We are hardly in the wilderness, but there is plenty of danger if you are small enough.
Fly on daisy. The flower is about 2 cm across, and the fly seems to be upside-down. 8/25/26
Wandering around the garden this morning, I saw a tiny fly sitting on a blackfoot daisy flower. It stayed put, so I took some photos for identification.
Looking more closely, it became clear that the fly was remaining on the flower because a crab spider had grabbed it.
Closer view, showing spider holding fly more clearly.
As is often the case, the spider matched the color of the flower closely, which both allowed it to capture the fly and to avoid detection by the many potential predators that would like to eat it.
Another view of the spider holding the fly.
A few more photos showing the drama happening at the millimeter to centimeter scale.
Side view of spider holding fly.
On a larger scale, I have been trying to figure out who is eating the local beetles, by tethering a few and setting up a trail camera. So far, nobody has tried to eat the beetles, but I did get a nice view of another resident walking through.
It went through the meadow at about 7:20, which is when we often see bunnies back there. Interesting to think that the cats are probably watching us many of the nights we are walking around behind the yard.
Two new draft pages have been added to the Wildlife descriptions. Mammals showcases the carnivores, rodents, and even bats that are found in the neighborhood. Reptiles and Amphibians provides some information about lizards and snakes, along with our favorite toad.
As always, the pages are works in progress, with more details and photos to be added as time and resources allow.
We still have a lot to learn about the local wildlife, even the species that live near the lab. For example, bats have been partying on the property for years without us knowing.
Let’s start with a few observations.
First, we have seen streaks of uric acid on the walls of some of the portals (the local name for covered patios).
Uric acid stain on wall. 7/31/26
At first we thought these were from some sort of bird, maybe swallows. The marks made more sense when we learned they were from bats.
We realized they were still active roosts when we had another epiphany: the poop under the roosts was from bats rather than rodents. It seems obvious in hindsight, but there are so many deermice, woodrats, etc., that it took a while to make the bat connection.
Bat scat below a roost. 7/31/26.
The bats’ diet provides another piece in a beetle ecology puzzle. Local Tenebrionid beetles seem to respond differently to predators compared to the same species found elsewhere. For example, undefended beetles do not seem to closely mimic chemically defended beetles. This might make more sense if we knew who was eating them. We have found plenty of carnivore scat, presumably from skunks and/or raccoons, that contains beetle parts and shows that nocturnal omnivores are eating Tenebrionids.
Enter the bats. Unlike other bat species, pallid bats (Antrozous pallidus) feed on ground-dwelling insects, and others have shown that pallid bats readily eat Tenebrionid beetles. Rather than using echolocation to find the insects, they hunt using noises generated by the insects’ movements, and reserve echolocation to avoid obstacles (Bell, 1982). At the portal, discarded jaws and legs of Jerusalem crickets indicate that the insects (about the same size as large Tenebrionids) are popular menu items.
Jerusalem cricket jaws. 7/31/26
Among Tenebrionid prey, they have been identified feeding on Stenomorpha based on bits of exoskeleton found near roosts (O’Shea and Vaughan, 1977) and tracks in the soil next to bowls in which beetles had been left as bait (Slobodchikoff et al., 1987).
As it turned out, the roosts in our portal were sites where pallid bats eat and socialize at night. We were lucky that one decided to spend a day in the portal, so we could make a positive identification.
Pallid bat trying to ignore the photographer . 7/27/26
To get a better idea of their activity patterns, I set out a couple of trail cameras to catch them at night. After a few nights working on the sensitivity and finding the right locations, we were surprised to discover that it was quite the little group.
Coming in for a landing. 7/30/26Bat group greeting next arrival. 8/1/26
The size of the group was surprising. In the photo above, there are at least five bats on the walls and one more arriving. That explains the relatively large nightly deposits of poop and insect parts.
The video below gives a better idea of how much activity there is on a given night. The file is a bit large and may load slowly.
The biology of pallid bats is quite interesting. Your classic insectivorous bat uses echolocation to hunt flying insects and dodge obstacles. In practice, they basically scream and then wait for echoes to return from potential prey.
