I got up around 5:00 AM to get ready to head out to Ice House Road with my friend and fellow naturalist, Roxanne. It was cool and breezy all morning; got up to about 88º in the late afternoon. I like weather like that.

I had been looking forward to this excursion all week.  I was hoping to see different galls on the oak trees, willows, and other plants up there. In 2021, we saw Fireweed in bloom and gooseberries fruiting around the end of July. CLICK HERE to see last year’s album.

Although the galls were few and far between (not a lot of oak trees up there; it’s mostly a conifer forest), we ended up finding quit a few things I had never seen before, so that was fun! The only oak trees we found were Black Oaks, and the only gall I saw on the oak was a Ruptured Twig Gall.

One super-cool find on a Black Oak was a little family of Oak Treehoppers. Mom was the “spotted” version of the species. (There’s also a turquoise striped version. Some of the stuff I read about the species is that the spotted may morph into the turquoise version later in the season.) The babies looked like tiny African masks painted red, black and white with black “horns” sticking out of them.

The mom we saw refused to leave the branch her babies were on, even though she was winged and could have fled if she wanted to. She also stuck close to her kids, and some of the photos we got seemed to show her “kissing” her babies.

According to the University of Florida: “…Beamer (1930) even observed maternal instinct in females of Platycotis vittata on oak in California. Females were observed to ‘stand sentinel’ between their respective colonies of nymphs and the body of the tree. A female would allow herself to be picked up rather than fly away from her perch. Beamer watched one female repel a small vespid wasp approximately a dozen times from her colony of nymphs. After the vespid apparently grew discouraged and flew away, ‘…the membracid flew to her young, crawled over the spot where the vespid had alighted, apparently examined to see that they were uninjured; then making sure all was well again flew to the twig just below the nest, turned her head toward her young and stood immobile.’…” Awwww!

According to the North Carolina State University: “…Females mate more than once, but only the sperm of her last suitor is used to fertilize her 40 or so eggs. This insect overwinters as females in leaf litter. They emerge and lay their eggs the following spring. When the eggs hatch, the new nymphs gather around a slit in the bark made by the female. The Nymphs apparently feed at the slit and the female broods over them. Females definitely protect their nymphs by bumping predators. Second generation eggs are laid in August and these hatch and develop into the overwintering forms. Nymphs have two tiny ‘spikes’ on their backs and they tend to be contrastingly marked with white, black, and red…”

AmericanInsects.com reaffirmed the information from the NCSU but offered some more clarifying details: “…Wood, et al. (1984) noted that many females of this species mate more than once, with the first mating often taking place even before the female’s ovaries are mature. The sperm of the last male to mate with a female, however, is the sperm that is used to fertilize the eggs. Wood and his colleagues reasoned that the early matings were ‘insurance,’ with the sperm stored for possible use after the ovaries have matured. This ‘insurance mating’ is necessary because males tend not to live as long as females, and females may not be able to find a mate after the ovaries are mature. However, if the late season mating does take place, it is with a male that presumably has superior genes for longevity, and these are the sperm used to fertilize the eggs. Mating may last up to 24 hours, with the males apparently dragging out the process to prevent another male from mating with the female. Platycotis vittata also has an unusually long ‘waiting period’ between mating and oviposition, ranging from an average of 29 days for females who mated more than once, to 39 days for females who mated just once. Females lay about 40 eggs each…The Spring-hatched treehopper females oviposit in August and the nymphs hatch out in September, in time to feed as the tree sends nutrients from the canopy to the roots…”

That the second season would happen when the sap was flowing DOWN the tree to the roots for the winter, is sooooo interesting to me. Nature thinks of everything and wastes nothing.

CLICK HERE for the full album of photos.

Other new-to-me species included some small, pouty, yellow Keckiella flowers; some spidery, white White-Topped Aster flowers; a striped Sierra Dome Spider; a bristly yellow-footed Tachina fly; some different Manzanita galls (apparently there’s one species of aphid that makes three kinds of galls of those trees); some frilly, purple Sierra Lessingia flowers; and many, many Bush Chinquapin trees with their hedgehog-like-covered nuts on them. And I think I spotted some flower galls on the drying-up male flowers. So cool! It’s always fun to come across surprises like that.

Among the other insects we saw were some California Sister butterflies (which I get mixed up with the Lorquin’s Admirals all the time), a few Acmon Blue butterflies, an Urbane Digger Bee, and a Weevil Wasp (feeding on buckwheat flowers).

Another surprise was to see several bright green examples of the “witches broom” phenomenon on what we thought might have been bitter cherry or chokecherry trees and twigs.  Rox spotted a tree covered with them, so we pulled off to the side of the road to get a closer look.

“…Witches’ broom is a common affliction of many trees and shrubs. It can be caused by several different vectors. Witches’ broom earns its name by producing a plethora of small, distorted branches that grow very close together, giving these clumps of branches the appearance of a witches’ broom… Though witches’ broom on a cherry can develop from any damage, it can also be caused by a fungal pathogen known as Taphrina, specifically T. cerasi or T. wiesneri. This fungal disease causes close bunches of quick growing, small branches to form on other cherry tree branches. If left alone, these new branches usually bloom and drop their leaves earlier than other branches of the tree…” [GardeningKnowhow.com]

Although we didn’t see many birds or mammals around, we did get to see a couple of chipmunks. We don’t have those down here on the valley floor. Cute little buggers.

We were out for about 8 hours, but that included travel time and a stop for an in-the-car picnic lunch.  It was a long day, but I learned a lot and saw a lot of things I wasn’t expecting to see. Fun!

