Road and the other was at a gas station across the street from the hotel that I stayed. In late Summer and early Autumn, after the severe heat of Summer and before the leaves of trees begin to turn color, Hentz’s Orbweaver spiders become conspicuous.

Generally nocturnal, they may become day-active in the Fall. Females are about 1/2 an inch long, while males are somewhat smaller. The upper surface of the abdomen is brown and hairy. The legs display alternating light and dark brown bands. The undersurface of the abdomen is black, with two white spots.

Their orb-shaped web is very large and is often constructed on buildings and other man-made structures, sometimes several feet above ground, especially near outdoor lights. The orb part of the web may be nearly 2 feet in diameter. As with other orbweavers, they frequently replace their webs.

Flying insects such as moths and crane flies are their principal prey. Once caught in sticky strands of the web, they are bitten and trussed by the spider, which later eats them. Most people are not keen on having spiders around their homes (or of walking right into them on hiking trails) but remember that spiders do us the service of free, nontoxic pest control.

The amazing web patterns of spiders have fascinated humans for millennia. In Greek mythology, a skilled weaver named Arachne challenged the goddess Athena to a weaving contest that ended with the human being changed into a spider for her pride.

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Cherrybark Oak

Posted on November 7, 2025 by tspuckler

While visiting southern Illinois, I went on a short hike to see one of the most highly valued Red Oaks in the southern United States. Its leaf structure is unusual in that the lobes are not necessarily paired on opposite sides of the leaf, instead they appear alternate or sometimes haphazard in arrangement.

Cherrybark Oaks often attain heights of 100 to 130 feet and trunk diameters of 36 to 60 inches, making it among the largest of the red oaks in the South. The name “Cherrybark” comes from its similarity to the bark of Black Cherry. The bark is gray and has scaly, narrow ridges.

With the Latin Name of Quercus pagoda, this species is characterized by leaves with pointed, bristle-tipped lobes and acorns that take two years to mature. The name “pagoda” refers to the pagoda-like shape of its leaves when viewed from above.

This tree grows mostly in humid, temperate climate characterized by hot Summers and mild Winters where surface soil pH is acid to medium acid. It is a lowland tree, but is seldom numerous on wet or swampy soils. In natural stands, dissemination of acorns by gravity is important on steep slopes. The hoarding habit of squirrels is also significant in acorn dispersal.

Wildlife consumes the acorns of the Cherrybark Oak. Mammals and birds that include acorns as a substantial part (10 percent or more) of their diets are the Gray Squirrel, Wild Turkey, and Blue Jay, followed by the Wood Duck, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Redheaded Woodpecker, White-breasted Nuthatch, Common Grackle, Raccoon, White-tailed Deer, and Eastern Fox Squirrel.

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American Bumblebee

Posted on October 31, 2025 by tspuckler

While walking through a field in southern Illinois, I noticed a bumblebee that looked different from all others that I had seen previously. The American Bumblebee is a large insect with the queen measuring almost an inch. The queen is mostly black, including the legs, spurs and the base of the wings.

Once the most prevalent bumblebee in the southern United States, populations of the American Bumblebee have decreased significantly in recent years. Overall, the population dropped nearly 90% in just the first two decades of the 21st century. These declines are most pronounced towards the northern extent of the species’ range.

Like most bumblebees, it faces threats from multiple sources, including pesticides, habitat loss or degradation, urban development, climate change, and diseases that can be introduced by non-native bee species. It is strongly suspected that the American Bumblebee was infected with a virus when European Bumblebees were imported into North America to pollinate greenhouse tomatoes.

This insect tends to live and nest in open farmland and fields, where it feeds on several food plants, favoring sunflowers and clovers, and functions as a pollinator. In order to release the pollen, they are able to grab onto the flower and move their flight muscles rapidly, causing the flower to vibrate, dislodging pollen. This process is known as “Buzz Pollination.”

Bumblebees are active under conditions during which Honeybees and other smaller bees stay at home, and can readily absorb heat from even weak sunshine. They are beneficial and effective pollinators, helping to pollinate not only wildflowers, but also crops and gardens. The easiest way to help bumblebees is to provide them with some undisturbed natural habitat.