Pallid bats are considered “gleaners” or “whispering bats.” They listen for rustling to find prey on the ground. They still use echolocation to avoid running into things, but can be much quieter about it. Because some insects have evolved to hear and avoid bat calls, being quiet may improve the hunting success of the gleaning bats.
Pallid bats make use of two roosts at different times of day. During daylight hours, they roost in out of the way locations to stay cool and avoid disturbance while they sleep. At night, they make use of roosts to rest and to eat larger insects that they have caught. Our bats are using the portal as a night roost, and their daytime roost remains a mystery.
Leg of a Tenebrionid beetle under bat roost. 7/31/26
One of them left a hindleg of a Tenebrionid, possibly Philolithus, after a meal, so we can say with some confidence that pallid bats are confirmed beetle predators.
References
Bell, G. P. “Behavioral and Ecological Aspects of Gleaning by a Desert Insectivorous Bat Antrozous Pallidus (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae).” Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 10, no. 3 (1982): 217–23. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00299688.
Harris, J. “Pallid Bat.” In California’s Wildlife., 3 vols. California Department of Fish and Game, 1990.
O’Shea, T. J., and T. A. Vaughan. “Nocturnal and Seasonal Activities of the Pallid Bat, Antrozous Pallidus.” Journal of Mammalogy 58, no. 3 (1977): 269–84. https://doi.org/10.2307/1379326.
Slobodchikoff, C. N., T. A. Vaughan, and R. M. Warner. “How Prey Defenses Affect a Predator’s Net Energetic Profit.” Journal of Mammalogy 68, no. 3 (1987): 668–71. https://doi.org/10.2307/1381600.
Living in northern New Mexico is not easy for any creature, but seems particularly challenging for an amphibian. Even if you somehow manage to find food and shelter, and avoid dying out, how on earth can you reproduce when surface water is so rare?
Nonetheless, Woodhouse’s toad (Anaxyrus woodhousii) seems to be doing just fine here.
We first came across them in a nearby arroyo a few years ago. They are about 3″ – 4″ in length and their color and pattern fits right into the background.
Woodhouse’s toad in arroyo in Salva Tierra. 8/13/24
Since then, we have run across them in the yard from time to time. They seem especially drawn to irrigation control boxes, which are dark, protected, and often moist.
Toad in irrigation box. 7/17/25
Terry has a particularly good garden for toads. He has a small pond and some good protected spots. He has seen a toad (or maybe more, they all look similar to me) occasionally for quite some time.
As an homage to P.G. Wodehouse (acknowledging the difference in spelling) we have been calling the toad(s)”Jeeves.”
Jeeves hangs out in and near the pond.
Jeeves in Terry’s pond. 6/17/26
He has also been found in the irrigation box some distance away.
Jeeves in irrigation box. August 2023.
After a little research, it became clear that Woodhouse’s toads are well adapted for life here in the dry highlands. They are widespread throughout western North America, from Montana and North Dakota in the north, all the way south to the Gulf coast, and from the Missouri river in the east to western Arizona and Utah in the west. Their range abuts those of several closely related species, such as Fowler’s toad (A. fowleri) and the Arizona toad (A. microscaphus), and hybrids of these species can be common.
Woodhouse’s toads make use of many habitat types, including grasslands, pine forests, agricultural land, suburbs, and, of course, pinyon-juniper woodlands. They prefer loose or sandy soil, presumably because of the need to burrow to escape summer heat and winter cold. They are active from spring to fall, with specific dates depending on latitude and elevation, and feed on a wide variety of insects and other arthropods.
Given the general lack of surface water here, it is surprising that they can reproduce at all. However, Woodhouse’s toads are capable of traveling several kilometers, and are not picky about where they breed. They breed in ponds, swamps, river backwaters, lake shallows, along with human constructed lakes and ponds. Larvae hatch three days after mating, and take 4 – 7 weeks to mature into little toadlets.
Glands in their skin produce noxious secretions, but predators such as snakes, birds, skunks and raccoons still take their toll on toadlets and adults. Motor vehicles also cause significant mortality.
For the moment, populations of Woodhouse’s toad appear to be largely stable. Let’s hope that they will be able to keep up with the ever-warming and changing environment.
