Night on Froggy Mountain, Skyline Ridge

2/24/12, Friday, was warmer than on our scouting hike. The temperature ranged from about 63F down to 55F. The sky was clear, but got partial clouds later. Out of 31 people who made reservations or were on the waitlist, 13 canceled, 11-16 expected, only 4 showed up, including a friend of one of the two docents (JW and LE) who joined us.

We started off at 4:40. We stopped at the northwest corner footbridge of Alpine Pond, and found a pair of newts in amplexus. Rounding the corner, we stopped to check the view, and found a male Bufflehead, Ring-necked Duck, and a female Hooded Merganser sharing a resting spot. Red-winged Blackbirds were singing, and one treefrog called briefly.

At 5:00 we came out into the open on Ipiwa Trail. A coyote, presumably the same one that we’d seen on the 18th, patrolled the ridge, and a few deer were downhill. We examined the various animal scats along the way. It was clear enough to see the ocean as we approached the overlook. We turned left to have dinner at 5:20 along the wide trail above, deciding not to disturb the curious deer ahead of us by making another left. Three heads peered over the rise of the trail, and a few browsed to the north.

Sunset over Ipiwa

Close to 6:00, around sunset, we proceeded back down to the overlook and around the chaparral. Silk Tassels were showing tassels, manzanita had blossoms, and buckbrush was in bloom and fragrant. We stopped to have a sniff of a Holly-leafed Cherry (Prunus ilicifolia) leaf, which smells like almond. According to the USDA, native peoples did use parts of this tree as food and medicine, prepared properly. Parts are toxic, and the leaves contain hydrocyanic acid (explaining the smell). A question came up about other organisms with cyanide, and I mentioned the millipedes we often see. We also had a discussion about  using wild plants (in places where it is legal to collect/pick) for food, and the possible dangers of doing so.

We heard a Great-horned Owl briefly; as we waited unsuccessfully for more calls, a pair of Wrentits in the shrubs near us had a long twittering conversation.

At 6:15 we reached the Sunny Jim intersection, and at 6:40 we stopped before turning right to go to Horseshoe Lake. Venus, Jupiter and the crescent moon were up. A bat or two flew by. [edit: There was also a brush rabbit who, in typical rabbit style, remained mostly motionless even though out in the open with eyeshine reflecting off my red flashlight. ] We could hear the treefrogs calling, and we played calls of Sierran Treefrog and California Red-legged Frog for the participants. Someone asked about bullfrogs, and we explained that they aren’t native here in California, and eat the native frogs and other animals.

This time we walked along the shoreline trail, but in one spot that was accessible, I didn’t see any newts or frogs. We went back to the bridge, and while some were star watching, I checked the area below the bench. There were a couple of newts in the water, but I couldn’t find any treefrogs visually, despite a few of them calling from nearby. The bulk of them seemed to be calling from the other sides of the lake, and many more called than on Saturday. It was far short of being deafening though. KG spotted a large owl flying by high overhead.

It took from 7:20 to 7:40 to get back to the big intersection, then to 7:55 to the overlook. We found newts still in land phase, around four from here back into the woods. One, near the overlook, was right next to a very cold banana slug. It had gotten windy, and we didn’t hear any more owls.

We looked for the small dirt turret with two beetle larvae holes, and found those along with some nearby small, fluorescent honey mushrooms. There were around seven Polydesmid millipedes (probably Xystocheir dissecta taibona, common in Santa Clara County according to Rowland Shelley). The first one was in the area that we had stopped at, and I picked it up to show. This one felt threatened for some reason, as it released defensive secretions, a brown goo. Someone remarked that it had pooped, so being me (and knowing that some millipede poop looks like pellets), I smelled it to see if it had the odor of almonds. It did, so everyone had a sniff. It was a nice connection to the Holly-leafed Cherry. These millipedes don’t have eyes, and they produce hydrogen cyanide.

Back at the Alpine Pond crossroads at 8:45, we went around the east side this time, stopping at the deck to try for bats over the water, without luck. Some frogs called.

We arrived back at the lot a bit before 9:00.

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See  Secret Weapons: Defenses of Insects, Spiders, Scorpions, and Other Many-Legged Creatures , page 43, by Eisner for more on millipedes and cyanide.

Skyline Ridge OSP, Alpine Pond to Horseshoe Lake

Despite the temperatures reported by a couple of websites, it was chillier in the Russian Ridge parking lot. KG and I scouted a new route for our frog hike. We talked to the ranger for a while, then crossed over to Skyline Ridge at 5:00.

