Butterflies & Moths!

Common Sheep Moth - Hemileuca eglanterina

We came across this pair of Common Sheep Moths mating in the Lakes Basin this week, around 7,500' in elevation!  I've never seen these beautiful moths before, and their coloring was exquisite!  They were fairly large, with a wingspan of about 3". We watched them for a good 5 minutes and they were still mating when we left! Here's what butterfliesandmoths.org has posted about them.

"Adults emerge in early morning and mate in late morning. Females lay eggs in rings on plant stems. Eggs overwinter and hatch in April and May. Young caterpillars feed together in groups and when they are older they feed alone. Fully-grown caterpillars pupate in loose cocoons in the leaf litter or in burrows in soft soil, and adults emerge from July-September. At high elevations and northern latitudes, 2 years are needed to complete development. The cocoons overwinter and in the spring the adults emerge and start the cycle again.

Caterpillar Hosts: Mountain lilac (Ceanothus), mountain-mahogany (Cercocarpus montanus), bitter cherry (Prunus emarginata), bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata), snowberry (Symphoricarpos), currant (Ribes), wild rose (Rosa), willow (Salix) and others.

Adult Food: Adults do not feed.

Habitat: From sea level to at least 8400 feet in a variety of habitats including chaparral, pine and redwood forests, oak woodlands, and riparian areas."

Ceanothus Silk Moth - Hyalophora euryalus

Another local moth that I've seen in the past is the large Ceanothus Silk Moth.

These gorgeous adult moths are large, with a wingspan of 3.5"-5"! As adults, their primary purpose is to reproduce, and do not feed. After mating and laying eggs the adults soon die. Again, here's what butterfliesandmoths.org has posted about them.

 

"Life History: Females glue eggs singly or in clumps on leaves of the host plant. The eggs hatch in 9-14 days and the caterpillars eat leaves. The cocoon is spun in the outer part of the host plant and is attached to a twig by only one-half its length.

Caterpillar Hosts: A wide range of plants including buckbrush (Ceanothus), manzanita (Arctostaphylos), gooseberry (Ribes), madrone (Arbutus menziesii), willows (Salix), alder (Alnus), and mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus betuloides).

Adult Food: Adults do not feed.

Habitat: A wide variety of habitats including coastal areas, chaparral, and conifer forests."

Field Crescent - Hoffman's Checkerspot

Phycoides pulchella montana - Chlosyne hoffmanni 

 

There are many butterflies fliting around the Lakes Basin. They differ from moths in many ways.  Here are the basic differences:

 Butterfly vs. Moth

wings usually open at rest - wings usually closed at rest

usually diurnal - usually nocturnal

usually brightly colored - usually dully colored

usually have clubbed antennae - usually have "feathered" antennae

Adult butterflies spend most of their time searching for mates, laying eggs, feeding and resting. Males either search for mates or perch and wait for females to fly by. If another male comes near a perched male, they will often engage in an upward spiraling flight, after which the "intruder" usually leaves. If a female flies by, of the same species, the perched male will force the female to the ground to mate. Another method of perching is known as "hill-topping". 

Wikipedia states: "Males of many butterfly species may be found flying up to and staying on a hilltop - for days on end if necessary. Females, desirous of mating, fly up the hill. Males dash around the top, competing for the best part of the area - usually the very top; as the male with the best territory at the top of the hill would have the best chance of mating with the occasional female, who knows the "top male" must be strong and thus genetically fit. Studies have shown that even slight elevation differences on flat terrain can trigger hill-topping behavior. Flowering or tall trees may induce hill-topping behavior."

California Sister - California Tortoiseshell 

Adelpha californica - Nymphalis californica

Butterfly Facts

from butterflyconservatory.org

Wikipedia also states, "Butterflies have "complete" life cycles, with four different stages: egg, caterpillar (larva), chrysalis (pupa), and adult. The entire life cycle, from the deposition of the egg to the emergence of the adult, usually takes about a month for most butterflies. Each species of butterfly has a different adult life span. Some adult butterflies only live for a few days, while others live for a few weeks or even several months (if they experience dormant periods of diapause or hibernation). The average lifespan for most adults is one to two weeks.