References
Although I made use of a few other articles, the best overall source of information was the following chapter:
Dodd, C. K. (2023) Anaxyrus woodhousii (Girard, 1854) Woodhouse’s toad. in Frogs of the United States and Canada. (pp 158-167). Johns Hopkins University Press.
It was a successful year for science and wildlife.
Peninsular landscape on the trip down. 6/17/26
Once again, I joined Dr. Drew Talley and Dra. Dr Natalia Rodriguez Revelo for a summer survey of the islands in Bahia de los Angeles, Baja California.
Natalia and Drew on Jorobado. 6/19/26
The work on the islands went well, and we got data regarding beetle populations from twelve islands. It is also a highlight of my year to spend the time with my best friend and our wonderful colleague.
Although work on the islands can be challenging, we are usually done by late morning, and there is time for other activities. This year, I thought it would be interesting to test the thermal resilience of some of the beetle species. The specific idea is that beetles that produce defensive chemicals (like Eleodes does) would be more sensitive to extreme conditions such as high temperature when compared with undefended beetles (such as Philolithus in Santa Fe or Cryptoglossa in Bahia). This has been assumed to be the case, but has not been tested rigorously.
My idea was simple: collect beetles from two species, one defended and one undefended, and test their survival at temperatures ranging from benign to lethal. My prediction would be that the undefended beetles would survive at higher temperatures than those that invest energy and water in defensive scent glands.
We decided it was better to collect the experimental beetles on the mainland. The project was added to the permit application along with the other, ongoing projects. However, the permit only allowed us to survey the beetles on the mainland, not collect or test them. Nonetheless, sampling would allow us to determine where it would be best to find enough beetles for experiments in the future.
Bahia de los Angeles dump. 6/18/26
For our first sampling location, we set traps at the local dump. We reasoned that we could avoid protected areas and private property by sampling at the dump.
We set nine pitfall traps, baited with oatmeal along an arroyo. After checking back every afternoon for three days, we had caught six Cryptoglossa muricata. It was good to find beetles that would be appropriate for experiments, but we needed at least two species, and about 40 of each. We thought it best to look elsewhere.
One can see why beetles in the Cryptoglossini are called “death feigning beetles.” This C. muricata is quite alive, but waiting for me to go away. 6/20/26
We thought that the Glendale Community College field station might be a better location, so we asked Jared Ocampo, an old friend and the station manager, for permission to set traps around the station. He agreed, and even helped us set the traps.
Arroyo on the southern approach to the Glendale Station. 6/24/26
We set a total of 24 traps in three sets of eight. One group was set in an arroyo to the south of the station, one set was placed in desert to the west, and the last was placed near the beach to the north. Rather than checking every day, we left the traps for two nights.
The results were pleasing. We trapped more than sixty C. muricata, and ten Eleodes loretensis, along with a number of Stibia. This is an almost ideal result, in that E. loretensis is chemically defended, whereas C. muricata is not, and they are well-matched n terms of size and mass.
Eleodes loretensis from a trap at Glendale station. 6/26/26. Click to enlarge.
Cryptoglossa muricata from a trap in the arroyo at Glendale station. 6/26/26
The traps in the arroyo were the most productive, and those in the desert also caught a good number of beetles. Interestingly, those by the beach only trapped a few Cryptoglossa.
Assuming that all goes equally well next year and we have the proper permit, we should be able to compare the temperature sensitivities of these two species that are highly similar except for the presence of chemical defense.
Once the owlets left Terry’s box, they have been pretty scarce. They did show up recently to cool off and clean up in the pond, however. Here’s a quick montage of a few of the videos.
Coming soon: Photos and videos of the most recent trip to Bahia de los Angeles, Baja California.
A draft of Birds of Santa Fe Savanna page is now live. This is the first of several that will document the local wildlife.
The page illustrates the seasonality and relative abundance of birds specific to the area around the lab. The Santa Fe area has a a diverse array of wildlife communities, so the bird fauna here will differ from those at, e.g., the Randall Davey Audubon Center or Las Golondrinas.
Over the years, I have wondered about the best time to post a new page. Because information changes, better photos become available, links break and so on, an active site is always a work in progress. I have opted for the good rather than the perfect for now, and will continue to improve all of the content on the site.
