Five (!) oak gall wasp species on adjacent leaves ;-)
Host: Vanessa atalanta
I think? She was valiantly stabbing tons of aphids on these infested bee blossom stems. A queen!
Western Lynx with prey dangling from orange tree via silk. I'm sorry for the fly, but I respect the arthropod circle of life and the Lynx's hunting ability.
Genus identification based on relative eye sizes and spinneret length. Species identification based on geographic data.
Hololena sp. set up a nursery in the left side of our kitchen sink. She's created an egg sac which she has decorated/camouflaged. She held still enough to do focus stacking on the second image.
Riparian area, willow and palm, from foliage
Adult male. Seems to have lost both pedipalps.
AI says it is as clueless as I am. It was very fast and I only got a couple of pictures before he escaped.
minute adult males found under granite slabs in shaded rocky canyon
Made a web over our small pond. Photo 1 is the underside of the spider.
Ovipositing on an Andricus atrimentus gall
Eggs on a sprout in a balcony garden
Female; confirmed via dissection.
Continuation of observations from 7/16/23 and earlier today (7/19/23). Emerged parasite wasps that originated in an potter wasp nest (around 20+ in the one pot, last picture) were released. Less than 5mm in size. Pretty docile and it appears the smaller males were already attached to females. A fascinating experience to watch the development of the pupa outside of the nest. Any insights on a more specific ID are welcome!
Very Large bee!
Male and female found in the same web mass under an old log. Both were collected and after some guidance the female was identified as C. angelena using Chamberlin and Ivie's 1941 revision.
The clincher was the long scape (or stylus in Chamberlin and Ivie 1941) on the epigynum - a defining feature of the genus. It was very close to both C. restricta and C. angelena, but the stylus is white in restricta and dark in angelena. C. angelena has also been found in California while restricta has not (supporting point).
According to the revision, members of this genus are very close in appearance to Agelenopsis, requiring a detailed look at the spider's reproductive structures to distinguish them. Interestingly, the male has never been formally described.
rocky river canyon habitat
shaded conifer rocky forest, in mineshaft
Can anyone ID what it is eating? Termite?
White Mountains, Mono County, California
Female pallid-winged grasshopper from California Valley, San Luis Obispo County, CA.
McGinnis Creek area, San Luis Obispo County, California
Pinnacles National Park, San Benito County, California
San Jacinto Mountains, Riverside County, California
Female fontana grasshopper from Chimineas Ranch, San Luis Obispo County, California
Male strenuous grasshopper from Santa Barbara County, California
Male pallid-winged grasshopper from Santa Barbara County, California.