Outdoors
Saturday, September 9, 2017
McKinleyvile Marksman
Posted By Jennifer Fumiko Cahill on Sat, Sep 9, 2017 at 2:49 PM
Turns out skeet shooting isn't necessarily a young person's game, at least according to Dan Jones. He ought to know — the 45-year-old McKinleyville native has just climbed to No. 1 in the national rankings by the National Skeet Shooting Association and he's on his way to compete against some 400 to 500 shooters at the U.S. Open in Chicago this week and another 1,000 or so at the World Championship (which he won in 2014) in San Antonio right after that.
Wednesday, August 9, 2017
Eclipse 2017: Humboldt Sits on a Partial Path of Totality
Posted By Kimberly Wear on Wed, Aug 9, 2017 at 9:28 AM
While we won’t get the full view, Humboldt County residents will still have some pretty good seats for one of the greatest celestial shows on earth when a total solar eclipse takes place Aug. 21.
At the height of the event visible here on the North Coast — where the maximum coverage will hit around 87 percent — the sun will appear as a glowing crescent sliver, much like a waxing moon, according to Ken Yanosko of the Astronomers of Humboldt club.
“It’s going to be a pretty good show, yes,” he says, noting that Mother Nature could still throw a wrench into the view, especially along our notoriously overcast coast. “Even for people who go to the path of totality it’s a gamble because you can always get clouds.”
Locally, the moon will begin taking its place in front of the sun at 9:01 a.m., according to the website Time and Date, reaching a near total eclipse at 10:14 a.m. and wrapping up the two hour and 34 minute display at 11:35 a.m.
Obligatory safety warning: As tempting as it may be, do not look at the sun without the proper gear. See safety tips to avoid eye injury and a list of approved eclipse glasses here, and instructions on how to make pin-point viewers here.
At the height of the event visible here on the North Coast — where the maximum coverage will hit around 87 percent — the sun will appear as a glowing crescent sliver, much like a waxing moon, according to Ken Yanosko of the Astronomers of Humboldt club.
“It’s going to be a pretty good show, yes,” he says, noting that Mother Nature could still throw a wrench into the view, especially along our notoriously overcast coast. “Even for people who go to the path of totality it’s a gamble because you can always get clouds.”
Locally, the moon will begin taking its place in front of the sun at 9:01 a.m., according to the website Time and Date, reaching a near total eclipse at 10:14 a.m. and wrapping up the two hour and 34 minute display at 11:35 a.m.
Obligatory safety warning: As tempting as it may be, do not look at the sun without the proper gear. See safety tips to avoid eye injury and a list of approved eclipse glasses here, and instructions on how to make pin-point viewers here.
Sunday, April 16, 2017
HumBug: Dragons and Fairies
Posted By Anthony Westkamper on Sun, Apr 16, 2017 at 3:20 PM
On a recent dry day, I took my camera out to the garden and got what may be technically the best dragonfly photograph I have gotten. A member of the mosaic darner group, named for the mosaic pattern on their abdomens, the California darner (Rhionaeschna californica) is one of the first dragonflies to be seen in our area each year.
Along with that was a bumblebee-mimicking fly that was so nervous it was hard to get a shot. I tried again another day using a high powered telephoto lens. When I finally got a shot good enough to ID it, I found it to be Volucella bombylans whose young (larva) often live in bumblebee nests.
When I checked dates in my photo archive and I found my little patch of Calypso bulbosa orchids blooms right around tax day. Every year a marble sized bulb puts up one leaf and a single flower. They are considered very difficult to grow since they appear to be dependent on a symbiotic relationship with a specific soil fungus. When I got there, most were bloomed out but one specimen was still in good shape. This little “Fairy Slipper Orchid” has been a family favorite for generations.
Sunday, April 9, 2017
HumBug: The Birth of a Giant
Posted By Anthony Westkamper on Sun, Apr 9, 2017 at 3:00 PM
Today, near the end of my walk along the Van Duzen River, a little tangle near the tip of a naked willow sprig caught my eye. At first I thought it was a bit of storm deposited flotsam tangled on the end of the branch, but there was a “legginess” to it. Experience told me it was most likely a dragonfly exuvia, the empty husk left behind when the insect abandons its aquatic larval form, climbs out of the water, casts off its juvenile shell and takes to the sky, an air breathing aerialist for the rest of its days.
