Critters and Cacti (and other succulents)

[Franj]

Hi all

Between my long hours at the day job and building my own website, I haven't had much time for hanging out here in a while. Good to see the place is still standing, LOL

Some nice improvements Daiv I especially like the idea of letting members of the forum donate pics to help round out your representation of the members of the Cacti family. I'll be looking through what I have to see what I can offer.

I have done something similar on my own site, though our sites serve slightly different purposes. Where your site is about documenting these plants with pictures to help us identify them (a noble cause in itself), mine is more about the joy of growing them and a love of photography.

A while back I created, or rather expanded a selection of themed photo galleries with subjects such as flowers, spination, macro shots etc. I recently added a "Critters" gallery. A collection of photos of insects and other animals that are either interacting with cacti and succulents, or native to the areas where they are found. I was dismayed that I really had only a few such pictures, so I opened this up to another forums members and the response has been wonderfull. I also invite anyone here who has pics they feel would be appropriate for the gallery to contact me about featuring their photos. Your copyright will of course be acknowledged.

Here's the gallery. you can find my e-mail at the "Contact" link.
http://tucson-gardener.com/graphics/Gal ... tters.html

Thanks,
Dave

[daiv]

Hey Dave,
You HAVE been working on your site! All that text represents a lot of work! Writing descriptions has been on the list for some time, but the difficulty of doing so properly is a daunting task. So hats off to you on your progress!

I especially like the critters page!

Daiv

[CoronaCactus]

OH wow, i know that website. I found back when i first joined the forums, have had it bookmarked ever since

I think i found it when googling greenhouses. You did a fine job with it. Along with the rock gardens, i like the look.

I also really like the Cristate and Monsters gallery, lots of cool stuff in there!!

BTW, i beleive this plant labeled as unknown Echinopsis is E. oxygona f. cristata

[kaktus]

Thats a great site! I found it a few days ago
But wheres the rattlers on the critter page?

/Lelle

[Franj]

Thanks Daiv

Building websites like ours, truly is a labor of love isn't it. I also go at it in spurts. I have at least two dozen new species to build pages for. But now and then I feel I just have to get away from this danged machine. LOL, after all I sit in front of one all day at my real job.

Still, when I build and upload a new feature such as the "Critters" gallery, and people ooh and aah, there's no escaping a sense of deep satisfaction. As far as descriptions, it does take a bit of time. I'm no Botanist, so I can't really appreciate the dry scientific descriptions one can find out there. So I try to stick with the basics. Where does it come from? How big does it get? What do the flowers look like? How do I propagate it? I also try to add a personal note as far as how do I feel about acquiring and growing this plant, and what is it that I really appreciate about it. I get a lot of praise for making the experience personal, and therefore more shareable with the masses.

Hey Corona, or would you rather be know as Cactus, LOL, or just CC

Glad you discovered and recognized the site. I've been at it for about three or four years. It started as a database for documenting my plants on my own hard drive (mainly because I can't remember all the names

As far as the "Green House", thanks for the compliment as far as what I've done with it. My only regret is that I didn't use materials of better quality. But then again that's what you get from Harbor Freight. After less than three years under the Arizona sun, the polycarbonate panels on the roof have become brittle and recently I noticed that any hard rain can punch holes through the roof and it's leaking like a sieve. Sigh... new roof for the greenhouse soon.

The Echinopsis crest may have been an E. oxygona. I'll never know, lost it to rot and now it's compost.

Kaktus,

LoL, nothing would thrill me more than a pic of a Rattler crawling up over one of my favorite cacti. But that's National Geographic type stuff. They are somewhat restricted to outlying areas and shy away from civilization. I've lived here 21 years and spent plenty of time out in the desert, came across less than half a dozen. But I came across a Gila Monster once. Unfortunately without a camera.

Also, when you discover a Rattler in your yard. Most peoples first reaction is a call to Animal Control.

Dave

[firelab]

what do you know about the "Cactus Coreid Bug (Cheilinidea vittiger)" photographed by Xenomorf. i've got a number of ferocactus "covered" with them. do they eat / damage / hurt the cacti? i haven't googled them yet.

thanks

mjg

[Franj]

Hi MJG,

I really can't answer that question. Do a search on the Latin name and see what you come up with. Many insects that can be considered beneficial in their larval stages can also be considered benificial in the adult phase. Then again, many are harmless as adults, but extremely distructive as juveniles (caterpillars). And some (like the Locust)can whipe out entire crops as adults, eating everything in their path.

Dave

[cactuspolecat]

Nice to see you're still kickin' around Dave, I enjoy your website, and am a real lizard and frog fan. You have some really "top" shots there.

CP

[CoronaCactus]

Hi Dave,

I answer to almost anything even when not spoken too!

Thats too bad about the greenhouse panels, Dosen't HF advertise them as 5 year panels? Maybe a call or email to them to discuss replacements is in order, if thats the case.

Bummer on the oxygona crest