Butterflies have compound eyes and simple eyes. They see very differently from us; they can see ultraviolet rays (which are invisible to us)."

Great Spangled Fritillary (female - male)

Speyeria cybele leto

"A butterfly's antennae, palps, legs and many other parts of the body are studded with sense receptors that are used to smell. The sense of smell is used for finding food (usually flower nectar), and for finding mates (the female smelling the male's pheromones).

A butterfly's feet have sense organs that can taste the sugar in nectar, letting the butterfly know if something is good to eat or not. Some females also taste host plants (using organs on their legs) in order to find appropriate places to lay their eggs. These receptors (called chemoreceptors) are nerve cells on the body's surface which react to certain chemicals. We have similar receptors in our nose and on our tongue."

Flooded meadow near Frasier Falls

Lakes Basin Meadows

One day last week we decided to check out the Lakes Basin meadows. To our complete surprise we found one of the meadows totally flooded!!!  Lots of trees had fallen in the area and possible some had created a dam across the far end of the meadow!  Unfortunately we didn't have time to check it out, but will in the near future!  The last time we had been there was last fall, when the meadow was completely dry and the aspens had golden leaves! 

Creek running through Howard Meadow, bordered with Yampah and Asters!

 The Lakes Basin has many lovely meadows ranging is size from a few to several hundred acres. Although they all have many things in common, each one is delightfully unique. I never know what I might discover whenever I walk out into one of them.  

Meadow at the edge of Upper Tamarack Lake filled with Paintbrush!

Apart from being gorgeous, meadows are a very important part of the sierran ecosystem. The following quote from https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS

briefly summarizes their benefits to the environment.

"Besides supporting species not found elsewhere, meadows do many other things. They filter sediment from water flowing from surrounding slopes—providing clean water for wildlife and healthy habitat for aquatic animals that live in lakes and streams. Meadows provide an important breeding ground for invertebrates (such as insects), a key food source for many birds, amphibians, and reptiles. Meadow plants also provide food and habitat structure for small mammals that, in turn, provide an important prey base for raptors, coyotes, and other predators. Meadows are sponges, absorbing water as snowpack melts and holding that water like an underground water tank. By holding the water in the mountains, the risk of flooding in the Sacramento Valley is reduced significantly. Then, later in the summer, this stored water feeds the many streams and rivers in the mountains, so they continue to flow during the long dry summers."

Meadow off FS Road 09 filled with Yampah, White Brodiaea, and Mallows!

In the book Sierra Nevada (1970) the author, Verna R. Johnston, writes a delightful account of the wildlife that inhabits sierran meadows, including Pocket Gophers, California Moles, voles, Aplondontia, shrews, Coyotes, bats, deer, weasels, songbirds, and raptors! It is a fascinating account of the complex ecosystem of a meadow. I highly recommend her book! The following quote is her introduction to the subject of mountain meadows.

"This inherent rhythm, unique to each species, is very evident among the animals of the mountain meadows. Thousands of meadows, varying from small seepages to spacious ranches, intersperse the midmountain, higher mountain forests. Each, in an unmatched setting of its own, is a serene open place where morning dew hangs heavy on the grass and sedge, midday sun dazzles, evening's coolness brings the deer. But each is much more than grass, wet soil, wildflowers, deer at twilight. Each is an interlaced community of plants and animals whose lives affect each other intimately the year through, often in ways that barely show above the surface."

Meadow near Mud Lake filled with Paintbrush and Fireweed!

The meadows this year have been filled with thousands of flowers, more than I've ever seen before! Some of the meadows are starting to dry out, but the meadows at the higher elevations are still in full bloom! Such beauty!

Damp Earth Art

It was very HOT this week, but the smoke has diminished from the Oak Fire. Hopefully more rainstorms will come soon. We really need them. Please join me in my continuing hope for precipitation! Perhaps our collective efforts may help it happen.

