Huh!

Crumby is going along minding his own business as usual when suddenly he espies this. Fer heaven’s sake, this aint right!, remarks the astonished Crumby. Is this a freak of nature, or what?

Yes. This could be a freak of nature, a sport, a bonsai, a lilliput. Or, it could be normal for this particular agave. Makes, sense, evolutionarily speaking, don’t it?

More Green Lynx Spider Adventures

Ignorance may be a blessing after all. The fact is, stupidity may be blessed in addition to mere ignorance. Yes. It is probably a combo of ignorance and stupidity that allows the various bugs to fly recklessly onward, progressing inevitably into the slavering maw of a great big spider.

Here one espies a southern yellowjacket killed by the same green lynx featured twain entries below.





Here is a different green lynx with a bee, probably a Dianthidium type bee.






Here is yet another of these green spiders with a snowberry clearwing. Crumby actually espied the spider get the snowberry clearwing or hummingbird moth. There was no struggle. A quick bite to the noggin finished the luckless moth off instantaneously.

Interestingly, one can find all the carcasses of the various insect victims of these spiders underneath the perch. That’s because once the spider sucks all the juice out, the bloodless victim is then simply dropped. So you may epsy all that your spider has eaten simply by looking around carefully under the perch. How about that?

Take Back America!

How far? Where to?

Well. Crumby is nearly 63 and can’t remember a time when America didn’t belong to the ruling class. Yet these days, the ruling class has it better than ever. Yes. The ruling class enjoys the lowest taxes of Crumby’s lifetime. The ruling class has global options for parking or laundering its vast hoards of money or capital. The ruling class has almost limitless access to cheap or free labor. The ruling class has the best military-industrial complex Crumby’s taxes can buy, securing its overseas investments. Why hellfire, the ruling class even has Paris Hilton and George W.

So where do we need to take America back to? When was that mythical time when the ruling class shared a little of all that wealth or surplus value with the ignorant white trash?

Oh dang! Crumby forgot. It’s not a share of capital we need to take back. It’s shared values, feelings and emotions. We need to go back to those good old times when all the white people shared common values, feelings and emotions with the rulers.

Yes. There was a time when the rulers cared about white America. But then the white trash started acting mean to the rulers. Yes. The white trash grew greedy, demanding more and more from the rulers. Until finally, the rulers said, enough is enough. We shall abandon our values, feelings and emotions that we share in common with the white trash. Plus, we shall move most of our capital offshore. Yes. We shall move offshore, instead, sharing our values, feelings and emotions with foreign coolies that may appreciate their rulers.


Boo hoo hoo! Waaaaaaaaah! The rulers have practically left us in an emotional vacuum or maybe dogfight. It's like they took a pencil. What did they do with that pencil? They poked us in the eye. That's right, in the eye. Then they twisted the pencil around and around until the pencil had a good grip on the innards of the eyeball. Then what did they do. They yanked that eyeball, stuck to the pencil, right on out of its socket or orifice.

OK. The pencil and eyeball are like a metaphor for values, feelings and emotions lost when the ruling class stopped sharing. Yet how can the white trash stop the ruling class from poking us in the eyeball with a pencil, and alternatively, resume sharing values, feelings and emotions with us?

It's like we need a unifying like maybe TV show that everyone will watch and agree upon. Yes. We need an inspiring TV show. We need an inspiring TV show that is so great or swell, it can substitute for access to capital. Hold it! Not just a mere TV show. We need an entire network!

Predator Et Predator

Crumby was thrilled the other day when the first ever documented bee killer or assassin bug (Apiomerus spissipes) turned up. What a cool bug, Crumby thought. I sure hope it doesn’t eat too many of my bees though.

Well it didn’t eat too many bees. Instead, it got et. Mercy!



Yes. A dang lynx spider (Peucetia viridens) got Crumby’s bee killer.









Before that, the same dang lynx spider got this (Polistes metricus).

Yes. The dern spider sits in the same spot just below the top of the Helianthus maximiliana awaiting other predators to come along and be et. Unfortunately, Crumby has never been around for a kill. Was there a mighty bug tussle? Maybe, maybe not.

Goodness gracious sakes alive! Crumby is surely glad he is bigger than a bug, or too big for green lynx spiders.

Taking Pictures of Entire Large Plants

At the CB, Heterotheca subaxillaris that you may know as Heterotheca latifolia is pretty dang rare. But this sweltering summer, we have one great big one. Here ‘tis, the great big camphorweed, that is. And once more Crumby goes, How the heck does an average amateur photographer take a picture of an entire large weed that is interesting for an average lady, man or child to espy?

Well. Crumby is getting no closer to an answer. No closer. Like maybe pictures of entire large plants or weeds are just not very interesting. Not interesting.