We noticed that much of the cattails seem to have been removed along the east side, leaving a clear view of Alpine Pond. A Wrentit called softly from the top of some remaining cattails. We continued up the hill to Ipiwa Trail. We dawdled a bit by finding spider turrets and tiger beetle larvae burrows. One spider turret was decorated with lichen–not just stuck on the sides, but Usnea along the rim of the turret, clearly purposely arranged.

Six deer

As we came into the open grassland at 5:30, we heard a Great Horned Owl, and six deer grazed uphill. We weren’t perceived to be a threat, and one deer came down to graze on the trail in front of us. When the breeze was just right, I could hear her chewing. As I listened with my ear cupped, I couldn’t hear anything so I looked up to find the deer alert with ears forward, looking uphill. At the top of the ridge, a coyote intently watched something unseen. It made its way downhill through the oats, finally making its way to the curve of the trail. The deer had moved uphill by then. The coyote looked over its shoulder three times at us while continuing up the trail.

Some scratching caught our attention; the outline of a Spotted Towhee’s kicking revealed duff flying in the air behind it. Two California Towhees joined it nearby.
When we reached the intersection near the overlook, an unexpected newt crossed the trail, heading downhill. Even more surprising was a banana slug in the middle of the trail, and another on the side. A few more steps past the overlook, and another newt had already crossed the trail, also heading downhill. Both newts’ eyes popped out from the outline of the head when viewed from above, and they had bumpy skin, probably making them California  Newts.

At 6:15, we reached the big intersection with Sunny Jim Trail. As we approached, a few deer pronked away down into the woods. We wondered if they were the same ones we saw earlier. We turned right down the hill to the lake. It was past sunset by 25 minutes. One or two treefrogs gave land calls as we hiked down.

Arriving at the bridge at 6:40, we decided to sit and eat. My small thermometer said ~40F. I hadn’t put my light gloves on for a while, so my hands were cold. A Northern Saw-whet Owl tooted distantly as we ate. Only one or two Sierran Treefrogs called from the water.

Half an hour later, we started off to check the water level at the footbridge. It seemed more open here as well. I checked the water at a few places along the trail, but didn’t see anything in it. In one spot by one of the benches, a bat flew over the water in the beam of my flashlight. We found a few fluorescent millipedes under UV. The footbridge now has railings, something added since the last time I was there. There was no water below, so we turned around.

As we hiked uphill the way we’d come, a coot grunted, a few more frogs called, and a Barn Owl shrieked. It was far enough away that we couldn’t hear the entire range of the call; it sounded more like one note. Out in the open, Jupiter and Venus were bright in the western sky, and Mars in the east. There was no moon, but the ambient light made it possible to walk without flashlight much of the time. However, we didn’t want to step on anybody crossing the trail, so we had our lights on most of the time.

As we headed toward the chaparral, Great Horned Owls called from the canyon. When we rounded the corner, we heard more, as well as another Saw-whet. A Western Screech-owl joined the chorus. I wanted to record that, but my batteries weren’t cooperating and by the time I got things working, they had stopped. There was a lot of air traffic.

Entering the woods again, a couple of wailing calls came from the trees. It sounded like another Saw-whet, but I wouldn’t have expected one there. It wasn’t that far from where we’d heard the toots in the chaparral though. Here are some toots and wails from an owl at Gazos Creek.

I refound the spot where we’d seen some turrets, including one small undecorated one. A spider perched at the entrance, and two tiger beetle larvae waited at the mouth of their burrows for prey to stumble by. A few more millipedes showed up.

It was pretty quiet at Alpine Pond also; only a couple of treefrogs made themselves known. We didn’t have time to check out the water in other parts of the pond.

When we got back to the car, I noticed the back window was frosted. The paint felt icy, and when I looked at the top of the car, it had a pretty good layer. I had to scrape the front and back windows. When I got home, I checked the Alpine Road Weather Underground station, which said 36F. Some other La Honda temperatures said 46F, but given the icy car, at least some areas were that cold. Perhaps that’s partially why the frogs were relatively quiet.

More photos are here.

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Last year’s frog hike at Picchetti Ranch was cold also. You can read about that here.

Late Summer Eve in Open Space

On Friday night, 9/23/11, KG, JO and I led a group of 11 through Skyline Ridge. A few had been on night hikes, and all had been on hikes on these lands before. The weather was mild and warm, probably ~75F after dark. Some high clouds partly obscured the sky throughout the hike. We haven’t done a night hike here since 2008, and even though we added some trails that we don’t hike on much, we were able to keep with the schedule.

