Tag Archives: Philaenus spumarius

Firsts, General Blog, Naturalist, photography, Volunteering

Two-Horned Galls and a Beetle with a Hairy Chest, 07-11-19

Around 5:30 this morning, I headed out to the American River Bend Park for a walk. It was in the high 60’s when I got there and heated up quickly; around 71° when I left.

 I didn’t have an agenda in mind and was just watching for whatever Nature wanted to show me. I ended up finding a few galls on the oak trees, including one I’d never seen before. I’d seen photos of them but had never seen one “live”. It was a Two-Horned Gall of the wasp Dryocosmus dubiosus. Coolness. They’re found on the underside of the leaves of Live Oak trees, usually along the median vein. Also found the big Oak Apple galls, tiny Pumpkin Galls, and some Goldenrod galls.

In the water fountain near the restroom, I found a large beetle lying on its back.  It was about an inch long and really kind of “hairy”. It had lost one of its antennae and was dying, but I still took some photos of it.  I wasn’t exactly sure what it was, so when I got home, I Googled “beetle with hairy chest” – Hah! – and the correct identification actually came right up.  It was, of course, a “June Bug” or more correctly a May Beetle, Phyllophaga sp.  Around that same area, I found the shed skin of a snake, including its face.

June Bug, May Beetle, Phyllophaga sp.,

I could hear Red-Shouldered Hawks yelling at each other across the forest while I was out there, and at one point a fledgling flew down out of a tree onto the ground beside the trail.  I couldn’t tell if he actually caught anything or if he was just practicing, but he sat for a moment and looked over his shoulder at me so I could snap a photo before he flew off again.

CLICK HERE for the full album of photos.

Just as I was leaving, I came across the nesting cavity of some Tree Swallows. I watched them take turn flying in and out of the cavity a few times and got some photos before heading back to the house.

Citizen Science, Firsts, General Blog, Naturalist, photography, Volunteering

Monarch Monitoring, Day #1, 07-02-19

I got up around 5:30 this morning so I could get over to the Effie Yeaw Nature Preserve and begin my monitoring of my milkweed plot there for evidence of Monarch Butterflies.

  I got there around 6:30 am and was pleased to see fellow volunteer and Certified California Naturalist, Roxanne Moger, there, too, ready and anxious to help with this first day at “my” plot.  The first thing we saw when we walked in was a lovely doe sitting on the side of the hill right next to the plot.  She let us get some photos of her before she got up and moved along.  There was a narrow game trail right through the plot that the deer had made.

A female Columbian Black-Tailed Deer, Odocoileus hemionus columbianus
The doe is to the left in this photo, and the plot to the right (at the end of the stone wall).

We divvied the plot up and started by counting all of the plants – over 40 just in our section! – and then we went plant-by plant, looking at every leaf for any evidence of Monarch eggs or larvae.  I wasn’t expecting to see any, and we didn’t. The Monarchs didn’t show up last year until the fall, so I didn’t think there would be any in the plot today.  But we were still very vigilant about checking every plant and every leaf.

CLICK HERE for the album of photos.

 Part of the plot sits at a slight angle and is cluttered with other plants like a large coyote brush bush, a couple of wild rose bushes and some bay, and Roxanne was wonderful about monitoring that part, so I didn’t have to climb under branches or get snagged by thorns.  I thought that was so sweet of her!  I had a special magnifier to check for eggs, but for most of the time I just used my cell phone as a magnifying glass and took photos if I found anything that looked interesting or unusual.  We came across several different kinds of spiders including Yellow Sac Spiders, Trashline Orb Weavers and Jumping Spiders; some Oleander Aphids, Common Green Lacewing eggs, Red Mites, the larvae of Green Stink Bugs and the Twenty-spotted Lady Beetle, some leafhoppers and some spittle bugs.

 We were out at the plot for about 2 hours.  Later in the day, after I got home, I loaded our findings onto the MLMP website.  It took me a little bit to figure out what went where, but I think I get everything in there all right.

Species List:

  1. Asian Ladybeetle, Harmonia axyridis,
  2. California Bay, Umbellularia californica,
  3. California Mugwort, Artemisia douglasiana,
  4. Columbian Black-Tailed Deer, Odocoileus hemionus columbianus,
  5. Common Green Lacewing, Chrysoperla carnea,
  6. Coyote Brush, Baccharis pilularis,
  7. European Praying Mantis, Mantis religiosa,
  8. Green Leafhopper, Empoasca sp.,
  9. Green Stink Bug, Chinavia hilaris,
  10. Interior Live Oak, Quercus wislizeni,
  11. Jumping Spider, Hentzia sp.,
  12. Meadow Spittlebug, Philaenus spumarius,
  13. Oleander Aphid, Aphis nerii,
  14. Pumpkin Gall Wasp, Dryocosmus minusculus,
  15. Red Mite, Spider Mite, Tetranychus urticae,
  16. Showy Milkweed, Asclepias speciosa,
  17. Spotted Lady’s Thumb, Persicaria maculosa,
  18. Trashline Orb Weaver Spider, Cyclosa conica,
  19. Twenty-spotted Lady Beetle, Psyllobora vigintimaculata,
  20. Yarrow, Achillea millefolium,
  21. Yellow Sac Spider, Cheiracanthium mildei,

