המועדפים של dalemeister

(5) I don't know where she has been hiding these, but they (& the other 2 adults) were in my bay, so I'm assuming they are the ones that hatched here some time ago & then I never saw them again. Good to see they've all survived!

In the first two photos, the Boa is climbing a Muller’s Oak, headed towards an Oak Mistletoe. In the third photo, the Boa has reached the mistletoe, and then appears to settle down into a waiting mode.

These peanuts are far TOO GOOD to pack back to the den...I'm chowing down right here & now!!! I don't know if this is the same one that used to eat from my hand last year, but it comes right over to me as soon as it sees me out there, I have to watch that I don't step on him!

Note the dead mouse in the photos. This Scrub Jay attacked another Scrub Jay that had captured this mouse and then dropped it upon being attacked.
These photos show the attacker then retrieving its prey.

Feeding at California Buckwheat near Danialson Fire Road. Top view reddish brown in flight. Sunny day in the 70’s F. Probably subspecies Chalcis. This one definitely shows the Bronze sheen ID cue for a male ssp. Chalcis.

There were a few springs and Big Creek is nearby.

Vivid Dancer (Argia vivida) are flying insects in the Narrow-winged Damselflies (Coenagrionidae) family. Argia vivida vary in color, although they are typically associated with the bright blue coloration. Other variations include red, brown, or grey depending on the type of morph and temperature. Dancers (Genus Argia) live along flowing streams.

Immature female Vivid Dancers have beige coloration: Dragonflies and Damselflies of the West by Dennis Paulson, 2009, p. 167, plate 99.2
Link to confirmed observation of Vivid Dancer with muddy beige (less common) coloration: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/220585267 and https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/6615463

Dragonflies and Damselflies of the West by Dennis Paulson, 2009, Argia pp. 140, 156, 166, 180-183, table p. 142.

Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America, Eaton and Kaufman, 2006, p. 52-53.

BugGuide: https://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=argia+vivida

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Dragonflies and Damselflies: both are flying insects in the Order Odonata that are found near bodies of fresh water. Adults are highly aerial, larvae are aquatic, and all ages are strictly predatory. Damselflies are smaller and more slender-bodied than dragonflies. There are 130 species of damselflies in North America.

Field Guide to California Insects, by Kip Will, J. Gross, D. Rubinoff , J. Powell, 2nd ed., 2020, pp. 51-66.

Adult dragonflies are characterized by a pair of large, multifaceted compound eyes, two pairs of strong, transparent wings, sometimes with colored patches, and an elongated body. Dragonflies can be mistaken for the closely related Damselflies, but the wings of most dragonflies are held flat, outward at a right angle, away from the body, while damselflies hold their wings folded at rest, above, or parallel to the abdomen. Dragonflies are agile fliers, while damselflies have a weaker, fluttery flight.

BugGuide: Arthropods: Photos of Insects, Spiders & Their Kin (US & Canada), clickable categories or use search bar (scientific name): https://bugguide.net/node/view/3/bgpage

Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America, Eaton and Kaufman, 2006, pp. 42-53.

See INaturalist Project: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/dragonflies-and-damselflies-of-the-new-world

Dragonflies and Damselflies of the West by Dennis Paulson, 2009

Dragonflies and Damselflies of California by Tim Manolis, 2003

California Sister puddling by San Jose Creek in the Santa Lucia mountains. They have the most interesting eyes.

Link to fabulous Caterpillar photo/observation by INat @ earth_tide: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/207273140

California Sister (Adelpha californica) Some references call it Adelpha bredowii californica. It is a large butterfly in the Brush-footed Butterflies (Nymphalidae) with a wingspan of 2.5-3.0 inches. It is a puddler (sips minerals from moist sand or mud.) Habitat is oak woodland. Larval food plants are Live Oaks including Coast Live Oak and Canyon Oak. Adult nectaring favorites include California Buckeye, rotting fruit, and aphid honeydew. It has 2-3 flights per year, April-October. They are common in California, but can also be found in western Nevada and Oregon, as well as in northern Baja California. California Sister is unpalatable to predators.

Butterflies of Monterey County: A comprehensive guide to finding and identifying 91 species of butterflies in Monterey County, Chris Tenney and Jan Austin, August 2023, pp. 144-145.

eButterfly: https://www.e-butterfly.org/ebapp/en/species/profile/648

Butterflies of the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento Valley Regions, pp. 207-208, plate 24.