We set off at 5:45. There was a lot to look at on the first stretch: A patch with lots of tracks: two tracks of a mammal that we guessed was raccoon, small passerine tracks, perhaps made by a California Towhee hopping, larger walking bird tracks, probably quail, deer, and lizard scat. We looked at a lot of scat along the way–the hard, shellaced bobcat scat, furry coyote, and a few unidentified scats. There were many latrines. Frit flies, as usual at this time of year, bothered us.

We stopped to smell and look at plants along the chaparral area: Vinegar weed, yerba santa, yerba buena, pennyroyal, holly-leaf cherry, skunkweed, silk tassel, seeding chamise, sagebrush, mugwort.

We had dinner on the trail above the overlook that leads down to the water tank. The quail flock farther down the trail was also having dinner, like they did on our scouting trip. While we ate, a curious deer popped its head above the quail flock from down trail. Dampwood termite alates fluttered around.

Sunset

Some heard a Western screech-owl as dusk fell. Lots of harvester ants busied themselves, and we saw two bumble bees and some dragonflies.

We found two centipedes (not stone centipedes) on the downhill past the intersection. We managed not to miss an Iridium satellite flare.

Centipede

A Jerusalem cricket and Calisoga spider showed themselves on the way to the lake. We looped Fir Knoll, finding many forest scorpions. KG and I found a large moth by its pink eyeshine, but it was too far off the trail in a tree to see clearly. It seemed to be about the size of a sphinx moth, but was perched vertically. As on the first wooded section in the beginning of the hike, there were a few small orb weavers, plus jumping bristletails.

Circling around the back of the lake didn’t produce much except for a large spider hole in the middle of the trail, with a flat collar of live oak leaves (two days later in the daytime, we weren’t able to find the hole). On the way back from the equestrian lot, a large wolf spider carrying babies crossed the trail. I haven’t seen one that large with babies in a long time, last probably at Long Ridge.

Birds seen/heard: Band-tailed pigeon, CA quail, ducks (probably mallard), western screech-owl, wrentit, Bewick’s wren, western scrub-jay.

We arrived back by 10:30.

Here are more photos.

Skyline Ridge OSP

KG, PB and I scouted for an upcoming night hike on 9/12/11. We haven’t done a night hike here since 2008, so I was curious to find out what we might see.

We left the lot at 5:45 p.m. I spotted something out of the corner of my eye: a snake skin, left coming out/going into a hole in the ground. Nearby, across from some buckwheat, something with orange, and dark eyes, fled into a hole. It backed up, so I didn’t get a look at it myself.

It was quiet, with no other people around. We got to the intersection at 6:15, and continued through to the chaparral area. We hadn’t decided on a dinner spot, so we checked out the grassy area to the right from the overlook. The grass was flattened, with rabbit and other scat around. We decided to go back to the left side, and eat on the trail that leads past the water tank, arriving there around 7:00.

View from he chaparral area

After dinner and watching the sunset, we headed across the ridge and down the steep trail back to the first intersection (8:00).

We reached the lake bridge at 8:30. We went up Fir Knoll. In the dark, it was a little difficult to navigate since parts of the trail were covered with leaf duff. We found a few scorpions on the trail banks, and heard various owls. We found a katydid and took photos. I decided after we took a few steps to go back and take a lateral view; then I noticed that it was ovipositing.

We spent half an hour there, which made it questionable to continue around the back side of the lake when we finished the loop. We decided to take the lakeside trail back since it was 9:55. We got back to the lot with some time to spare, so we checked out the hole that we’d found previously–no action, though.

Photos are here.

What’s Bugging You?

JO, KS and I led a spider and insect hike at Skyline Ridge, starting from the Russian Ridge lot, on 5/28/11. We started at 10:00, and had 12 participants at max, including two 6-8 year-old kids. There were a few newbies. The sky was clear and it was a little warmer than on our prehike, but the breeze on the ridge was on the nippy side. The lot wasn’t full despite the footrace event (somehow, the same timing  happened last year), and two couples joined us late.

At the pond picnic tables, we swept the grass and found soldier beetles. We were there for a while, and continued on the lower trail past the nature center towards the restroom. Someone spotted an Ellychnia californica (California Glowworm) adult male on the ground; we’d seen one on the fence near the nature center on our scouting trip. Multiple ticks held onto the sign post–7 on our scouting hike. The poison oak by the bathroom had a lek of Adela septentrionella (fairy moths) bouncing over it.