It was a cast off shuck all right. And although the size was right, long antennae indicated it was something else. Both dragonflies and their smaller cousins damselflies have millimeter length antennae, while this creature's had been at least 10 millimeters long.
Although I'd never before seen this kind of exuvia, I had a suspicion as to what it might be. A few years back I got a picture of a California giant stonefly, or salmonfly (Pteronarcys californica).
A bit of careful scanning of the nearby willows revealed an adult, about 7 centimeters long. Its size, dark wings folded flat over its back and distinct red markings confirmed I had the right species. The largest member of order Plecoptera in our area, it is an indicator that the watershed and river are healthy as the larvae don't just live in the water but actually breathe it through gills.
Stoneflies along with mayflies and caddisflies might be considered the “Holy Trinity of fly fishermen,” as they are the primary food for many species of game fish. Most artificial flies are tied to simulate one of them. I imagine the giant must be a tempting prize for a fish as it's one of the largest insect foods they are likely to encounter.
It was a cast off shuck all right. And although the size was right, long antennae indicated it was something else. Both dragonflies and their smaller cousins damselflies have millimeter length antennae, while this creature's had been at least 10 millimeters long.
Although I'd never before seen this kind of exuvia, I had a suspicion as to what it might be. A few years back I got a picture of a California giant stonefly, or salmonfly (Pteronarcys californica).
A bit of careful scanning of the nearby willows revealed an adult, about 7 centimeters long. Its size, dark wings folded flat over its back and distinct red markings confirmed I had the right species. The largest member of order Plecoptera in our area, it is an indicator that the watershed and river are healthy as the larvae don't just live in the water but actually breathe it through gills.
Stoneflies along with mayflies and caddisflies might be considered the “Holy Trinity of fly fishermen,” as they are the primary food for many species of game fish. Most artificial flies are tied to simulate one of them. I imagine the giant must be a tempting prize for a fish as it's one of the largest insect foods they are likely to encounter.
Sunday, April 2, 2017
HumBug: Hitching a Ride
Posted By Anthony Westkamper on Sun, Apr 2, 2017 at 3:00 PM
Hoping to attract one of the huge and impressive Ceanothus or Polyphemus moths that live hereabouts, I've been running a light trap when it isn't raining too hard — so far without luck. You never really know what might show up and last night was no exception. Among the expected looper moths, crane flies and various gnats was a medium sized black beetle.
I recognized it from a distance as Nicrophorus nigrita or black burying beetle. These beetles are notable for a number of different reasons. They are extremely unusual in the insect world in that both males and females help in rearing the young. Both sexes will tunnel under a small dead animal and, lifting it like a weightlifter doing a bench press, move it a tiny bit at a time to soft earth. Once there, they dig a depression big enough to encompass the carcass, build a chamber around it, strip it of fur or feathers, mold it into a ball with a depression on top, and fill that with regurgitated predigested mouse. Then after the eggs have hatched they call their offspring to the fount where they both proceed to feed their young. There is a very good article on this beetle family in the August 1976 edition of Scientific American, available online.
When I got close, I was amazed to see it nearly covered with tiny brown mites. Their relationship with the beetles is complicated. Researching them I learned they are Poecilochirus mites, which feed on and lay their eggs in carrion. They are phoretic, meaning they like to hitch rides on beetles who are likely to be going their way. Once there, they lay their eggs, which hatch and feed on the carcass. The young will also eat any fly maggots (competitors for the beetle's larvae) and, if overcrowded, will resort to eating the beetle larvae as well.
I posted about this on Facebook and got a record number of likes for me and dozens of replies. Funny how things so disturbing get so much love.
Sunday, March 26, 2017
HumBug: Come Closer, Said the Fly to the Fly
Posted By Anthony Westkamper on Sun, Mar 26, 2017 at 3:00 PM
Recently, scientists have calculated that spiders devour between 400 and 800 million tons of insects annually. Right now in my yard, though, on the fence where the white clematis chokes out everything else, there is a massacre going on and spiders are not the center stage players. Golden haired dung flies are chasing and eating flower flies and anything else that moves. Dagger flies (named for their long piercing mouthparts) perch, waiting for some hapless meal on wings to fly into range. Meanwhile, much smaller flies hunt things even smaller than themselves. With mind numbing consistency, I see predatory flies eating other flies.