Firsts, General Blog, Naturalist, photography, Volunteering

My First Glimpse of Fawns This Year, 07-02-19

I got up around 5:30 this morning so I could get over to the Effie Yeaw Nature Preserve and begin my monitoring of my milkweed plot there for evidence of Monarch Butterflies. I finished that (with the help of my friend and co-naturalist Roxanne Moger) around 8:30.

It was still relatively cool outside, so Roxanne and I decided to put our tools back into our car and walk for a little while.  We came across some cooperative squirrels and a Desert Cottontail rabbit, and also checked out the tree where I’d seen the feral beehive earlier.  There were about three times as many bees at the spot, so I’m assuming the queen has decided to set up shop there.

 The surprise sighting was coming across another doe – with twin fawns!  She was keeping them well-hidden in the shade and tall grass, but we were able to catch glimpses of them. And we couldn’t help but chuckle when the babies went stotting through the grass with mom chasing after them.  They’re so tiny but soooo active! They’re the first fawns I’ve seen this year and that’s always exciting.

As we were leaving the preserve, I could hear a Ground Squirrel’s alarm call and looked around to see if I could spot what the trouble might be. I saw movement overhead and spotted an adult Red-Shouldered Hawk fly overhead. It landed in a nearby tree and then sat there for quite a while, so we were able to get quite a few photos of it.  So, even though our walk was only a single loop, we got to see quite a bit… which is always fun.

An adult Red-Shouldered Hawk, Buteo lineatus

CLICK HERE for the album of photos.

We walked for about 2 hours before calling it quits and going to breakfast.

Species List:

  1. Asian Ladybeetle, Harmonia axyridis,
  2. Bewick’s Wren, Thryomanes bewickii,
  3. Black Walnut Erineum Mite gall,
  4. California Bay, Umbellularia californica,
  5. California Black Walnut, Juglans californica,
  6. California Ground Squirrel, Otospermophilus beecheyi,
  7. California Mugwort, Artemisia douglasiana,
  8. California Scrub Jay, Aphelocoma californica,
  9. California Towhee, Melozone crissalis,
  10. Columbian Black-Tailed Deer, Odocoileus hemionus columbianus,
  11. Common Green Lacewing, Chrysoperla carnea,
  12. Coyote Brush, Baccharis pilularis,
  13. Coyote Mint, Monardella villosa,
  14. Crown Whitefly, Aleuroplatus coronata,
  15. Desert Cottontail, Sylvilagus audubonii,
  16. Eastern Fox Squirrel, Sciurus niger,
  17. European Honeybee, Apis mellifera,
  18. European Praying Mantis, Mantis religiosa,
  19. Feral Honeybees, Apis mellifera,
  20. Goldwire, Hypericum concinnum,
  21. Great Horned Owl, Bubo virginianus,
  22. Green Leafhopper, Empoasca sp.,
  23. Green Stink Bug, Chinavia hilaris,
  24. Interior Live Oak, Quercus wislizeni,
  25. Jumping Spider, Hentzia sp.,
  26. Lords-And-Ladies, Arum maculatum,
  27. Meadow Spittlebug, Philaenus spumarius,
  28. Oak Titmouse, Baeolophus inornatus,
  29. Oleander Aphid, Aphis nerii,
  30. Pumpkin Gall Wasp, Dryocosmus minusculus,
  31. Red Mite, Spider Mite, Tetranychus urticae,
  32. Red-Shouldered Hawk, Buteo lineatus,
  33. Rio Grande Wild Turkey, Meleagris gallopavo intermedia,
  34. Showy Milkweed, Asclepias speciosa,
  35. Spotted Lady’s Thumb, Persicaria maculosa,
  36. Spotted Towhee, Pipilo maculatus
  37. Trashline Orb Weaver Spider, Cyclosa conica,
  38. Twenty-spotted Lady Beetle, Psyllobora vigintimaculata,
  39. Valley Oak, Quercus lobata,
  40. Yarrow, Achillea millefolium,
  41. Yellow Sac Spider, Cheiracanthium mildei,
General Blog, Naturalist, photography, Volunteering

A Lot of Little Moments, 05-14-19

I got up at 5:00 this morning and took my time getting ready to head out to the Effie Yeaw Nature Preserve for my trail-walking thing there. It was cool for most of the day – a rainstorm is supposed to move in tomorrow – so it was perfect walking weather. I was joined by fellow volunteer Mary Messenger – the Other Mary.