Continuing uphill, the trashline weaver  that we’d seen on our scouting trip wasn’t apparent.

We turned right on the Ipiwa/Ridge Trail. We looked at a small solitary bee and a (probably) Woodland Cicada. Out in the grassland, we snagged a hovering fly. This seems to be a good year to see queen bumble bees looking for nest sites. A small click beetle performed for some people.

We had lunch at the bench around 12:30 or 1:00, and two couples had to leave. The kids were getting fidgety, so that family went ahead. We had an insect tool demo while we ate.

Turning up the hairpin turn near the overlook, it got more windy. It wasn’t as cold up there as it was on our scouting trip. We stopped at the oaks to look for Timema, an atypical walking stick, and found some. Along the trail, we crossed paths with a green and pink grasshopper, probably Painted Meadow Grasshopper. We caught a large queen Bombus vosnesenskii for people to see.

We proceeded down to the water tank and curved right. We didn’t come across the flying booklice or the caterpillars from the scouting hike. Sierra Dome spiders were around, as usual. I found the headless carcass of a darkling beetle, and we pondered whether it was the victim of a grasshopper mouse. Past the ranger station area heading downhill we stopped at the woodpile on the left for a quick check, but found nothing.

We headed to the nature center and with a few minutes to spare, those who wanted to check out the center did so, and some stayed with us for a little hike review.

Here are photos from our scouting trip.

Arachnophilia!

JO, JH and I led a spider and insect hike at Skyline Ridge, starting from the Russian Ridge lot, on 5/23/10. We started at 1:30, went over a little arachnid anatomy, photos, and a Mexican tarantula exuvium show-and-tell until 1:50.  Around 13 participants joined us, including a 5-year old boy. There were a few newbies. The sky was clear, but the breeze was chilly. As on our scouting trip, one car left the lot as we pulled in to find the lot full. The road was not as packed with cars as on our scouting trip, but there was a footrace event that had started at 8:30.

At the pond picnic tables, large drone flies were visiting the non-native daisies as they were on our scouting trip. We were there for a while, and continued on the lower trail past the nature center towards the restroom. At the sign post were three ticks, one on the sign, and two on the grass at the base of the sign. There were four ticks there on our scouting trip. Pacific Forktails darted around the water on the side away from the pond. A few small black wolf spiders were in the leaf litter.

Continuing uphill past the restroom, a trashline weaver (Cyclosa) perched in its orb over some poison oak. A small green spider was in a web above that. Slightly uphill, a lek of male Adela moths fluttered above more poison oak as this year’s docent class hiked downhill towards us.

We turned right on the Ridge Trail. We found the turret on the trail bank that we’d seen on the scouting trip, but didn’t find the small spider and egg case nearby. On our scouting trip, there was also some growth? on the trailbank that looked like a toy tire. We aren’t sure what that was, a fungus or something else. Coming out of the woods, there were some red leaf galls on the oaks on the left.

A small black jumping spider was found in the grass. At an ant nest, there were not as many as on the scouting trip. A couple were carrying filaree seeds. There were bumble bees and more small bees in the poppies and composites, and close to the top was a stem sawfly in a composite. In a nearby poppy was a click beetle which I got in my hand, and it clicked to right itself. One Variable Checkerspot caterpillar was found. A big surprise was a Mountain King Snake seen by a few! It was on the move crossing the trail and disappeared into the brush quickly.

Mountain King Snake

Turning up the hairpin turn near the overlook around 4:00, it got more windy. We proceeded down to the water tank and curved right. More dome spiders were found at the first intersection, and a female trashline weaver in orb with two males on nearby twigs. Past the ranger station area heading downhill we stopped at the woodpile on the left. One of the two orbs in a log on the left was still occupied, and the spider reacted to my tuning fork twice. We talked about webs and different methods of catching prey. The old building had a cellar spider and an old mud wasp nest.

Propertius Duskywing

We headed straight to the other side of the pond and up the trail to Alpine Road. We arrived back at the lot around 5:15. Everyone enjoyed what we had seen, and the boy showed interest in everything we saw.

 

Spiders and their Kin

JH, JO and I led a hike at Skyline Ridge on Sunday 5/31. We had two other docents join us, as well as some “regulars,” one couple with kid who had been on our wildflower hike, and some new people who just happened to be up there. Ranger Loro also joined us for a little while. We doubled our count from last year and had 13 sign in, though two of the couples left early.