Species List:

1. Acmon Blue Butterfly, Icaricia acmon
2. Bare-Bottom Sunburst Lichen, Xanthomendoza weberi
3. Bee, Urbane Digger Bee, Anthophora urbana [gray and black, bluish eyes]
4. Bigleaf Maple Tree, Acer macrophyllum
5. Bitter Cherry, Prunus emarginata
6. Bitter Lettuce, Lactuca virosa
7. Blue Elderberry, Sambucus nigra cerulea
8. Boreal Button Lichen, Buellia disciformis [pale gray to bluish with black apothecia on wood]
9. Bristle Fly, Ptilodexia sp.
10. Broad-Leaved Stonecrop, Sedum spathulifolium
11. Bull Thistle, Cirsium vulgare
12. Bumblebee, Yellow-Faced Bumble Bee, Bombus vosnesenskii
13. Bush Chinquapin, Chrysolepis sempervirens
14. California Fuchsia, Epilobium canum
15. California Ground Squirrel, Otospermophilus beecheyi
16. California Sister Butterfly, Adelpha californica
17. California Turret Spider, Atypoides riversi
18. Cherry Tree Witches Broom, Taphrina wiesneri [on Prunus sp. trees]
19. Chipmunk, Long-Eared Chipmunk, Neotamias quadrimaculatus
20. Cinder Lichen, Aspicilia cinerea [gray on rocks]
21. Columbine, Western Columbine, Aquilegia formosa
22. Devil’s Beggarticks, Bidens frondosa
23. Dog Pelt Lichen, Peltigera canina
24. Dog, Canis lupus familiaris
25. Douglas Fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii
26. Emery Rocktripe Lichen, Umbilicaria phaea
27. Fern, Hairy Brackenfern, Pteridium aquilinum var. pubescens [variation of Common Bracken]
28. Flower Gall Wasp, Dryocosmus castanopsidis [ n the male flowers of chinquapin]
29. Fly, Bristle Fly, Ptilodexia sp.
30. Goldenrod, Velvety Goldenrod, Solidago velutina
31. Grass, Squirreltail Grass, Elymus elymoides
32. Gray Pine, Pinus sabiniana
33. Green Lacewing, Chrysopa coloradensis [eggs]
34. Hooded Tube Lichen, Hypogymnia physodes
35. Incense Cedar, California Incense Cedar, Calocedrus decurrens
36. Leafhopper, Momoria sp. [pink and green]
37. Lupine, Dwarf Lupine, Lupinus lepidus
38. Manzanita Leafgall Aphid, Flower version, Tamalia coweni
39. Manzanita Leafgall Aphid, Leaf curl version, Tamalia coweni
40. Manzanita Leafgall Aphid, Midvien version, Tamalia coweni
41. Manzanita, Greenleaf Manzanita, Arctostaphylos patula
42. Mistletoe, Western Dwarf Mistletoe, Arceuthobium campylopodum
43. Monkeyflower, Seep Monkeyflower, Erythranthe guttata [yellow]
44. Morning-Glory Leafminer Moth, Bedellia somnulentella
45. Mortar Rim Lichen, Myriolecis dispersa [black/grey]
46. Mullein, Great Mullein, Verbascum thapsus
47. Naked Buckwheat, Eriogonum nudum
48. Oak Anthracnose Fungus, Apiognomonia errabunda [spots on Chinquapin leaves]
49. Oak Ribbed Casemaker Moth, Bucculatrix albertiella
50. Oak Treehopper, Platycotis vittate [looks like a thorn; mother and babies]
51. Oak, California Black Oak, Quercus kelloggii
52. Pacific Aster, Symphyotrichum chilense
53. Pearly Everlasting, Anaphalis margaritacea
54. Ponderosa Pine, Pinus ponderosa [three needles]
55. Queen Anne’s Lace, Daucus carota
56. Rock Greenshield Lichen, Flavoparmelia baltimorensis
57. Ruptured Twig Gall Wasp, Callirhytis perdens [on live oaks, black oaks]
58. Sierra Dome Spider, Neriene litigiosa [black and white stripes]
59. Sierra Lessingia, Lessingia leptoclada [purple fringy-looking flowers in flocculent coverings]
60. Single-Spored Map Lichen, Rhizocarpon disporum [black/gray on rocks]
61. Spring King Bolete Mushroom, Boletus rex-veris
62. Stilt Bug, Family: Berytidae
63. Sugar Pine Tree, Pinus lambertiana
64. Treehopper, Gyponana sp. [pink head, yellowish body]
65. Trembling Aspen, Populus tremuloides [white bark]
66. Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura
67. Variable Wrinkle-Lichen, Tuckermanopsis orbata [green or brown]
68. Weevil Wasp, Cerceris sp. [small, yellow and black, amber wings]
69. Western Morning Glory, Calystegia occidentalis [seed pods have 4-5 black seeds in them]
70. Western Yellowjacket, Vespula pensylvanica
71. White Fir, Abies concolor
72. White-Topped Aster, Sericocarpus sp.
73. Witch’s Hair Lichen, Alectoria sarmentosa [on fir trees]
74. Wolf Lichen, Letharia vulpine [bright yellow-green]
75. Woodland Woollythreads, Monolopia gracilens
76. Yarrow, Fern-leaf Yarrow, Achillea filipendulina [yellow]
77. Yellow Keckiella Flower, Keckiella sp.
78. Yellow Salsify, Tragopogon dubius
79. Yellow-Footed Tachinid Fly, Tachina sp.
80. ?? flower head gall on goldenrod
81. ?? tiny cocoon on manzanita leaf