ECOLOGY

Autumn in The Gila, 3 of 3: Insects (& one fish)

Photographs of October in southwestern New Mexico

Queen butterfly (Danaus gillipus). Closely related to the Monarch.

This is part 3 of a 3 part series. See part 1: Trees and part 2: Wildflowers. I took all these photos in the upper Gila River valley in southwestern New Mexico.

Arizona Mantis (Stagmomantis limbata)

I’ve been fascinated by Praying Mantises (Mantes?) since childhood and am still thrilled every time I see one. This one was perched on the hummingbird feeder for a couple days. Was s/he hoping to catch a hummingbird? That can happen but I hope not because in case you didn’t know, “Kollibri” is Norwegian for “hummingbird” and I consider them my siblings.

Western Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)

Observed here on Rubber Rabbitbrush (Ericameria nauseosa), a type of Goldenbush. This is the most profusely blooming plant in the area right now and was covered in bees, butterflies, moths and other insects. All the butterflies that follow were observed on Turpentine Bushes.

Grasshopper (genus Conozoa)

Here’s some amazing camouflage! I only knew s/he was there because my steps had disturbed them and I watched to see where they landed. Otherwise s/he would have been invisible to me.

Butterflies!

I’ve been seeing a stray butterfly here or there while walking around, or a moth drawn inside by a light, but I had no idea how many species were around until I spent some time with Rubber Rabbitbrush (Ericameria nauseosa). In this photo there are at least five different lepidoptera (a catch-all term for both butterflies and moths). How many can you see?

Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui)

A Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia) who has seen better days

This one is in better shape

The Southern Dogface (Zerene cesonia)

My guess is that this is a Sheep Skipper (Atrytonopsis edwardsi). Check out that proboscis!

Another Skipper. Same species or different? I don’t know.

A Tailed Orange (Pyrisitia proterpia). I had never seen a “tailed” butterfly like this before, with that distinctively shaped lower wing so I was thrilled!

Variegated Fritilary (Euptoieta claudia)

Lupine Blue (Plebejus lupini), inside of wings

Lupine Blue (Plebejus lupini), outside wings. You’d be forgiven for thinking this was a different kind of butterfly, the colors are so different. Only the orange is the same on both sides.

Queen butterfly (Danaus gillipus). Closely related to the Monarch.

Left to right: Variegated Fritillary, Lupine Blue, Common Buckeye, The Southern Dogface

Western Mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis)

My camera works underwater! Like, it’s designed to do that. (It’s an Olympus “Tough.”) So here’s a photo and a video of these fun little fishes, who also known as Gambezis. There were hundreds of them in the Gila River! As their name suggests, they eat mosquito larvae, which live in water. They are a North American freshwater fish, with an eastern cousin, the Eastern Mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki). Because they dependably consume mosquito larvae, they have been introduced all over the world to decrease mosquito populations to cut down on mosquito-borne illnesses, and have been credited with eliminating malaria in some areas (though other efforts undertaken at the same time might have been partially or wholly responsible). They are raised in California for placement in residential ponds for mosquito control. In some places, their introduction has been blamed for harming local ecosystems, though, as with the credit given above, their role could be tricky to distinguish from that of other changes or disturbances, as virtually every place is experiencing so many kinds of transitions right now. That’s a very abbreviated version of the ongoing story of the travels and tribulations of the Western Mosquitofish and if those topics interest you, there’s a lot of info out there.

Regardless of all that, I was happy to meet them, as I know very little about fish. They were ID’d for me by someone on iNaturalist, which I’ve found to be a helpful resource.