Unknown Dragonfly
Right now it's raining and they're predicting a nighttime temperature of 26 degrees for tonight!!! We've picked all of our garden tomatoes, tomatillos, and peppers so they won't freeze. As soon as I finish this blog, I'm going down to pick an armload of zinnias, marigolds, Mexican sunflowers, and roses that won't survive the frost! How fun! The frost will probably put an end to the bothersome eye-gnats, as well as most of the insects in our garden and neighborhood! We are so thrilled that it's raining!!! It's been an incredibly beautiful Fall day!
I've been seeing dragonflies cruising through our garden lately. Usually I see them flying above the river. Maybe they're done laying their eggs underwater and have expanded their feeding territory!
Dragonflies are in the order "Odonata", which means "toothed ones"! Their sharply serrated mandibles earned them this name! They will catch an insect in the air, tear off its wings with their mandibles, and eat the prey while still flying! Dragonflies can move each of their wings independently and can fly in any direction, including sideways and backwards. They can also hover in one spot for a minute or more! Some dragonflies can fly fast, up to 18 mph! They can also fly long distances! One species of dragonfly holds the record for the world's longest insect migration, a distance of 11,000 miles!
Pacific Spiketail Dragonfly - Cordulegaster dorsalis
I found this dead dragonfly on our road and photographed its huge eyes up close. This dragonfly has blue eyes. Other species have brown, red-brown, black or green eyes. Dragonfly eyes have 30,000 facets and a near 360 degree vision! They also see in color, usually up to 4x more colors than humans see!
Widow Skimmer (male) - Libuella luctuosa
With over 1,000 species, Skimmers are the largest dragonfly family (Libellulidae) in the world. This Widow Skimmer can be identified as a male by the white patches on its wings. Females don't have the white patches. These dragonflies are found across the U.S., except for the Rocky Mountain area, and in parts of Mexico and Canada as well.
California Sister Butterflies - Adelpha bredowii californica
I've been seeing lots of California Sister Butterflies in our neighborhood and up in the Lakes Basin lately. The following information about them is from https://butterfly.ucdavis.edu/butterfly.
"California Sisters are a common species of oak woodlands. Most abundant in the foothills (Sierra and Coast Range/Bay Area) and lower montane zone. Glides back and forth along streambeds and roads; males perch on branches and foliage, frequently in oak. Both sexes visit mud puddles. (This is unusual; in most butterflies only males "puddle.") The female is larger than the male, with broader wings and a less pointed forewing apex. There is no variation in color and pattern. This butterfly has been shown to be mildly distasteful to birds. Two to three broods, flying March or April to November at lower elevations."
California Sister Butterflies - Adelpha bredowii californica
I came across this pair interacting with each other down by the river! I haven't found any literature on this kind of behavior, so I don't know if it was typical for these butterflies, or what they were doing, but it was fun to watch!
Common Checkered Skipper - Monarch - Orange Sulphur
Pyrgus communis- Danaus plexippus - Colias eurytheme
Battered Butterflies!
Butterfly adult lifespans range from 2 weeks to 9 months! By the end of their adult life their wings can be quite tattered! Right now most of the butterflies flitting around in our garden are looking pretty worn. Before it gets too cold, some will lay eggs that will overwinter. Some have already laid eggs, which have hatched into caterpillars. Some of these caterpillars will overwinter as caterpillars, others will overwinter in a chrysalis. Some butterflies even overwinter as adults!
Small Milkweed Bug - Yellow-faced Bumble Bee - Grasshopper sp.
Lygaeus kalmii - Bombus vosnesenskii - unknown sp.
These are few of the insects I watched this week in our garden. Check back next week to see which ones are still around!
Lesser Goldfinch - Pine Siskin - Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Carduelis psaltria - Spinus pinus - Regulus calendula
The Goldfinches and a few Pine Siskins are still feeding on the sunflower seeds in our garden. The Ruby-crowned Kinglets have arrived and are gleaning insects from the twigs and leaves of shrubs.
Red-shouldered Hawk - Buteo lineatus
To my delight a beautiful, adult, Red-shouldered Hawk was perching on the Alder tree in our garden one evening this week!!! It was only there for a few seconds before it took off. The light was low, so the photo is blurred, but you can still see the incredible feathering this raptor has! I've written about these hawks in past blogs, just type "Red-shouldered Hawk" in the search bar on the top right of this page to access more information about them.
Lodgepole Pines & Mtn. Spirea - Red Osier Dogwood, Willow, & dry grasses
Pinus contorta & Spirea splendens- Cornus sericea - Salix sp. & unknown sp.
Autumn in the Lakes Basin
We went hiking in the Lakes Basin twice this week to see the progression of the fall colors. We were delighted to find that the ground cover and shrubs had changed to golden-yellows, cranberry, rusty-orange, and red! Just incredible! In one area the Mtn. Spirea was an usual cranberry color. Along the shore of a lake, it was orange in color! Typically, Spirea turns yellow in the Fall.
Mtn. Spirea & Willow - Mtn. Spirea
Spirea splendens - Salix sp.
Black Cottonwood - Willow
Populus balsamifera - Salix sp.
In addition to Aspen trees turning yellow, there are lots of Cottonwood Trees that have turned to gold up in the Lakes Basin. One of the best areas to see them is in the Salmon Creek Campground, go soon before the leaves are gone!
The local willows are also in full Fall color! Beauty everywhere!
The lower angle of the sun, along with the wind, has been creating lots and lots of sparkles on the ponds and lakes.
They are also filled with gorgeous, colorful reflections, especially in the late afternoon. I found this lone Common Merganser on an unnamed, reflection-filled pond around 4:00 one day!
Such amazing colors everywhere!
Sugar Maple and Grizzly Peak - Raindrop Ripples
Damp Earth Art
Once again, the weather was sunny and in the 80's during the day, but a bit cooler at night. We're getting a little rain today and a slight chance of more rain is predicted for later this week. Fingers crossed! 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.
What insects are still out and about?
What's happening on the river?
Check back next week for the answers to these questions and more!
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Your questions and comments are greatly appreciated. Please feel free to email me at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com. Thanks!
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