Butterflies and Moths of North America: "Identification: Superficially similar looking above to Lorquin's Admiral (Limenitis lorquini) but can be readily separated by the lower placement of the orange forewing patch and the blue lines on the ventral surface of the wings.
Caterpillar Hosts: Various Oaks (Quercus genus)
Habitat: Occurs in foothills and mid-elevation mountains in oak woodland and mixed coniferous forests, often along the edges of woods or in riparian canyons with small streams."

Butterflies and Moths of North America https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Adelpha-californica

Bug photographs from the U.S/Canada for I.D: https://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Adelpha+californica

Butterflies Through Binoculars: The West: a field guide to the butterflies of western North America, by Jeffrey Glassberg, 2001, pp. 192-193.
(calls it Adelpha bredowii)

Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America. Brock and Kaufman, 2003, p. 212.

Butterflies & Their Favorite Flowering Plants: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park & Environs, Lynn and Gene Monroe, 2004, p. 83.

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BUTTERFLY and CATERPILLAR (Annotated References):

In California, there are about 240 species of butterflies. There are more than 3,000 species of MOTHS, which represent 4 suborders in about 50 families. Butterflies have clubbed antennae, moths do not. Many moths are nocturnal, but not all.

Field Guide to California Insects, by Kip Will, J. Gross, D. Rubinoff , J. Powell, 2nd ed., 2020 (Lepidoptera, pp. 347-426)

Butterflies of Monterey County: A comprehensive guide to finding and identifying 91 species of butterflies in Monterey County, by Chris Tenney and photograher Jan Austin, August 2023 and companion website: https://www.montereybutterflies.online/

Glossary of Butterfly (and Moth) Terminology: https://butterfly.ucdavis.edu/resources/glossary

Butterflies of the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento Valley Regions: A Field Guide, Arthur M. Shapiro and Timothy D. Manolis, 2007

Law's Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada, John Muir Laws, California Academy of Sciences, 2007

eButterfly: (2115+ species) https://www.e-butterfly.org/ebapp/en/observations/explore

BugGuide: Butterflies and Moths (U.S. and Canada) clickable categories or use search bar: https://bugguide.net/node/view/57

Butterfly Wing Areas and Body Parts (diagram)
Butterflies Through Binoculars: The West: a field guide to the butterflies of western North America, by Jeffrey Glassberg, 2001, p. 40.

Butterflies Through Binoculars: The West: a field guide to the butterflies of western North America, by Jeffrey Glassberg, 2001

Butterflies and Moths of North America https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species_search

Butterflies of Central and Northern California, a laminated pamphlet (guide to common and notable species) by Jim Brock, 2023

Caterpillar Anatomy diagram and Butterfly Basics: https://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/butterfly/activities/printouts/caterpillarprintout.shtml Life Cycle of a Butterfly: Egg --> Larva (the caterpillar) --> Pupa (the chrysalis or cocoon) --> Adult.

Caterpillars: INaturalist Project https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/california-caterpillars

Puddling Party: There were over 2 dozen Pale Swallowtail butterflies puddling (sipping minerals from sand) in a 6‘ x 6‘ area next to San Jose Creek in the San Lucia mountains.

COMPARISON of 3 Swallowtail butterflies: Western Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio rutulus) COMPARED TO Pale Swallowtail (Papilio eurymedon) COMPARED TO Anise Swallowtail (Papilio zelicaon). All 3 are large butterflies in the Swallowtails (Papilioninae) subfamily and Swallowtails and Parnassians (Papilionidae) family.

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Western Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio rutulus a.k.a. Pterourus rutulus) is a large, native butterfly in the Swallowtails (Papilioninae) subfamily with a wing span of 2.75 - 3.5 inches. It is deeper yellow with narrower black stripes than Pale Swallowtail. It has 2-3 flights per year, March-October. It's a puddler where it sips minerals from wet or moist sand. It favors riparian canyons, city parks, and neighborhoods. Adult nectaring favorites include California Buckeye, Willows, Sycamore, Cottonwoods and garden landscaping plants.

Butterflies of Monterey County: A comprehensive guide to finding and identifying 91 species of butterflies in Monterey County, Chris Tenney and Jan Austin, August 2023, pp. 18-19. (Pterourus is the newer genus name used.)

(Note: Taxonomic name changes occur regularly following DNA discoveries. Tenny's excellent butterflies field guide follows the 2022 update to the Pelham Catalogue for both scientific and common name changes. For example, old name for Western Tiger Swallowtail is Papilio rutulus, Tenny uses newer Pterourus rutulus.
Butterflies of Monterey County: A comprehensive guide to finding and identifying 91 species of butterflies in Monterey County, Chris Tenney and Jan Austin, August 2023, p. 15.)

Butterflies Through Binoculars: The West: a field guide to the butterflies of western North America, by Jeffrey Glassberg, 2001, pp. 50-51.