Or, Crumby figures that maybe a fisheye lens with extreme close focus capability might make the dern big plant more interesting. Or, maybe a wide angle close focusing lens would do the trick.

This shot is slightly cropped, Crumby could have moved a hair closer. It’s shot at 28mm equivalent. Not interesting. Needs to be much closer and wider maybe, or distorted.

Well. The challenge is, lots of large weeds this sweltering August. You may know that Agalinis heterophylla, Aster subulatus and the broomweeds all appear superficially similar considered vegetatively. How could an average amateur photographer take distinguishing pictures of entire plant examples of all three or four or five and have those pictures engender buttock loads of keen interest in casual observers? Keen interest such that the casual observer might exclaim, Ooo!, Oh!, Ah!, Well I never!. Is that even possible?

Fly on a Clothespin

Did you know that a clothespin is comprised of two simple machines known as levers? In addition, a clothespin has even more simple machine parts included, a fulcrum plus a screw.

Here we espy a better photograph of the CB’s littlest robber fly on a closthespin, the clothespin robber, (Effearless effearlessanus). Yes. As described below, we have more and better pictures of this Lilliputian vermin.

Christians, Muslims and Jews, Are They the Same Difference?

Long have the Druids puzzled over this question? That’s because, the Druid eye espies Christians, Muslims and Jews and the Druid brain automatically goes, peas in a pod. So the Druids are comforted slightly when semi-reliable news comes that herds of Booblicans feel like the current US presidente is a Muslim. Course they do. Because Christians, Muslims and Jews are obviously plenty hard to tell apart or distinguish.

One tangential thing about the Muslim US presidente irks the Druids though. And that’s the behavior and appearance of Michelle. Is Michelle a Muslim too? Shouldn’t Michelle like wear more clothes or maybe a juba-juba type garment over her noggin? How come the Muslim US presidente seemingly has such little control over Michelle, his own wife? Yes. Probably, even more humanoids besides Druids and Booblicans would feel like El Presidente was a Muslim if Michelle dressed up more often in this or that traditional Christian, Muslim and Jewish ladies' garment. Hmm. Maybe Michelle could get one of those cool hair dos the Mormon ladies wear to such stunning effect in the compounds.

Huh-huh. Look at that hair do. She’s a Muslim or Mormon fer sure, all righty then.

Yes. For us poor Druids, figuring out what’s a Christian versus a Muslim versus a Jew is hard work. It’s super hard, much like identifying bees to species from photographs. Is the bee a Halictis or is it a dern Andrena? Impossible to tell from the photograph.

Crumby’s Major Project

Crumby’s major project, The Bees that get on Physostegia correllii, is not going well at all. The dang Physostegia is done blooming, the bees no longer come around, and the pictures of the bees that did come around are not so hot. Plus, Crumby can’t even identify many of the bees in the pictures even to genera, mostly because the wing venation on a great many of the bees’ wings can not be espied in the pictures. Dern it!

Nevertheless, Crumby is toiling along on this major project. But not with much enthusiasm. Dang it. Here’s an example of one bee Crumby is fairly certain is identified to the correct genus. It may be a Ceratina or tiny carpenter bee. Man and Boy! Pitiful!

Well, Ceratina is probably the littlest bee that got on the Physostegia correllii. Although, the dad gum Dialictus are pretty dang little too. Either way, tiny bees are hard work. Too hard for the old, feeble and palsied. Plus, there is the rheaumatiz to consider.

And speaking of littlest, meet the CBs littlest robber fly. These 5mm dynamic Dipterans are presently all over the place. We have better pictures than this as a consequence of the abundance. Also, they perch on the clothesline. But this picture, though shitty, indicates an identifiable homop prey item. Pity the poor homops. It's a massacre out there.

The Bicycle

Ever since Crumby heard from Ray that Karl the Tracker Druid had a bicycle, Crumby has been burned up with envy. It aint fair. Crumby explained to Rayetta. That Karl is nothing but a mere pseudo-intellectual. Yet Karl has a bicycle and I don’t.

But Rayetta was no help. Grow up Crumby. Rayetta advised. Or more likely, get your own bicycle.

Hmm. That’s what I shall do then. I shall get my own bicycle.

Crumby had to wait awhile. Yet eventually, some kindly person discarded a bicycle at the dump Crumby frequented daily. Not only that, the discarded bicycle was a red bicycle. Huh-huh!

Anon, Crumby fixed up his bicycle just like Karl’s bicycle. To whit, Crumby’s bicycle also featured a bell and a basket. And soon, or before the rainy season, Crumby's bicycle would get some fenders, making Crumby’s bicycle that much better than Karl’s bicycle.