Thank goodness the sun was out, and it was warm, unlike on our scouting hike.

Fog on our scouting hike

The first sighting was a web in the bathroom, with no apparent occupant, but last year a Black Widow spider showed itself on a night hike. Also, a ladybird beetle pupa was stuck onto a post near the bathroom.

An Assassin Bug, grasshopper with blue legs and yellow wings, and a different bee fly from the one we saw on our bee hike. But this one also played dead when contained. Sheet-web spiders were abundant. Some small labyrinth spiders had orbs and labyrinths on a shrub.

Tree hopper

A spectacular White-lined Sphinx moth caterpillar along the trail, apparently browsing on Filaree, was a first. Then, a perched orange-red dragonfly, and then, another exciting find, a Windscorpion (Solfugid)!

The woods had a couple of Box-elder Bugs, another Assasin Bug, and finally, a small orb, the occupant of which was cooperative in running toward the vibrating tuning fork I held to the web.

Yellow Mariposa lilies were blooming, as well as a white Triteleia.

We spotted three Velvet Ants during the hike. Jumping Bristletails and a ladybird beetle larva were on the trail. In the chaparral, two Robber Flies were mating, and got back together in the container. The tiny black bees seen previously were still around, as were Checkerspot butterflies.

On the return from the chaparral, a coyote was almost hidden as it hunted downhill in the wild oats.

A couple more Stem Sawflies were found on California Buttercups. Walking back along the pond, honey bees continued to browse, and an orb weaver was almost hidden in the vegetation, next to a small web which seemed too small to belong to it.

Next time we do this we’ll have to have a more generic name. Lots of different arthropods; another great bug day.

See the photos from the scouting trip and the hike here.

Skyline Ridge OSP

It was pleasant with a breeze when DP and I arrived at the lot around 11:00. It got quite warm by the end, around 2:00. There was only one other car in the lot in the beginning, but quite a few when we returned.

We started up the usual trail that leads to the big intersection at the top of the hill. Ash-throated Flycatcher, Orange-crowned Warbler, a Wilson’s Warbler, Oak Titmouse, and (I think) a Black-throated Gray Warbler sang. Hutton’s Vireo also called.

Poppies, Lupine, Redmaids, Popcornflower, Owl’s Clover, Plectritis,  Royal Larkspur, light blue Baby Blue Eyes, Saxifrage, Checkerbloom, Douglas Iris and a light-colored Iris, Blue-eyed Grass, Milkmaids, Hound’s Tongue, Linanthus, Buttercups, Woodland Star, and a lone blooming Pacific Starflower graced the hills.

I wanted to compare what I’ve been seeing at my house in the way of insects and spiders, bees in particular. Not too much action at first, but we heard buzzing which caught our attention. It was a grayish bumble bee carrying orange pollen. It didn’t stick around for long, so I didn’t get a great look. Enough to tell it wasn’t Yellow-faced Bumble Bee.

Female mining bee (Andrena)

There were quite a few bee flies around, two or three different species, seen in all areas.
Just before the woods, there was a muddy area on the side of the trail. Some large dark bees (Osmia probably gathering mud) were entering holes in the bank.

In the woods, there were some small, red cuckoo bees (Nomada) checking out the trail bank.

Cuckoo Bee (Nomada)

Also there were some small yellow and black wasps (I think, since I didn’t see them close enough) with legs dangling. One small bee appeared to be carrying big bags of yellow pollen on its sides. To quote Dr. Ascher: “Andrena females have propodeal “corbiculae” consisting of long curved hairs on the lateral surface, enclosing a “basket” with sparser hairs (or none).
Thus equipped they can transport a lot of pollen.”
I was having a bad camera day, so this is a little blurry, but it shows the big pollen load.

A couple of small orb weaver spiders responded to my 440Hz tuning fork. One was hiding at the side, not in the middle of the web, but ran out at the prospect of prey.

In two separate places, two different darkling-type beetles tried to enter holes in the bank. One ended up with just his butt sticking out.

Beetle negotiating a hole

In an open area in the woods, there was an Adela moth feeding at Plectritis. And there were other small moths? fluttering around, white with dark iridescence on the forewings. They didn’t stop long enough for me to take a photo. In one spot, two pairs of dark insects appearing to be mating, were just flying around in circles over the trail. Various butterflies (what you might expect) fluttered around. The surprise was a green flash in the chaparral, which turned out to be Bramble Hairstreak (Callophrys dumentorum perplexa). From the way it flew, I thought it was a moth–I suppose that’s why the “perplexa”.