I'm going to keep posting rain inspired writings, art, etc. on my blog at dampearthart.blogspot.com. Any submissions would be greatly appreciated.

Wishing for peace in Ukraine and

an immediate end to this senseless war!

What are my neighborhood songbirds doing?

What's happening in Sierra Valley?

Check back next week for the answers to these questions and more!

Unfortunately, you can no longer sign up to get my blog via email. Just go to northyubanaturalist.blogspot.com directly. It looks better than the emailed version!

Your questions and comments are greatly appreciated. Please feel free to email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com. Thanks!

A Few Mammals!

Yellow-bellied Marmot - Marmota flaviventris

I lucked out this week and spotted a Yellow-bellied Marmot near 8,000' in elevation! It was in one of the wildflower-covered, rocky slopes in the Lakes Basin. We were able to watch it for a minute or more until it backed off the boulder it was on, and disappeared into the bushes. How cool!!!  I don't see Marmots very often, and this is the first one I've seen this year!

Yellow-bellied Marmots are the most common large rodent in the Sierra, and generally live underneath rocky talus slopes from 5,400' to 14,000' near vegetated meadows. They can often be seen perched on a boulder. If threatened, they make a very loud chirp that you can hear from quite a distance. The main predators of Marmots are coyotes, followed by badgers, martens, bears, and Golden Eagles.

Yellow-bellied Marmot - Marmota flaviventris

Most marmots reside in underground colonies of about ten to twenty individuals, consisting of males, females, and their offspring. Their underground tunnels have many side passages, in which they raise their young, hibernate, and hide from predators. There is only one breeding season per year, which starts two weeks after they wake up from hibernation. The males mate with up to four females in a season. The females give birth to 4-5 pups, after a 30 day gestation period. The pups are born in April or early May, and are blind and naked at birth. Within two months they are weaned and can forage for food, consisting of plant material, insects, and bird eggs.

The young marmots remain with their mother until the following summer, even hibernating with her. Marmots hibernate for approximately eight months starting in September and lasting till May. In the Fall, they put on a layer of fat that sustains them through hibernation. During hibernation, young marmots will lose up to 50% of their body fat! The male of the harem drives out the male offspring upon their awakening from hibernation. Female offspring are allowed to remain in the harem. The young males then dig their own burrows and start looking for female mates to start their own harem.

Gray Fox - Urocyon cinereoargenteus

The fox I saw near our garden just a month ago is still around!  One morning, I was heading down to the river when it jumped out into the field ahead of me!  It was obviously very accustomed to humans as it didn't run away, and eventually laid down!  What a surprise!!! It was squinting because it was facing right into the sun.  It posed for a minute or so, until I moved and scared it off.  How lucky it was to closely watch this beautiful Gray Fox!  The colors in its fur really camouflaged it in the field of dried weeds!

Gray Fox - Urocyon cinereoargenteus

I have written about Gray Foxes many times in my blog.  Just type in "Gray Fox" in the "Search this Blog" bar on the upper right corner of this page, to find out lots of information about them.

Striped Skunks - Mephitis mephitis

 Early one evening, I saw an adult female skunk with three young skunks in our kitchen yard!  The light was fading and they moved quickly, so I didn't get a great photo.  I haven't seen young skunks before, and they were so cute!!! However, I didn't get close!

If a skunk raises its tail, it's time to beat a hasty retreat! The highly potent musk of skunks, keeps most predators away! When approached by a predator, they raise their tail, then they stamp their front feet vigorously and hiss and growl. If those actions don't deter the predator, they will quickly present their hind end and spray musk. They can spray up to 12 feet away, with accuracy! Most predators don't come back a second time, once they've been sprayed!