I think the mass of gleaming white flowers beckons to nectar and pollen feeders which are in turn followed by their predators. Like the spiders that hunt them, raptoral flies inject paralyzing venom and digestive juices, making it easy to sip their prey's predigested innards through hollow mouthparts. Many of them can wield this weapon defensively as well as offensively, so it is best to handle them with care.
Life for the hunters isn't all gravy, though. Today I saw my first “zombie dung fly” of the season. Attacked by a fungus, probably related to Entomophthora muscae, the infected fly migrates to a high blade of grass, lands, locks up and dies. In a day or two you can see the fungus protruding from between the cracks in its victim's exoskeleton so it can release spores to invade another generation of flies.
I think the mass of gleaming white flowers beckons to nectar and pollen feeders which are in turn followed by their predators. Like the spiders that hunt them, raptoral flies inject paralyzing venom and digestive juices, making it easy to sip their prey's predigested innards through hollow mouthparts. Many of them can wield this weapon defensively as well as offensively, so it is best to handle them with care.
Life for the hunters isn't all gravy, though. Today I saw my first “zombie dung fly” of the season. Attacked by a fungus, probably related to Entomophthora muscae, the infected fly migrates to a high blade of grass, lands, locks up and dies. In a day or two you can see the fungus protruding from between the cracks in its victim's exoskeleton so it can release spores to invade another generation of flies.
Sunday, March 19, 2017
HumBug: In the Key of Bee
Posted By Anthony Westkamper on Sun, Mar 19, 2017 at 3:00 PM
We've finally had three days of warmish weather and the garden is abuzz with the sounds of busy bees. If you listen carefully, you can hear each species with its own pitch and rhythm. There is, of course, the familiar drone of the honeybee and the heavy bass of the yellow faced bumble bee (Bombus vosnesenskii). This is the biggest bee I've seen in my yard and the one with the lowest pitch. This species is actually reared commercially to pollinate certain crops which do best with something called “buzz pollination.” Tomatoes, for example, do not release their pollen unless the blossoms are vibrated at a certain frequency. Honeybees just can't do it as well as these guys.
A counterpoint to the above fairly relaxed themes are the large carpenter bees (genus Xylocopa). As big or nearly as big as bumblebees, these are glossy black and much more and active, quickly zipping from one blossom to another even feeding while on the wing. The ones in my yard are not so big as the biggest bumblebees I've seen, but significantly larger than honeybees.
Even more allegro are the mining bees, (Anthrophora pacifica). The same size as those carpenters, these hirsute ladies and gents take the cake for quickness, making getting a good shot all the more difficult.
I'm working on identifying numerous smaller, quieter bees that lend their distinctive higher pitched voices to the choir. Although I'm learning to tell them apart I don't know of any references which use sound to identify them.
Thursday, March 16, 2017
Milk Run in the Sun
Posted By Jennifer Fumiko Cahill on Thu, Mar 16, 2017 at 9:39 AM
There wasn't much in the way of fog in Ferndale when runners of all ages pounded the Victorian Village's pavement during the Foggy Bottom Milk Run on Sunday. In fact, the 4-mile, 10-mile and 2-mile loops began and ended under blue sky on Main Street, which was lined on both sides with clusters of cheering onlookers.
The day's winners included Michael Guerrero for the men's 4-mile with a time of 23:22 and Lanore Bergenske for the women's 4-mile at 29:16. First over the finish line for the 10-mile were Aaron Campbell at 56:44 and Tami Beal at 1:10:15. August Garcinero finished the 2-mile in 10:27 and Elsa Nolan covered it in 13:05. Complete results will be posted on the Six Rivers Running Club website.
At 2 p.m. the street was packed for the shortest of the day's races, the 2-mile. Instead of lightly bouncing pros with sinewy calves and hi-tech shoes, the starting line was packed with kids of all ages. They jostled and chatted, hooting and clapping for the last runners from the 10-mile. Mike Pigg announced to the crowd that this year's goal was to not have anyone fall down, then led the countdown to the start.
