Tierra de Oro Laboratory

Physiology and Ecology in the Pinyon-Juniper Savannah

Category: fieldwork

  • Spring Is Here: Turkeys, Beetles, and Owls

    A little warmth brings out a lot of wildlife

    In the past week, temperatures have shifted upward dramatically. It’s above freezing every night, and plants and animals have responded appropriately. There is so much to see.

    We made a quick trip down to Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge near San Antonio, NM. The sandhill cranes are all gone, but there are plenty of ducks and songbirds. We stayed at a house near San Antonio, and were treated to a small group of wild turkeys. The females spent a lot of time foraging near the house, and a male would occasionally stop in and try to woo them.

    Male turkey doing his fancy dance and looking just like a Thanksgiving centerpiece. 4/11/25. The download speed may not be quite enough for perfect streaming, so you may want to re-run it for a smoother experience.

    There were also a few mammals, such as javelinas and coyotes.

    Javelina at Bosque del Apache North Loop. 4/10/25.

    We also came across an Eleodes, probably E. gracilis

    Eleodes gracilis.

    Back at the lab, spring is in full swing. Winter birds, like juncos and robins, have moved on, and summer residents, including lesser goldfinches and Say’s phoebes have settled in.

    Some of the year-round residents, such as western bluebirds (and, of course, screech owls) are taking their jobs as parents seriously.

    Male and female western bluebird staking out their new box. 3/15/25.

    As added enticement, we replaced the old bluebird box with a shiny new one.

    Stink beetles are very much making their presence known. One can now find multiple species of Eleodes on a casual stroll around the neighborhood.

    Eleodes caudifera found wandering the street. 4/13/25
    Eleodes hispilabris on trail near the lab.

    Now that the weather has warmed up, this month’s pitfall trap survey was a bit more interesting.

    There’s plenty of traffic through the field with the traps, including this big, fuzzy coyote that strolled through the week before the traps were set.

    Coyote casually wandering through the field with the traps. The rock behind its right rear foot marks one of the trap sites. 4/2/25.

    We caught a few Eleodes sponsa in the traps, along with wolf spiders, ants, and weevils.

    Eleodes sponsa after a few measurements i n the lab. 4/12/25.

    So the natural world has gone from quiet to extremely busy this month. Don’t forget to check out the updates on the owl cam page if you have a few minutes.

    Female owl snacking on some leftover mouse. 4/10/25.

  • Life in the Frigid Wastes

    Arthropods Active in the Cold

    Field with small trees, bushes, and grasses, covered in a few inches of snow.
    Pitfall trap array after a night of snowfall. The blue flags marking the locations are visible, but the traps are difficult to find. 3/8/25.

    The pitfall traps were set this month with the expectation that it would be too cold for small arthropods to be active. The data would serve as a baseline for later surveys, when bugs would be more active. As if to emphasize this point, we got a few inches of snow the night before the traps were to be collected.

    Snow with some grass poking through and a blue flag in the middle.
    Pitfall trap under snow. It is somewhere near the flag. 3/8/25.

    Even though each trap was marked with a flag and had a big rock on top, some were hard to find under the snow, and I had to be careful to avoid spilling too much snow into the cups.

    When I got them back to the lab, I was in for a surprise.

    Ant with reddish head and thorax, brown abdomen, and long legs.
    Ant caught in pitfall trap. Species unknown, but not Pogonomyrmex. 3/8/25.

    The cups were not overflowing with life, but there was plenty to see. The most common insects were ants. About half (maybe 5) were the large, leggy species shown above. The rest were the much smaller species shown below. Sorry there’s no scale, but they were moving too quickly for that. I preserved some, so may post better photos later.

    Small ant species. 3/8/25.

    There were also quite a few springtails (Collembolans), probably of several species.

    Tiny insect with long antennae.
    Springtail caught in pitfall trap. 3/8/25.

    They are extremely tiny, and I know little about them, so all I can say at this point is that there were springtails active in the neighborhood.

    Brown spider with light markings on dusty background.
    Spider from pitfall trap. 3/8/25.

    There were also at least three spiders, of at least two species. According to iNaturalist, the spider shown above is a ground crab spider in the genus Xysticus.

    Most exciting were two species of beetles.

    Weevil on light background.
    Grey weevil with dark blotches, covered with coarse hair. 3/8/25.

    One weevil fell into a trap. It is about 6 mm from nose to tail. Looks somewhat like Ophryastes, but I am not certain.

    Hairy, reddish beetle larva next to a millimeter ruler.
    Beetle larva, probably in the family Melyridae. Note the relatively long thorax and the urogomphi (spiky things) extending from the end of the abdomen. Ruler scale is millimeters. 3/8/25.

    There were also two larvae that looked like they were in the family Melyridae, or soft-winged flower beetles. They looked identical to each other, so maybe they are relatively common around here. The larval biology of most beetles, including the Melyridae, is not well documented, so it may be impossible to determine the species of these guys.

    It was a pleasant surprise to find some little arthropods in the traps this month, especially a few species of beetles.

    There were, however, no Tenebrionids as yet. In that way, this month’s collection does actually serve as a control. I expect that we may find some of them when the traps are reset in early April.

  • Setting Up Pitfall Traps for Beetle Surveys in 2025

    Starting surveys for 2025

    Photo of grassland with a small cholla cactus in the center foreground, small juniper and pinyon on the right side, and larger junipers in the background. Small blue flags are located at regular intervals.
    Trap location, looking northeast. Small blue flags remain in place to mark locations of traps. One trap, with a painted cover held down by a rock, can be seen in front of the cholla cactus. 3/3/25.

    Inspired by comments from my friend and colleague Dr. Drew Talley, and conversations with a local Master Gardener, we set up a small array of pitfall traps to collect and record beetles over the course of the year.

    It is a 3 X 3 grid, so nine traps total, spaced 3 meters apart. We set out flags to mark the locations of the traps in a section of the back acre of the lab where foot traffic was minimal.

    Blue plastic cup buried in red sand surrounded by grasses.
    Pitfall trap, consisting of a plastic cup buried to the rim . Note that the rim is flush with the soil. 3/4/25.

    The traps are plastic party cups, buried to the rim. The soil is quite loose, so placing the traps was easy.

    Painted wooden square, with legs partially buried in soil. Rock on top.
    Pitfall trap with plywood cover. Legs are partially buried, leaving space for entry of beetles. 3/4/25

    Once the traps were in place, we put plywood covers over them to keep debris out and shield any animals that fall in.

    Plywood covers with wooden legs, unpainted.
    Plywood covers for pitfall traps before painting. Covers are 6 X 6 pieces of plywood with 3/4 wooden dowels screwed into place.

    The covers are 6″ X 6″ pieces of plywood, each with three legs made from 3/4″ dowels. The 3″ legs allow them to be partially buried for stability. Once screwed together they were given a few coats of latex paint to protect them from the elements.

    We’ll set traps for the first week of each month, for five nights at a time.

    I have not seen beetles in the neighborhood before April, so it is unlikely any will fall into the traps this month. Knowing when beetles are not active provides an important baseline for when they first appear.