Baculite Mesa, Pueblo County, a great place for bugs and spiders.

Here’s a few photos and a short video of trying to coax a tarantula out of her burrow.

Baculites are fossil cephalopods that formed long rod-shaped “bones,” much like the inner shell of a modern squid. The largest ones may be several feet long, but here at Baculite Mesa they are mostly small specimens.

Here is one of the several preying mantises we found, a male.

And the group, working on the tarantula burrow. We found several at home, but not eager to step into the sunlight.

Here is a mating pair of Phyciodes picta, a desert version of the foothill pulchella. It seems to be common in Pueblo County. We found scores of them.

And a whiptail lizard, apparently sleeping through our disturbances.

And even birds, although besides the pond-side doves and killdeer, there were few. Here’s a rock wren, the best photo I could get as it kept moving.

Author: Samuel A. Johnson

This blog is about hiking, thinking, and writing. View all posts by Samuel A. Johnson