Link to closeup profile views of Western Tiger Swallowtail: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/81632292 and https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/122248991 and top view: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/128078719

Butterflies and Moths of North America https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Papilio-rutulus

BugGuide: https://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Papilio+rutulus

Field Guide to California Insects, by Kip Will, J. Gross, D. Rubinoff , J. Powell, 2nd ed., 2020, pp. 424-426.

Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America. Brock and Kaufman, 2003, p. 22-23.

Butterflies & Their Favorite Flowering Plants: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park & Environs, Lynn and Gene Monroe, 2004, p. 22.

My favorite Western Tiger Swallowtail photo/observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/81631274

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COMPARED TO

Pale Swallowtail (Papilio eurymedon a.k.a. Pterourus eurymedon) Large, native butterfly in the Swallowtails (Papilioninae) subfamily with a wingspan of 2.75 - 3.5 inches. Pale Swallowtail has one flight per year, March - July. It is common in chaparral and canyons. Wings are long and narrow. Male forewing is triangular. Ground color is white in males and pale yellow in females. The black vertical stripes are broader than those of Western Tiger, and it tends to have more pointed forewings than Western Tiger, and the long tails have a half twist. it is often seen puddling for mineral nutrients in groups, with heads all facing in the same direction. Larval food plants include Coffeeberry, Alder, and Ceanothus. Adult nectaring favorites are Mints, Thistle, Yerba Santa, and California Buckeye.

Butterflies of Monterey County: A comprehensive guide to finding and identifying 91 species of butterflies in Monterey County, Chris Tenney and Jan Austin, August 2023, pp.20-21. (Pterourus is the newer genus name.)

Link to observation of large cluster of Puddling Pale Swallowtails: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/220613688 and https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/165606552

Butterflies of the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento Valley Regions, pp. 98-99, plate 2

Butterflies Through Binoculars: The West: a field guide to the butterflies of western North America, by Jeffrey Glassberg, 2001, pp. 50-51.

Butterflies and Moths of North America https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Papilio-eurymedon

BugGuide: https://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Papilio+eurymedon

My favorite Pale Swallowtail photo/observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/165606552

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COMPARED TO

Anise Swallowtail (Papilio zelicaon) is a large, native butterfly in the Swallowtails (Papilioninae) subfamily with a wingspan of 2.5 - 3 inches. It is smaller than Pale and Western Tiger Swallowtails. It has a black upper basal forewing with yellow bars, instead of alternating black and yellow tiger stripes. Yellow can vary from pale to deep yellow. Upper surface of hind wing has yellow-orange eyespot near tail with a round black center that is not connected to hindwing margin. Anal cell of hind wing is primarily yellow. It is a hilltopper where it is commonly seen on open, exposed hilltops. Larval food plants include native and introduced carrot family plants like fennel and poison hemlock. Favorite adult nectaring plants are native and non-native Thistles.

Butterflies of Monterey County: A comprehensive guide to finding and identifying 91 species of butterflies in Monterey County, Chris Tenney and Jan Austin, August 2023, pp. 16-17.

Butterflies Through Binoculars: The West: a field guide to the butterflies of western North America, by Jeffrey Glassberg, 2001, pp. 48-49.

Butterflies and Moths of North America https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Papilio-zelicaon

Field Guide to California Insects, by Kip Will, J. Gross, D. Rubinoff , J. Powell, 2nd ed., 2020, pp. 424-425.

My favorite Anise Swallowtail photo/observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/208895983

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BUTTERFLY and CATERPILLAR (Annotated References):

In California, there are about 240 species of butterflies. There are more than 3,000 species of MOTHS, which represent 4 suborders in about 50 families. Butterflies have clubbed antennae, moths do not. Many moths are nocturnal, but not all.

Field Guide to California Insects, by Kip Will, J. Gross, D. Rubinoff , J. Powell, 2nd ed., 2020 (Lepidoptera, pp. 347-426)

Butterflies of Monterey County: A comprehensive guide to finding and identifying 91 species of butterflies in Monterey County, by Chris Tenney and photograher Jan Austin, August 2023 and companion website: https://www.montereybutterflies.online/

Glossary of Butterfly (and Moth) Terminology: https://butterfly.ucdavis.edu/resources/glossary

Butterflies of the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento Valley Regions: A Field Guide, Arthur M. Shapiro and Timothy D. Manolis, 2007

Law's Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada, John Muir Laws, California Academy of Sciences, 2007

eButterfly: (2115+ species) https://www.e-butterfly.org/ebapp/en/observations/explore

BugGuide: Butterflies and Moths (U.S. and Canada) clickable categories or use search bar: https://bugguide.net/node/view/57

Butterfly Wing Areas and Body Parts (diagram)
Butterflies Through Binoculars: The West: a field guide to the butterflies of western North America, by Jeffrey Glassberg, 2001, p. 40.