  Skunks live in dens year-round. They have been known to make their dens under woodpiles, buildings, concrete slabs, and rock piles. Their dens have also been found in hallow trees, rock crevices, and abandoned ground-squirrel and fox dens! Skunks use their dens year-round. Skunks will often share a den with

other skunks. They don't hibernate, but go into a state of torpor, in which their body temperature drops and they fall into a deep sleep. To stay warm during winter weather they plug the entrance to their den with dry leaves and grass.

Striped Skunks breed from February through April. Males will mate with several females. Once mating has occurred, the males are not welcomed by the females. The gestation period is 59 to 77 days. Sometime in May, the females give birth to a litter of 4-7 kits. After 6-8 weeks they are weaned, and begin to hunt with their mother! By July or August, young males begin to disperse and become independent. Their sisters will typically remain with their mother for almost a year.

Skunks have poor eyesight, but like many nocturnal animals they have highly developed senses of hearing, touch, and smell. They are omnivores, and eat mice, gophers, voles, rats, birds & eggs, beetles, beetle larvae, caterpillars, fruit, nuts, carrion, bird seed, some garden produce, and even pet food!

Leopard Lily - Lilium pardalinum

Lakes Basin Birds & Blossoms!

There are several small aspen groves scattered in the Lakes Basin.  Right now, one of my favorite groves is filled with blooming Leopard Lilies, Monkshood, Paintbrush, Mallows, and Groundsel!  Blues, oranges, purples, yellows, pinks, and whites accent the chest-high green growth of grasses and forbs below the aspen trees! It's a kaleidoscope of colors!  We lucked out the morning we walked through the grove, as there were a few clouds blocking the sun and the light was incredibly beautiful!

Leopard Lily - Arrowhead Butterweed

 Lilium pardalinum - Senecio triangularis

I have always called the yellow flowers in the above picture "Groundsel".  However, it has recently been renamed "Butterweed".  Luckily the scientific name hasn't changed!  Hopefully my senior brain will keep all this straight!

Mountain Bluebird (juvenile) - Western Tanager (male)  

White-headed Woodpecker (male)

 Sialia currucoides - Piranga ludoviciana - Picoides albolarvatus

Many species of birds raise their young in the Lakes Basin.  The Western Tanager has traveled the farthest of the three birds pictured above.  It overwinters in southern Mexico/Central America, and breeds in the Sierra in the summer, a one-way distance of more than 2,500 miles!

Monkeyflower sp. - Erythranthe sp.

Although the common name for these Monkeyflowers hasn't changed, their scientific named has been changed from "Mimulus" to "Erythranthe"!  There are lots of different Monkeyflowers and I couldn't identify these precisely.

Red-breasted Sapsucker (juvenile) - Rock Wren (adult)  

Mountain Bluebird (male)

 Sphyrapicus ruber - Salpinctes obsoletus - Sialia currucoides

Of the three birds pictured above, the Rock Wren is the most uncommon.  In fact it is rare at the elevation I observed it (7,500').  It was calling/singing loudly from a rocky perch.  There were two of them on the same rock, so they were probably a mated pair!

Western Monkshood - Aconitum columbianum

These aptly named beautiful flowers are poisonous!  In fact all parts of this plant are very toxic and potentially fatal!  So admire it without handling it!  Native Americans used the plant juice to make poison arrowheads!

Chipping Sparrow (juvenile?) - Yellow-rumped Warbler (male) - Cassin's Finch (male)

Spizella passerina - Setophaga coronata - Haemorhous cassinii

The bird on the left above may not be a Chipping Sparrow.  I have submitted my photos to inaturalist.org and should have an answer within a few days.  It was a lovely little bird that posed for me in the willows bordering a wet meadow.

Oregon Checker Mallow - Sidalcea oregana

These pretty pink Oregon Checker Mallows have recently blossomed in the wet meadows.  It's interesting how they grow in tight groups of 10 to 100 or more.

Chipping Sparrow - Mountain Chickadee - White-crowned Sparrow

 Spizella passerina - Poecile gambeli - Zonotrichia leucophrys

I love hearing the birdsong of all these lovely, little songbirds!

