Pantala is a genus of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae commonly called the rainpool gliders. They are found almost worldwide. Species of Pantala are medium-sized to large, dull orange-yellow dragonflies.

NatureNotes with Rudy Mancke

Rainpool glider

The female's wings are purplish red with ochre-yellow. They have thin scales and are almost transparent. The male's wings are purplish brown with a large transparent space in the middle. The female is larger than the male. The wing span is 4.2 to 6.6 centimeters.

Pink-striped oakworm moths

The Mediterranean house gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus) is a type of house gecko common to the Mediterranean area which has spread to many parts of the world.

Mediterranean gecko

A listener reports seeing this rare bird.

A white hummingbird!

Bipalium is a genus of large predatory land planarians. They are often loosely called "hammerhead worms" or "broadhead planarians" because of the distinctive shape of their head region. This is an invasive species.

Hammer head worm

Verrucosa arenata, also known as the triangle orb weaver, arrowhead spider, and arrowhead orbweaver, is a species of orb-weaver spider found across North America. It is one of the few known large orb-weaver spiders that sits facing upwards in its web. Unlike most orb-weavers, which have bulbous abdomens, V. arenata has an abdomen that is pointy and triangular, shaped like the tip of an arrow.

Triangle orb weaver spider

Snakes are still active this time of year and listeners are reporting sightings...

Snake sightings: eastern kingsnake, eastern ribbon snake

Eudryas grata is a moth known as the beautiful wood nymph. They are known for their mimicry of bird droppings. Found in abundance, predominantly across the entire eastern United States. Hosts for the caterpillar include Ampelopsis, buttonbush, grapes, hops, and Virginia creeper.

Beautiful wood nymph moth

Megalopyge opercularis is a moth of the family Megalopygidae. It has numerous common names, including southern flannel moth for its adult form, and puss caterpillar, asp, Italian asp, Fire caterpillar, woolly slug, opossum bug, puss moth, tree asp, or asp caterpillar.

Puss Caterpillar

Rat snakes are members – along with kingsnakes, milk snakes, vine snakes and indigo snakes – of the subfamily Colubrinae of the family Colubridae. They are medium to large constrictors and are found throughout much of the Northern Hemisphere. They feed primarily on rodents. Many species make attractive and docile pets and one, the corn snake, is one of the most popular reptile pets in the world.

"The narrow fellow" in the monkey grass

These moths have a wing colour which varies from yellowish to light brown or even dark brown, with or without blackish shading. They are on wing from April to October in the south and from July to September in the north.

Large Maple Span Worm Moth

Phryma leptostachya, or lopseed, is a perennial herb. of the genus Phryma, native to eastern North America (roughly, everywhere east of the Rocky Mountains) and Asia (Japan, Nepal, India and West Pakistan), and consists of either one or two species, depending on whether the American and Asian species are considered separate or not.

Lopseed

The caterpillars for the pandora sphinx moth are large, green or red with a swollen third thorax segment into which the head and first two thoractic segments can be drawn. The abdomen has a small white spot on the second segment, and big white oval spots the last five spiracles. They also have the characteristic "horn" at the end of the abdomen, until it is replaced by a button in its last instar. Larvae consume copious amounts of foliage, and when they are ready they climb down their host plant and burrow underground, where they pupate.

Pandora Sphinx Caterpillar

Each weekday naturalist Rudy Mancke, host of SCETV's NatureScene, shares his knowledge of plants and wildlife. Produced by South Carolina Public Radio.

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NatureNotes with Rudy Mancke

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