Butterflies Through Binoculars: The West: a field guide to the butterflies of western North America, by Jeffrey Glassberg, 2001

Butterflies and Moths of North America https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species_search

Butterflies of Central and Northern California, a laminated pamphlet (guide to common and notable species) by Jim Brock, 2023

Caterpillar Anatomy diagram and Butterfly Basics: https://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/butterfly/activities/printouts/caterpillarprintout.shtml Life Cycle of a Butterfly: Egg --> Larva (the caterpillar) --> Pupa (the chrysalis or cocoon) --> Adult.

Caterpillars: INaturalist Project https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/california-caterpillars

Link to host plant Coyote Mint (Monardella villosa) https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/221378882

Gray Buckeye was the most common butterfly on our Big Creek butterfly survey today.
When approached from behind, the Gray Buckeye sometimes folds up its wings to display a “Predator Face.” Here's the closest I've come to catching that pose: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/218038685

Gray Buckeye (Junonia grisea) is a medium-large butterfly in the True Brushfoots (Nymphalidae) family. A.k.a. Peacock Butterfly, Grey Buckeye, or Western buckeye. It is found in North America, west of the Rocky Mountains. Like the common buckeye, the gray buckeye is a brown butterfly with eyespots on its wings that distract predators from its body. It has a characteristic flight of gliding between wing flaps. Larval food plants: Plantains, Snapdragons, Monkeyflowers, and others.
Gray Buckeye sometimes partly closes it's wing to make a "Predator Face" to scare off potential predators from behind. The photo I saw of that behavior looked like a "cat" face.

Butterflies of Monterey County: A comprehensive guide to finding and identifying 91 species of butterflies in Monterey County, Chris Tenney and Jan Austin, August 2023, pp. 142-143. and companion website to this field guide: https://www.montereybutterflies.online/

Bug photographs from the U.S/Canada for I.D: https://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Junonia+grisea

eButterfly: https://www.e-butterfly.org/ebapp/en/species/profile/17159

Butterflies Through Binoculars: The West: a field guide to the butterflies of western North America, by Jeffrey Glassberg, 2001, p. 190-191.

Butterflies and Moths of North America https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/junonia-grisea

Butterflies & Their Favorite Flowering Plants: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park & Environs, Lynn and Gene Monroe, 2004, p. 80.

Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America. Brock and Kaufman, 2003, pp. 206-207.

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BUTTERFLY and CATERPILLAR (Annotated References):

In California, there are about 240 species of butterflies. There are more than 3,000 species of MOTHS, which represent 4 suborders in about 50 families. Butterflies have clubbed antennae, moths do not. Many moths are nocturnal, but not all.

Field Guide to California Insects, by Kip Will, J. Gross, D. Rubinoff , J. Powell, 2nd ed., 2020 (Lepidoptera, pp. 347-426)

Butterflies of Monterey County: A comprehensive guide to finding and identifying 91 species of butterflies in Monterey County, by Chris Tenney and photograher Jan Austin, August 2023 and companion website: https://www.montereybutterflies.online/

Glossary of Butterfly (and Moth) Terminology: https://butterfly.ucdavis.edu/resources/glossary

Butterflies of the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento Valley Regions: A Field Guide, Arthur M. Shapiro and Timothy D. Manolis, 2007

Law's Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada, John Muir Laws, California Academy of Sciences, 2007

eButterfly: (2115+ species) https://www.e-butterfly.org/ebapp/en/observations/explore

BugGuide: Butterflies and Moths (U.S. and Canada) clickable categories or use search bar: https://bugguide.net/node/view/57

Butterfly Wing Areas and Body Parts (diagram)
Butterflies Through Binoculars: The West: a field guide to the butterflies of western North America, by Jeffrey Glassberg, 2001, p. 40.

Butterflies Through Binoculars: The West: a field guide to the butterflies of western North America, by Jeffrey Glassberg, 2001

Butterflies and Moths of North America https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species_search

Butterflies of Central and Northern California, a laminated pamphlet (guide to common and notable species) by Jim Brock, 2023

Caterpillar Anatomy diagram and Butterfly Basics: https://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/butterfly/activities/printouts/caterpillarprintout.shtml Life Cycle of a Butterfly: Egg --> Larva (the caterpillar) --> Pupa (the chrysalis or cocoon) --> Adult.

Caterpillars: INaturalist Project https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/california-caterpillars