The western screech owlets have grown up and left the nest. All but one of the eggs hatched, and everyone who hatched has fledged. Using Terry’s video clips, I have assembled a video showing some of the high points. For all of the videos from 2025 and 2026, check out Terry’s Owl Cam page.
The video below is a bit big, so may take some time to load.
Here is the Terry’s updated hatch and fledge data from the past seven years. The hatching times show some variation, but the time from hatching to fledging is remarkably consistent at 29 days.
Velvet ants are commonly observed wandering the landscape this time of year. Although referred to as ants, they are wasps in the family Mutillidae. Then again, ants are really a family of wasps, so one can quickly get mired in details by being picky about common names.
Males are fully capable of flight, and look very much like other wasps, whereas females are flightless. Both males and females feed on nectar. The fact that they are earthbound, coupled with their fuzzy and often colorful appearance makes these insects easy to recognize.
The above subtitle “Dangerous Beauties,” refers to two aspects of the ants’ biology.
First, both species described below are ectoparasitoids of ground-nesting bees. That is, their larvae develop attached to the larvae of their hosts, and ultimately kill them.
The second reason for calling them dangerous is because of the females’ powerful stings. Being stung is apparently excruciating to humans, and is an effective defense against most predators. Velvet ants use bright colors and stridulating noises to warn potential predators of the hazards.
Below are two species from closely related tribes of velvet ants. They share common features of velvet ants (e.g., strong stings and parasitic reproduction), but differ in some aspects of physical appearance, behavior and natural history.
Velvet Ants
The common velvet ant, Dasymutilla vestita, is brightly colored and active during the day.
Velvet ant, Dasymutilla vestita, crossing the street near the lab. 5/24/26.
The females appear as colorful fuzzballs wandering around in western North America. Generally some combination of black, red, and/or yellow.
Nocturnal Velvet Ants
Nocturnal velvet ants are seen more rarely. They are generally smaller, more drably colored, and, unsurprisingly, nocturnal. You can click the photos for larger views.
Nocturnal velvet ant from pitfall trap. 8/14/25.
Another view of the same insect. 8/14/25
Photomicrograph of the same velvet ant as above. Note sting at end of abdomen. Photo 5/23/26 of female collected 8/14/25.
The above nocturnal velvet ant is in the genus Odontophotopsis, but I have not been able to identify the species as yet.
A few references
Gall et al., (2018) The indestructible insect: Velvet ants from across the United States avoid predation by representatives from all major tetrapod clades. Ecol Evol 8:5852-5862.
Here at the lab, we are are lucky to have a close up view of nature. It’s a constant parade, with beetles emerging from their winter homes, ants swarming to start new colonies, winter birds leaving, summer birds arriving, and much more.
Carpenter ants swarming. A major worker (front left) guards the nest entrance while a winged male gets ready for his brief duty of finding a mate. 5/9/26
Four of five of the eggs in Terry’s nest box have hatched, and the owlets are growing rapidly. Of course, for each meal the owlets enjoy, a mouse, bird, or insect has a very bad day.
Dead mouse being delivered to growing owlets. 5/726
Snake in a Box
We have been tempted to add another bluebird box that has a camera so that we can watch the process of growth and fledging. I have been hesitating, largely because some broods do not survive and I am not sure that I want to watch that happen. My attitude was reinforced this week, when the female bluebird did not go into the nest box, and there was a something strange and pink sticking out of the hole.
When I opened the box, there was a large pink coachwhip snake inside. It had made a meal of the brood, even though the nest is on a pole about four feet off the ground.
Large coachwhip occupying bluebird box, having consumed most recent brood. 5/10/26
Looks like it will be necessary to add some flashing around the pole to make it harder for snakes to reach the box.
Lame Coyote
There seems to be a large crop of rabbits this year, which has led to plenty of coyote sightings. I see them at least a few times a week on morning surveys, and they show up regularly on the wildlife cams.
Terry was lucky enough to spot one finishing its rabbit meal, and fast enough to get a video. Another coyote, with an injured front leg, tries to share, but the first coyote is having none of it.
Coyote having breakfast, courtesy of Terry Morgan. 5/9/26
It is a harsh life out there, and a coyote that can’t hunt will not be able to eat. Animals can heal, so it may be back on all four feet and able to hunt again.
