Anita Westervelt
A sprouted surprise
Tomato, Solanum lycopersicum, a member of the Solanaceae family.
This particular species needs further identification to include: Lycopersicon esculentum var. cerasiforme.
This is one of those plants...
Three Valley native plants that attract warblers
BY ANITA WESTERVELT
TEXAS MASTER NATURALIST
Three native Valley plants that produce berries noted to attract warblers staying in the Rio Grande Valley during the winter...
Home for the holidays
BY ANITA WESTERVELT
TEXAS MASTER NATURALIST
They’re tiny, they’re quick, they’re wily. They’re warblers — certainly the thrill of spring and fall migration — and lucky...
Slower going, but some snakes are still making appearances
BY ANITA WESTERVELT
SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
One reptile, the diamondback water snake (Nerodia rhombifer), may still be observed in the Rio Grande Valley while temperatures...
Elaborate nest construction uses a variety of materials
BY ANITA WESTERVELT
SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
Ash trees seem to shed most of their leaves with the first fall wind event, revealing what might previously...
Climbing hemp weed is a favorite for the honey bees and butterflies
BY ANITA WESTERVELT
SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
Climbing hemp weed, Mikania scandens competes with all-time butterflyattracting Rio Grande Valley favorite, Crucita — fall-blooming mistflower, Chromolaena odorata — during the annual...
Garden View: Frogs leap, toads hop
BY ANITA WESTERVELT
TEXAS MASTER NATURALIST
Distinct features can help you identify whether you’re looking at a frog or a toad. A prominent one is that...
Ox beetles work to recycle decayed plant remnants
BY ANITA WESTERVELT
TEXAS MASTER NATURALIST
There’s one super big bug that always gives me pause. I erroneously labeled it as a rhinoceros beetle and was...
And it was all yellow: Yellow bells of Esperanza are popular nectar source
The air will soon be aflutter with masses of colorful butterflies searching for colorful flowers and rich nectar sources.
One popular Valley shrub coming into...
Dog days of summer as ancient as cicada’s song
A Texas cicada, the Superb Dog-days cicada, Neotibicen superbus, is so named because it makes its annual appearance during the dog days of summer — those...