Slender Beardtongue - Penstemon gracilentis

This year there are thousands of these Slender Beardtongues in the Lakes Basin, more than I've ever seen before!  We came across a slope that was so packed with them that you couldn't even see the ground!  Their coloration is exquisite, changing from pink at the base to purple-blue at the mouth of the flowers!

Canada Geese - Branta canadensis

Waterfowl in the Lakes Basin

Almost every pond or lake in the Lakes Basin has some waterfowl living in it.  Earlier this year I saw lots of Canada Geese and their goslings in a VERY wet meadow.  I have checked the same meadow recently and only one family of geese is still in residence!

Bufflehead female with 7 ducklings - Bucephala albeola

In one lake around 6,500' in elevation, this lovely family of one female Bufflehead and 7 ducklings are in residence!  So fun to watch!

Bufflehead (female) - Bucephala albeola

I found two off-trail, un-named ponds that had one female Bufflehead each, 

but no ducklings.

Mallard female with 6 ducklings - Anas platyrhynchos

I've seen two families of Mallards in my wanderings!  Both families consisted of a female and six cute little ducklings!  How wonderful!

Mallard female with 6 ducklings - Anas platyrhynchos

Damp Earth Art

It was hot and dry this week. In fact this morning, we are filled with smoke from the Oak Fire down by Mariposa, CA.  Hopefully more rainstorms will come soon. We really need them. Please join me in my continuing hope for precipitation! Perhaps our collective efforts may help it happen.

I'm going to keep posting rain inspired writings, art, etc. on my blog at dampearthart.blogspot.com. Any submissions would be greatly appreciated.

Wishing for peace in Ukraine and

an immediate end to this senseless war!

What are my neighborhood songbirds doing?

What's happening in the wet meadows of the Lakes Basin?

Check back next week for the answers to these questions and more!

Unfortunately, you can no longer sign up to get my blog via email. Just go to northyubanaturalist.blogspot.com directly. It looks better than the emailed version!

Your questions and comments are greatly appreciated. Please feel free to email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com. Thanks!

Summer on the River!

North Yuba River - 7/6/22

It's been HOT this week, with the temperatures in the 90's, so I walked down to the river and spent the day! The river is low now, which is typical for summer, and easy to cross and warmer in temperature. "Our" swimming hole is just down the river a bit, and easy to get to.  The water was perfect, the air was clear, the sun was hot, and life was thriving!  I live in paradise!

The Swimming Hole - 7/6/21

There's a lovely piece of bedrock that has caused a nice depth to our swimming hole.  It is almost an island, with water on three sides, and I love to explore it every time I visit. This time I found lots of River Otter crayfish-filled-scat, two small snake skins, leopard lilies, and to my utter amazement a rare plant, Lewisia cantelovii! 

Cantelow's Lewisia - Lewisia cantelovii

I first saw this rare plant, Cantelow's Lewisia, about 5 years ago on the North Yuba Trail!  I was SO surprised to find it thriving at our swimming hole!  It is in the Montiaceae or Miner' Lettuce family.  The flowers are tiny, about as big as a fingernail, and white with fine magenta stripes!  The stems as red, 12" tall, super thin, and end in a basal rosette of succulent-like leaves.  They are related to Miner's Lettuce, Pussypaws, Red Maids, Spring Beauties, Sierra Lewisia, and Three-leaf Lewisia!  How cool to have this rare beauty right in our "backyard"! 

Sierra Mountain Kingsnake - Lampropeltis zonata multicincta

Another surprise was seeing a Sierra Mountain Kingsnake on my way to the swimming hole!  It was sunning itself out on the dry river rocks!  The red-black-white banding was strikingly beautiful!  I've only seen these snakes twice in my life, and one of them was dead!  They are not rare, but they are secretive and spend most of their time under rocks or logs.  These colorful snakes are harmless to humans.  They are constrictors and prey on lizards, snakes, bird eggs & nestlings, and small mammals.  

