(please forgive any erroneous information– better yet, send me a message to clarify information that I might have gotten wrong)
Did You Know…
“Though Texas only has one naturally occuring lake, Caddo Lake, it has more man-made lakes, due to reservoirs, than Minnesota.” from Texas Parks and Wildlife, http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/parkguide/?page=splash&lang=en
“We’ve recently moved to a new home and appear to have a millipede infestation due to dampness. I’ve had to remind myself of the difference between a millipede and a centipede so as to not get too freaked out. Though I have a degree in ecology/environmental science, am a trained nature guide, and am endlessly fascinated by creepy-crawly things, I have an unfortunate tendency to scream when one happens to land on me. Millipedes, mostly harmless, have rounded bodies and heads and do not have the painful, poison-injecting claws that centipedes do. So if I can just think of them like rolly-pollies, I’m good.” source http://insects.tamu.edu/extension/bulletins/l-1747.html
“If you are lucky enough to see a tarantula roaming around Austin, chances are you’ve spotted a pre-occupied male during mating season. Typically these creatures stay out of sight, some species hunt for food underground. Thus evading humans, certain species can live for up to 3o years.
I was surprised when I overcame my own fear and let one sit in my hand to find that they feel light as a feather in your palm.
While the tarantulas found in our area do not produce a very painful bite(less venomous than a typical bee’s), they do defend themselves from curious dogs by emitting irritating hairs.”
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/preserves/fotospr9.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarantula
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs/tarantula.html
“Austin is home to the largest urban colony of Mexican Free-tailed Bats, an estimated 1.5 million. The colony is primarily females returning to Austin in early spring to birth their young.”
http://texas-travel.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_mexican_freetail_bats_of_austin_texas ,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Free-tailed_Bat
“We have native(Solenopsis geminata is one) and non-native species(Solenopsis invicta is one) of fire ants in the Austin region. Some ways to distinguish the non-native from the native species are by looking at the head size of the largest workers–in the native S. geminata species their heads are larger than their abdomens. Also, painful (pseud0) pustules might form at the point where the non-native fire ants inject their poison.– http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~gilbert/research/fireants/faqans.html#which
“The Plains Blind Snake looks very much like a large earthworm, but he doesn’t smell like one!! He can be distinguished by the emission of an odorous liquid when disturbed-a trait shared by some fellow snakes.” TAMU, Austin Snakes–LarvalBug’s Garden website,
“Austin is home to at least a dozen extinct volcanoes. The remains of one such volcano is under St. Edwards University.” Blunn Creek Nature Preserve, City of Austin Parks & Rec, Guidebook to the Geology of Travis County by D.L. Parker, Wikipedia- Pilot Knob, another volcano in Austin area