Crumby surmised while coasting along happily, bicycles are a wonderful mode of transportation. You go along much faster than the wretched pedestrians. Yet you may still enjoy the scenery because you are not going along super fast like in a great vehicle. Like for example, if you are on a bicycle you may easily espy that some loser has lost a five dollar bill. Finders keepers. Huh-huh. Or you may note that the Cissus incisa is in flower. Hark!

More advantages are, bicycles don’t use gas or diesel. They are easy to park. They are very pleasant to ride while in the coast position. Ah, the wind in one’s face on a nice long coast. What a pleasure that is!

Crumby is not fixing to present a picture of his bicycle on this venue. That’s because these parts are almost totally inhabited by evil doers. Those evil doers could find out which bicycle belonged to Crumby. What might they do, then? Evil! No doubt.

Another Episode of, They Ought to be Everywhere!

Yes. Many have speculated, why isn’t this or that more commonly encountered. Like in this example, leafwing butterflies, Anaea. Well. Leafwings are common at the CB. But to get to espy them, you have to give them bananas. Otherwise, they generally don’t come down from the trees. Although, sometimes they nectar.

But getting back to, They Ought to be Everywhere. The larval food plant of the leafwings is crotons. When Crumby thinks crotons, he thinks sand. But some crotons don’t grow in sand. For example, that humblest of all crotons, Croton monanthogynous is happy in clay. Plus, it’s close to occurring everywhere. Or as close to everywhere as may be in these dreadful, wicked times.

So the question is, do leafwing larvae employ Croton monanthogynous. Which also helps to answer the question, What’s it good fer?, Croton monanthogynous, that is.

OK. What’s it good fer?, is making a cocoon for yourself if you happen to be a goatweed leafwing, (Anaea andria). Course ideally, bigger leaves might work better. Huh-huh. This particular caterpillar needs several leaves to cover up, a few less than he has got on. Yes. There is his old noggin sticking out. Mercy!

Yes. Mercy! And while we’re discussing, What’s it good fer?, how about that humblest of all snoutbeans, least snoutbean (Rhynchosia minima)? Man alive! Just like practically the whole world, Crumby used to despise least snoutbean. He used to exclaim, I hate least snoutbean all righty. What’s it good fer? Dang weed!

But gradually, as Crumby’s wicked Christian upbringing receded to the distant past, Crumby came to realize that least snoutbean is a good plant and vital to many. Like this little bee furnishes its home with cutouts from least snoutbean leaves. Here the bee goes cutting out a pattern.




You can tell when the Megachiles have been at the snoutbeans. Looks this a way. They also do your redbuds for Goddess sakes.

What Paper Wasps Stay at Your Place?

At the CB we enjoy the company of at least four species of paper wasps. This one, Polistes exclamans, is our most abundant paper wasp this year. This nest is located under the eave of the front porch by the front door and is one of two big and seven little nests situated on the front porch. We are talking in the neighborhood of maybe a hundred total wasps inhabiting the front porch.

Therefore, when the delivery men arrived at the front door with Rayetta’s newest exercise machine, Crumby met them at the front door with some trepidation.

The wasps normally don’t bother anybody unless you bump them. So stay low, move slowly and deliberately. Especially, don't fix to grab or bump into a nest. Probably they won’t attack us, maybe.

That was good advice. The fact is, paper wasps generally only attack if you bump into their nest. Which is why they situate those nests in hard to access spots. So if they get you, it’s probably your own fault. But that’s always the case.

In addition to the front porch, the paper wasps have taken over the side porch. Plus they have some random nests under the eaves of the homestead, generally. Which means the total population is well over two hundred, not counting babies.

This picture was shot through the glass of a glass door, fairly dirty. Crumby was afraid that maybe if he shot the picture from outside, the flash might set off the wasps. So just to be safe, he took the picture from the inside, looking out, through the dirty glass.

These particular paper wasps we are now discussing, Polistes exclamans, eat caterpillars. They even eat Chlosyne lacinia caterpillars, not to mention the infamous pecan webworms(Hyphantria cunea).

artistic depiction of the pecan webworm moth or muth, Hyphantria









However, there are no way enough of the paper wasps to make a pretense of biological control of the Chlosyne dynamo dominos. But with respect to the pecan webworms, lots of paper wasps seems to correlate with low numbers of webworms. This may be non causative though, a mere accident. At any rate, the CB has no webs yet. Although, the neighbors have webs. Mercy!

All the Planets, Tonight!

That’s right. An average amateur astronomer could potentially espy all the planets of the solar system besides Earth, tonight. The challenges are Mercury and Neptune, now that Pluto has been downgraded.

Yes. You would just need to get a clean line of sight on the western horizon post Ogma, and have a little patience with Neptune. The rest are easy. Even Uranus is easy.

Why Crumby might actually go out himself. In particular, Crumby might espy the close disposition of Venus, Mars and Saturn. That’s assuming somebody has eaten most of the mosquitoes.