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Gilled Polypore

Posted on October 24, 2025 by tspuckler

While exploring the edge of a swamp in southern Illinois, this mushroom caught my attention. The majority of polypores don’t have gills, rather they have smooth pore surfaces underneath. But, there always has to be one fungus that refuses to play by the rules, and the Gilled Polypore takes up that calling and flaunts it.

From above, Gilled Polypore looks for all the world like Turkeytail Mushroom with its multi-colored, fuzzy, zoned cap. But flip it over and you will find that this little polypore has gills.

Gilled Polypores favor hardwood logs as their habitat. They are most commonly seen growing on dead or decaying tree trunks, stumps, or roots. Despite the suggestion of its species name betulina, its growth is not confined to birch trees. It grows scattered or clustered in overlapping shelves.

This mushroom prefers humid climates and is typically found near bodies of water like streams or rivers. It can be found throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. Gilled Polypore is also cultivated in controlled environments for commercial production.

Fungus plays an important role in the ecosystem, breaking down dead wood and returning nutrients to the soil. This species also helps to recycle carbon and nitrogen, aiding in the growth of new plants and trees.

In addition to its ecological benefits, Gilled Polypore is used medicinally in some cultures. It is believed to be a natural immune system booster and has been used for centuries as a traditional remedy for various ailments.

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Flier

Posted on October 17, 2025 by tspuckler

While herping in southern Illinois this month, I caught this sunfish which is endemic to the southern United States. It is the only species in the monospecific genus Centrarchus.

The Flier is similar in appearance to a Crappie. It is deep-bodied and saucer-shaped. It is generally olive-green to brassy in color, with numerous black spots on sides arranged in rows on adults. They reach a total average length of 5 to 7 inches, with a maximum size of about 8 inches.

Fliers often reside in dark, tannic, acidic backwaters of coastal swamps, creeks, ponds and canals. They thrive in areas with thick vegetative cover and can survive in locations with minimal levels of dissolved oxygen. Insect larvae, small crustaceans, worms, small fish and algae make up their diet.

A key identification characteristic of this fish when immature, is a dark eyespot, which has a reddish border on the dorsal fin. This eyespot disappears as the fish grows. Fish biologists have speculated the dark spot, when coupled with their eye, gives the appearance of a much larger fish. This adaptation is believed to deter potential predators.

A Second World War United States Navy submarine was named the USS Flier after this fish.

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Trumpet Vine

Posted on October 9, 2025 by tspuckler

It was hard not to notice the large, distinct flowers of this plant as I walked along railroad tracks in southern Illinois. Native to eastern North America, this vine is often cultivated for its attractive, reddish orange flowers. It can escape cultivation, sometimes colonizing so densely it seems a nuisance, its habit has earned it the names Hellvine and Devil’s Shoestring.

Trumpet Vine’s rapid colonization by suckers and layering makes it useful for erosion control. Its magnificent flowers never fail to attract Ruby-throated Hummingbirds within its range. Adapted to eastern forests, Trumpet creeper grows tall with support. This plant climbs by means of aerial rootlets and can reach a height of up to 35 feet.

This plant’s three inch flowers are long, tubular and reddish-orange with a yellowish throat and bloom in the Summer for about three months. The flowers are followed by large seed pods. As these mature, they dry and split and hundreds of thin, brown, paper-like seeds are released.

Trumpet Vine’s habitat is bottomland forests, open woods, banks of streams and rivers, cliffs, pastures, old fields, fencerows, thickets, waste places, roadsides, railroads, and other disturbed areas. It is well-adapted for disturbed areas, and it is commonly seen growing on telephone poles along roadsides. or in this case, along train tracks.

Some people develop a skin rash after touching this plant, so another common name for it is “Cow-itch.”

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Tim Spuckler's Blog

Reptile Ramblings and More

Texas Bush Katydid

Flat Oysterling

Brown Bullhead

Partridge Pea

Hentz Orbweaver

Cherrybark Oak

American Bumblebee

Gilled Polypore

Flier

Trumpet Vine