Sierra Mountain Kingsnake  (head section - mid section - tail end)

Lampropeltis zonata multicincta

I watched this one for a few seconds before it headed off among the rocks and eventually disappeared under one of them!  What a lucky sighting!  WOW!!!

Belted Kingfisher (female) - Megaceryle alcyon

The loud rattling calls of a beautiful, female Belted Kingfisher declared her annoyance with my presence at the swimming hole!  I could tell it was a female by the rusty band across her chest, which the male lacks. We have a male and a female that live on our section of the river year round. They are probably a mated pair. They feed mainly on small fish which they catch in shallow water.  I love these elegant, strikingly-feathered birds!

Spotted Sandpiper - Actitis macularius

I looked for young Spotted Sandpipers while I was at the swimming hole, but didn't see any.  The willows are thicker and more widespread than ever before, due to the lack of strong high-waters the past few winters, so the youngsters are probably just well hidden in all the vegetation.  I did see several adult Spotted Sandpipers, and got this fun photo of an adult performing an amazing one-legged neck-scratch!  Doesn't it look like it's enjoying it?!!

Common Mergansers - Mergus merganser

The Common Merganser population on the river has changed a little.  The family of 8 ducklings and their mother is doing fine!  They've gotten a LOT bigger, and I see them often on the river.  They sometimes spend the night on the two islands pictured above, and if I'm lucky I can photograph them waking up in the morning!

Common Mergansers - Mergus merganser

I don't usually see them down by the swimming hole.  I usually see them upriver, where there is a slow "pond like" part of the river in which they prefer to fish.  I love how they stay close together whether swimming, sleeping, or fishing!

Common Mergansers - Mergus merganser

The Merganser family with 5 ducklings and their mother, now consists of 3 ducklings and their mother.  The other two ducklings may be off on their own, or have become prey for another wild animal.  The 3 ducklings are definitely younger and smaller than the 8 ducklings pictured above.  They too stay together all the time in their family unit!

Common Mergansers - Mergus merganser

The merganser family of two tiny ducklings and their mother, now consists of one little duckling and its mother.  Again the other tiny duckling may be off on its own, or has become prey.  This duckling is indeed the youngest and littlest one on our section of the river. 

I find it so interesting that these three families have such differences in the age of the ducklings!  Perhaps the "oldest" family arrived the earliest on the river this spring, and the other females arrived later.

Canada Goose gosling - Branta canadensis

The Canada Goose population has changed as well.  I still see the couple that has no goslings, and the single goose that has two goslings.  The three geese, with two goslings must have moved on as I haven't seen them lately.  The goslings are almost full sized, but not quite!

Osprey - Pandion haliateus

I've been seeing an Osprey almost every day now on the river!  It has its favorite perches; the Cottonwood upriver, the Douglas Fir on the river bend, and the dead snag downriver!  I even saw it with a fish in its talons, but failed to get a photo!  They hunt by perching above a river or lake, scanning for prey, and then plunging down feet-first to catch a fish. They are the only raptor in North America that uses this method of hunting. The soles of its feet have scales with sharp points to help hold slippery fish.  I am so happy that it is back in our neighborhood!

Osprey - Pandion haliateus

It is so handsome!  The male and female are monomorphic, 

so I don't know if this is a male or a female.  So imposing!

Sierra Buttes and clouds

Damp Earth Art

It was hot and dry this week. Hopefully more rainstorms will come soon. We really need them. Please join me in my continuing hope for precipitation! Perhaps our collective efforts may help it happen.

I'm going to keep posting rain inspired writings, art, etc. on my blog at dampearthart.blogspot.com. Any submissions would be greatly appreciated.

Wishing for peace in Ukraine and

an immediate end to this senseless war!

What are my neighborhood songbirds doing?

What's happening in the Lakes Basin ponds and lakes?

Check back next week for the answers to these questions and more!

Unfortunately, you can no longer sign up to get my blog via email. Just go to northyubanaturalist.blogspot.com directly. It looks better than the emailed version!

Your questions and comments are greatly appreciated. Please feel free to email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com. Thanks!