javiehweg's Journal
On that note. There's many Taraxacum species naturalized in the U.S. but they require keying out with fertile (flower AND seed) material. Here's a drive my friend made with all the literature if you want to get started: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1-8tska5SI5hT2u2JjlO5vSlfyBFogOiW
Here's just some links I found while trying to ID snails...
CA tide pools: http://californiatidepools.com/snails/
Management plan that includes species list: https://escholarship.org/content/qt4c57b1bc/qt4c57b1bc.pdf?t=p4tdhi
Document put together by the park: https://www.nps.gov/cabr/learn/intertidal-field-guide.htm
A. morbosa only grows on Prunus species. Apparently...
So if it looks like black knot but is on something else... what is it?
You'd think I would have gotten around to looking this info up sooner but here it is. I knew it had to do with the wing venation but not the specific to look for. So, taking pics, try to get good ones of the wings. The hind wing is nearly impossible when they are landed but if possible, seems like the better determinant.
Ichneumonids are distinguished from their sister group Braconidae mainly on the basis of wing venation. The fore wing of 95% of ichneumonids has vein 2m-cu (in the Comstock–Needham system), which is absent in braconids. Vein 1rs-m of the fore wing is absent in all ichneumonids, but is present in 85% of braconids. In the hind wing of ichneumonids, vein rs-m joins Rs apical to (or rarely opposite) the split between veins Rs and R1. In braconids, vein rs-m joins basal to this split. The taxa also differ in the structure of the metasoma: about 90% of ichneumonids have a flexible suture between tergites 2 and 3, whereas these tergites are fused in braconids (though the suture is secondarily flexible in Aphidiinae).
They are tough, and there's also V. filliformis, though it's much less common. V. polita has hairs on the stems that are spreading and noticiably a mix of lengths. That's probably definitive.
Generally, V. persica flowers are nearly as large as the leaves, or at least as wide as the leaves, or more than 0.5 cm. V. polita flowers are definitely smaller than the leaves, not as wide as most of the leaves, and under 0.5 cm. V. persica has much longer flower stems, easily longer than the length of a leaf. V. polita stems tend to be shorter and they don't stick out a whole lot above the leaves.
Both of those have leaves clearly longer than wide and fairly densly bunched. If you find something similar with tiny, roundish leaves well spread out along the stem and flower stems like 4 times as long as the little leaves you probably have V. filiformis.
from srall on post by michaelmorris
Ironweed Curculio versus Cocklebur Weevil
from borisb
tip of elytra black (extent variable) = Rhodobaenus quinquepunctatus
tip red = Rhodobaenus tredecimpunctatus
"black tip" in quinquepunctatus may be reduced to margin, leaving a subapical spot isolated. This form is a look-alike.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/26708814
Catchweed has much narrower leaves, much more obovate (wide near the tip) than rough. Also rough almost never has more than 6 leaves in a whorl, catchweed usually does. In person catchweed is "grabbier" than rough, but that's subtle even if you have them side by side.