We saw the usual suspects like deer, House Wrens, and suchlike. One humorous encounter was with a European Staring who had its adult feathers in but was acting like a brat. It was sitting in a tree just opposite where I had seen the fledglings poking their heads out of the nesting cavity last week. It was making a lot of very loud squawks and peeps, and flapping its wings trying to get attention. Might have also been a female looking for a mate to come feed her. Whichever.  She was so loud and so animated; you couldn’t miss her.

Another funny moment was walking in on a pair of Fox Squirrels who I think were making out.  Hah! Get a room, you guys!

CLICK HERE for the album of photos.

I saw another Starling in another part of the preserve that was taking twigs OUT of her nesting cavity, which I thought was weird.  And we saw a male Mourning Dove picking up bits of grass and carrying them to his mate in a tree off the trail.  A House Wren was carrying food to his babies… Everyone was moving stuff around.

I also saw a pair of Wood Ducks. They flew into a tree overhead, and then the female flew to an adjacent tree and “disappeared”. She flew out to the first tree next to the male, then flew back to the other tree and disappeared again. I tried to see where she was hiding out and assumed she might have had a nest in a cavity in the tree, but I just couldn’t see her. Then she flew out one more time, and this time she had something orange and fuzzy in her bill. She flew off with it, and the male followed her. I couldn’t tell what it was, really, and wasn’t able to get any photos of it, but I think she was retrieving a duckling that was refusing to come down from the nest! I’d never seen or heard of anything like that; it was kind of amazing.

And we caught a glimpse of a young coyote. He came out onto the trail in front of us with a short growl and then ran off into the high grass where we lost sight of him. He was pretty small, probably a teenager. After we saw him, we kept an eye out for mom and dad; they usually travel in a pack when the pups are young.

We walked for about 4 hours, which is pretty much the limit for both of us, and I headed back home.

Species List:

  1. Acorn Woodpecker, Melanerpes formicivorus,
  2. American Bullfrog, Lithobates catesbeianus,
  3. American Robin, Turdus migratorius,
  4. Ash-Throated Flycatcher, Myiarchus cinerascens,
  5. Asian Lady Beetle, Harmonia axyridis,
  6. Black Grosbeak, Pheucticus melanocephalus,
  7. Black Phoebe, Sayornis nigricans,
  8. Blessed Milk Thistle, Silybum marianum,
  9. Blue Elderberry, Sambucus cerulea,
  10. California Buckeye Chestnut Tree, Aesculus californica,
  11. California Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly, Battus philenor hirsuta,
  12. California Pipevine, Dutchman’s Pipe, Aristolochia californica,
  13. Coffeeberry, Frangula californica,
  14. Columbian Black-Tailed Deer, Odocoileus hemionus columbianus,
  15. Coyote Brush Bud Gall Midge, Rhopalomyia californica,
  16. Coyote, Canis latrans,
  17. Darkling Beetle, Eleodes dentipes,
  18. Desert Cottontail, Sylvilagus audubonii,
  19. Eastern Fox Squirrel, Sciurus niger,
  20. Elegant Clarkia, Clarkia unguiculata,
  21. European Starling, Sturnus vulgaris,
  22. Goldwire, Hypericum concinnum,
  23. Great Egret, Ardea alba,
  24. Greater Periwinkle, Vinca major,
  25. House Wren, Troglodytes aedon,
  26. Italian Thistle, Carduus pycnocephalus,
  27. Katydid nymph, Microcentrum rhombifolium,
  28. Miniature Lupine, Lupinus bicolor,
  29. Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura,
  30. Oak Apple Wasp Galls, Andricus quercuscalifornicus,
  31. Oak Titmouse, Baeolophus inornatus,
  32. Olive Tree, Olea europaea,
  33. Pacific Pond Turtle, Western Pond Turtle, Actinemys marmorata,
  34. Painted Lady Butterfly, Vanessa cardui,
  35. Pinacate Beetle, Eleodes pimelioides,
  36. Red Harvester Ant, Pogonomyrmex barbatus,
  37. Red-Shouldered Hawk, Buteo lineatus,
  38. Red-Tailed Hawk, Buteo jamaicensis,
  39. Rusty Tussock Moth caterpillar, Orgyia antiqua,
  40. Spittle Bug, Meadow Spittlebug, Philaenus spumarius,
  41. Spotted Towhee, Pipilo maculatus,
  42. Swainson’s Hawk, Orion, Buteo swainsoni,
  43. Tree Swallow, Tachycineta bicolor,
  44. Wavy-Leafed Soap Plant, Soaproot, Chlorogalum pomeridianum,
  45. Western Gray Squirrel, Sciurus griseus,
  46. Winter Vetch, Vicia villosa,
  47. Wood Duck, Aix sponsa,