All in all, a productive day.

What’s ABuzz

JH, JO, and I led a bee hike on 5/16/09 at Skyline Ridge OSP. The weather was pleasant at around 10:00 a.m., and got very warm by 2:30 p.m. (enough to give me a heat headache). We had five participants including another docent. There was another hike going on at the same trailhead. Sadly, in the last part of the driveway was an Alligator Lizard that had gotten hurt and was writhing around. I moved it to the ground cover on the side, and it seemed to be expiring pretty fast.

Heading up the hill, there were flower beetles in the California Poppies. There were some small insects that were too difficult to catch, including what looked like a tiny bright green metallic bee. At the poison oak-covered elderberry, a wasp checked out the vegetation. There were quite a few mining bees (Andrena). We caught two separately and were able to see the pollen packed in the corbiculae, up to the bee’s “armpits”.

At the seep just before the woods, the good-sized blue-black mason bees (Osmia) were still active in the holes above the ditch, presumably gathering mud. A few bee flies also hovered around. The Osmia were very energetic in the container.

Mason bee (Osmia) showing mandibles

We got a bee fly (probably Bombylius Major) in the tube, and it played dead several times while we had it contained.

In the woods, there were a few red cuckoo bees (Nomada), but they were also difficult to catch. Some tiny cuckoo bees (Sphecoda) with red abdomens were numerous in spots. A few sheet web spiders kept the group busy.

Cuckoo bee (Sphecode)

The flowers we had seen on our prehike were still there, with the addition of Clarkia and Windmill Pink: Chinese Houses, Tomcat Clover, Owl’s Clover, Lupine, Woodland Star, Pacific Star, Madia, California Buttercup, Blue-eyed Grass, Plectritis, many Blow-wives, and Iris.

Birds: Black-headed Grosbeak, Purple Finch, Northern Flicker, Oak Titmouse, Red-winged Blackbird, and various warblers sang away during the hike.

There were many juvenile Western Fence Lizards along the way. Ladybird beetles were around throughout the hike.

We had lunch under the oak by the Rattlesnake sign, and after we’d eaten, went over a few more bee quiz questions.

Along the trail was a micromoth on a dandelion-type plant; it turned out to be a fairy moth (Adela, probably Flammeusella) with long antennae. On a different stem next to that moth was a crab spider (one of a few) which had caught another Adela. A large queen Yellow-faced Bumble Bee flew by, and a black and red assasin bug made itself available after a little chase. Either there was more than one, or that bug hung around in that area, as we also saw it on the return trip. There were a few bumble bees, but those too were surprisingly difficult to catch.

In the chaparral, Yerba Santa was blooming. There was some kind of caterpillar in a silk wrapper, next to a small spider. JO caught a snakefly, and the group got a good look at that. There was another small bee in another dandelion-type plant (a male Andrena), and another tiny bee, a small carpenter bee (Ceratina, subgenus Zadontomerus).

Small carpenter bee (Ceratina)

It was a little after 1:00 by then, so we turned around and headed back to the intersection. Turning right, we headed to the lake. A grasshopper was relatively easy to catch by dropping the net over it. It also was relatively easy to get in hand from the tube, to show the yellow wing color with matching tibia.

Butterflies:CA Ringlet, Variable Checkerspot, Propertius Duskywing, Western Brown Elfin up in the chaparral, some identified blues, an unidentified lady.

At the lake, we checked the area and observed the odonates (and grebes from the bridge. I walked to the bench to get something out of my pack, and found a big tick on my shoulder. It went into a bug box for the group to look at.

We took the lakeside trail back. At one spot, there were small insects fluttering around the buttercups. In the sun, their wings looked bronze. They had long, stick-like bodies, and would stick their heads deep into the flowers with their rear ends up. The larger ones were marked in yellow and black, and had yellow on their legs. These turned out to be stem sawflies, something new.

The last participant was entranced by the dragonflies and damselflies: Cardinal Meadowhawk, Pacific Forktail, Western Forktail, Blue Dasher, Western Pondhawk, a spotted Skimmer. A wasp or two visited the mud next to the water.

We got back to the lot around 2:40. A very satisfying bug day. (All insects were released after capture.)

See the better photos at: What’s Abuzz