Rewilding My Lot

My Texas Mountain Laurel (Dermatophyllum secundiflorum) was planted almost three years ago. It looks as if this spring it will bloom for the first time, judging by the many buds that are swelling and showing hints of purple.

This tree is near the rain gauge that I read at 7am each morning, so of course I take a look every day to see how it’s doing.

On this particular morning (February 19, 2026), I noticed a Spotted Cucumber Beetle sitting on a Texas Mountain Laurel flower bud. Here it is in the early morning light (not very easy to see).

I went back out a few minutes later when there was more light, and it was then that I noticed several additional beetles (primarily Spotted Cucumber Beetles (Diabrotica undecimpunctata and Convergent Lady Beetles (Hippodamia convergens) all sitting on flower buds. They seemed to be selecting the buds that were slightly open with purple showing, as if there might be something to smell or eat there.

Texas Mountain Laurel blooms are strongly scented, but I cannot detect anything yet — presumably that will come when the flowers are more open. If my sense of smell is inferior to that of an insect, that would not surprise me at all. Apparently both I and my beetle companions are eagerly waiting for these blooms to open.

Texas Mountain Laurel is an evergreen tree, and given that it’s clearly using a lot of energy to make blooms at this time, I was not expecting there to be new leaves emerging as well. But there are.