Favoritos de aparrot1

This is the second of three types of "gall" on a single Ericameria ericoides bush (California Goldenbush):

A. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/159784180 This apparently undescribed gall seems to consist of five plate-like bracts much wider than a typical leaf but approximately the same length.

B. (this one) https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/159784447 Prodiplosis falcata (Goldenbush Bud Gall Midge)

C. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/159784834 In this case the terminal leaves are bound together to form a chamber for the larva. If you pick one apart you will find a caterpillar and a bunch of frass. Several people have made an observation of this gall and based on http://www.troplep.org/OCR%202001%20Holaritc%20Vol.%208%20Sup.%201%20Powell%20&%20Povolny.pdf (see p. 8 of publication, 12 of PDF) it is thought perhaps to be Gnorimoschema ericameriae in the Family Gelechioidea.
See also:

• https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/118745975

See notes https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/107933243

Anther tips not obtuse and anthers yellow-black.

Yellow patches at base of anthers.

Very interesting patch of Padre's Shooting Star restricted to a sunken circular area where it looks like two or three inches of soil was removed (See photos 5 & 6).

For once I got a clear view of the sinus appendages. For a view of the wide winged petiole see: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/107933538

Nice botany video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDaL02zJdTA&t=38s

https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=37885

• Calyx sinus appendages 0; calyx not enclosing mature fruit ..... P. membranaceum
• Calyx sinus appendages present; calyx enclosing mature fruit
• - Petiole narrow-winged; style 1–3 mm; seeds 1–2 mm ..... P. racemosum
• - Petiole wide-winged; style 4–8 mm; seeds 2–3 mm ..... P. auritum
• - - Corolla < 10 mm wide ..... var. arizonicum
• - - Corolla 10–30 mm wide ..... var. auritum

Recorded with Tascam DR-05X.
Edited with Audacity according to the recommendations in the following video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYqogvHYn28

High-pass Filter:
Frequency: 1000 Hz
Roll-off: 48 dB
Normalize Peak Amplitude: -3 dB
Silenced a few clicks.

The burl could be prominent but maybe not... it was under a lot of leaf litter.
Here is the path I followed on Jepson (Keybase CW) to get to ssp. crustacea:

• I did not see a burl, but the branches leading into the base suggested on (see photo #2 )
• Leaves with stomata generally only abaxially, surfaces generally differing in color and/or hairiness
• Old stem bark generally smooth or peeling, +- red {This gets it to A. crustacea}
• Plant erect, not prostrate; burls at base of main stem; leaf blades oblong-ovate to lance-oblong;
• Twig with short and long hairs
• Leaf abaxially +- nonglandular-hairy, not densely hairy; in age glabrous

Comments/disputes welcome as always!

I observed this mushroom on December 8th, three weeks ago ( https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/102822427 ) and decided to come back to see how it was getting along. Fortunately no one had disturbed it despite being in the center of a soccer field.

Collected in early 1990s. 4th image shows "windows" in shell arranged in two lateral rays. Animal is largely nocturnal, and avoids bright light by sensing light levels in part through these translucent areas.

Go out at dawn, and you'll see these limpets out in the open on rocks (as 1st image here: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/26303620); have a look at the same rocks after sunrise, and they will all be largely out of sight, tucked into crevices, or underneath overhangs, etc. (see 2nd image here: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/26303620)

Katydids (family Tettigoniidae) are also called longhorned grasshoppers. The nine species of Scudderia are the bush katydids. Males have distinctive tail plates that can be used to identify the species. All species lay their eggs between layers of leaves.
Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America. Eaton and Kaufman, 2006, p. 76-77.

I hiked up a knoll in Fort Ord National Monument above Guidotti bridge, through foxtails, to find 100+- Clay Mariposa Lilies.

Similar in appearance to Butterfly Mariposa Lily (Calochortus venustus) but WITHOUT the maroon spot at outer end of petal. These lillies were all growing on grassy foothills. Substrate is decomposing sandstone on a former marine terrace.

Taxonomy: Clay Mariposa Lily (Calochortus argillosus). Native plant in the Lilies (Liliaceae) family, and in the Mariposa Lilies (Calochortus) genus.

