Clouds in the early morning kept temperatures from becoming unbearable as I explored the rocky bed of Slaughter Creek in the southern part of the park. Access was from the end of Prairie Decker Drive, where there is a small parking lot. The paths around the creek are very eroded but few people were around at this time. Val Bugh Ochthera sp. (shore fly) Paratettix aztecus (pygmy grasshopper) Pentacora ligata (shore bugs) Immediately after molting, an insect's exoskeleton is quite soft and usually lighter than normal in color. The individual shown at left is in this stage, referred to as teneral, so it moved slower and has a sort of milky look. In a short time it will harden and darken, resembling the specimen at right, and be able to run faster and fly. Microvelia sp. (small water strider nymph) Hydrometra sp. (marsh treader) This insect is also called a Water Measurer. It moves rather slowly and can walk on the surface tension, but prefers to remain on the shore or vegetation, probably because it is an easy target for hungry fish. Acanthocephala terminalis (coreid bug) Although it usually feeds on plant fluids, this individual has its proboscis inserted into a bird dropping. Just like butterflies, herbaceous bugs sometimes avail themselves of the supplemental nutrients contained in scat or even decaying insect carcasses. Argia apicalis (blue-fronted dancer) Dythemis velox (swift setwing) The dam on Slaughter Creek within the park Philonotis marchica (moss) Mosses are bryophytes: non-vascular plants without roots, stems, xylem and phloem. Instead of leaves, they have phyllids, which lack internal air spaces, cuticle and stomata, so they have no way of regulating moisture loss. Panicum virgatum (switchgrass) Ludwigia octovalvis (narrow-leaf water primrose) Nekemias arborea (peppervine) Justicia americana (American water-willow) Unknown sp. (gall mite galls on annual ragweed) Augochlorella sp. (green bee) Identification of metallic green halictid bees is often difficult. This particular genus includes exceptionally tiny species that have reddish colored tegulae (bumps where the wings attach to the thorax). Bombus pensylvanicus (American bumble bees: worker & drone) All worker bees, such as the one at left, are female. The drone (male, shown at right) is larger, lacks a sting and does not collect pollen; his primary function is to mate with unfertilized queens. Lerema accius (clouded skipper) Eurema lisa (little yellow) Pseudemys texana (Texas river cooter) Lepomis macrochirus (bluegill)