Jepson eFlora:
"Stem: 40--60 cm, simple, bulblets present. Leaf: basal 20--30 cm, withering; cauline reduced upward. Inflorescence: +- umbel-like; flowers 1--4, erect; bracts 2--8 cm. Flower: perianth bell-shaped; sepals 20--40 mm; petals 20--40 mm, +- rounded, white to purple or pale yellow, central red spot within pale yellow, sparsely hairy; nectary 1 crescent or chevron, not depressed, densely short-hairy; filaments not dilated at base, anthers purple, pink to yellow-white. Fruit: erect, 4--6 cm, lanceolate. Ecology: Hard clay from volcanic or metamorphic rocks; Elevation: < 800 m. Peak bloom: April-June. Note: Flowers highly variable, generally showy."
https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=76542

Monterey County Wildflowers: a Field Guide, Yeager and Mitchell, 2016--not listed
Plants of Monterey County: an Illustrated Field Key, 2nd edition, Matthews and Mitchell, 2015--not listed.
Flora of Fort Ord: Monterey County, California, David Styer, 2019--not listed
Monterey County Wildflowers, Trees & Ferns--not listed

See interesting discussion/comments re the Clay Mariposa Lilly in this location:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/49858393

Anole had been sitting on a green bush near Ciego de Avila, Cuba. He was returned safely to the same spot.

Allison's anole (Anolis allisoni ), also known as the blue-headed anole, is a species of anole. This lizard is found in Cuba (except the west and the far southeast), the Bay Islands and Cayos Cochinos off the mainland of Honduras, and Half Moon Caye off the mainland of Belize. This diurnal species is commonly seen on palm trunks and it feeds on invertebrates.

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I had the privilege November 17-26, 2018 to participate in the bi-annual Cuba Bird Survey with Western Field Ornithologists and the Caribbean Conservation Trust (CCT). Our guides were Kurt Leuschner, College of the Desert, Palm Desert CA, Dr. Luis M. Diaz, Curator of Herpetology at the Cuban National Museum of Natural History in Havana, Jon Dunn, editor of the National Geographic Field Guide to Birds of North America, and local natural history specialists in each region we visited.
I had the privilege again, January 4-14, 2023, to participate in the Cuba Bird Survey. We did find 25 of the 27 endemic Cuban bird species as well as many other interesting plants, animals, and people. Cuba is a beautiful country.

Hooded oriole. Chattering in blossoming grapefruit tree. First sighting of the season was yesterday when he was chattering in the blooming orange tree.

Hooded Oriole (Icterus cucullatus) Mostly yellow in color. Bill long and slightly curved downward. Males are more yellow-orange with black patch on throat. Both sexes have distinctive white bars on black wings. They seem to enjoy visiting hummingbird feeders. They also enjoy the nectar of sliced oranges attached to feeders.

National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of Western North America, ed. Jon L. Dunn, 2008, p. 396-397.

So cute and cuddly.

http://www.californiaherps.com/lizards/pages/p.blainvillii.html

Adults are 2.5 - 4.5 inches long from snout to vent (6.3 - 11.4 cm).
A flat-bodied lizard with a wide oval-shaped body, scattered enlarged pointed scales on the upper body and tail, and a large crown of horns or spines on the head. The two center horns are the longest. Males have enlarged postanal scales and a swollen tail base during the breeding season.
Females are larger in size than males. Each side of the body has two rows of pointed fringe scales. (Stebbins, 2003)
Each side of the throat has two or three rows of enlarged pointed scales. (Stebbins, 2003)
Color and Pattern
Color is reddish, brown, yellow, or gray, with dark blotches on the back and large dark spots on the sides of the neck.
The belly is cream, beige, or yellow, usually with dark spots, and the belly scales are smooth.

Activity: Diurnal. Active during periods of warm weather, retreating underground and becoming inactive during extended periods of low temperatures or extreme heat.

Range: Historically found in California along the Pacific coast from the Baja California border west of the deserts and the Sierra Nevada, north to the Bay Area, and inland as far north as Shasta Reservoir, and south into Baja California. Ranges up onto the Kern Plateau east of the crest of the Sierra Nevada. The range has now been severely fragmented due to land alteration.

Chuckwalla hatchling in Pushwalla canyon, 20 ft from the old rusted truck. I was standing on the trail having a drink of water. Chuckwalla ran under my hiking boot. I lifted my boot and picked him up. He was very cooperative and photogenic.

http://www.californiaherps.com/lizards/pages/s.ater.html