Serious runners wove their way to the front of the pack and the crowd spread out. Once over the finish line, participants big and small (a few in strollers) headed for the tent stalls for orange wedges and cartons of chocolate milk, taking photos with their medals in the sunshine.
The day's winners included Michael Guerrero for the men's 4-mile with a time of 23:22 and Lanore Bergenske for the women's 4-mile at 29:16. First over the finish line for the 10-mile were Aaron Campbell at 56:44 and Tami Beal at 1:10:15. August Garcinero finished the 2-mile in 10:27 and Elsa Nolan covered it in 13:05. Complete results will be posted on the Six Rivers Running Club website.
At 2 p.m. the street was packed for the shortest of the day's races, the 2-mile. Instead of lightly bouncing pros with sinewy calves and hi-tech shoes, the starting line was packed with kids of all ages. They jostled and chatted, hooting and clapping for the last runners from the 10-mile. Mike Pigg announced to the crowd that this year's goal was to not have anyone fall down, then led the countdown to the start.
Serious runners wove their way to the front of the pack and the crowd spread out. Once over the finish line, participants big and small (a few in strollers) headed for the tent stalls for orange wedges and cartons of chocolate milk, taking photos with their medals in the sunshine.
Sunday, March 12, 2017
HumBug: Falling Blossoms
Posted By Anthony Westkamper on Sun, Mar 12, 2017 at 4:35 PM
It's been a long rainy spell and my plum trees have been waiting in full bloom for a warm day. I kept expecting them to lose their petals but despite sometimes heavy rains and occasional hail, they kept them. I think they're like orchids. The flowers of most orchids can hold for weeks or even months so long as they're not pollinated. On the very day they achieve pollination they start to wither. Once the flower's beauty has served it's purpose, seducing some critter into performing the deed for them, the petals are discarded, nectar production shuts down; the real work of building seeds and fruit gets under way.
Wednesday started out wet, but by afternoon it warmed up. If the sun didn't actually peek through, the sky lit up and flies and bees were out in abundance, accompanied by a single anglewing butterfly. Along with the nectar sippers came predators, as well. One of North America's smallest birds, a ruby crowned kinglet (Regulus calendula), took a honeybee right in front of me, landed and repeatedly smacked it against a branch before swallowing it in one gulp. It happened too quickly to even get my camera up. To a bird not much bigger than my thumb, a bee sting must be a terrible danger. But the bees were the largest and slowest moving prey I saw, so I guess it did a quick risk /benefit calculation and went with it. A golden haired dung fly snatched a fly nearly its own size out of the air and dragged it to the grass.
Two days later my trees are starting to leaf out and the ground is littered with petals like tiny discarded petticoats.
Sunday, March 5, 2017
HumBug: O Hideous Little Bat
Posted By Anthony Westkamper on Sun, Mar 5, 2017 at 3:00 PM
American poet Karl Shapiro begins his poem "The Fly" with the address, "O hideous little bat, the size of snot." No other group of animals is as reviled as flies. Annually, members of the order Diptera account for millions of human deaths through diseases they spread. The ones that pester, infect and disgust us are really only a small percentage of the 160,000 known species, which is only a small fraction of the estimated 1 million species, the majority of which are unobtrusive and unknown to us. Named for having two wings, unlike other winged insects which have four, the order Diptera is the most diverse in lifestyle. There seems to be a fly tailored to feed on anything organic, living or dead.
The other day, taking photos of fetid adder's tongue flowers (Scoliopus bigelovii), I got one shot with three insects in it. Even bugs photobomb us. Drawn by the flower's dank odor, there was a fungus gnat, a moth fly, and a tiny wasp (order Hymenoptera). From the look of it, the wasp may have been trying to prey on the gnat. So much of what goes on at this scale is unknown to us.
At 2 to 3 millimeters, moth flies look like tiny moths but are truly flies, also known as drain flies and sewer flies. While harmless, they are considered pests when they infest our homes.
Some fungus gnats are small and vaguely resemble mosquitoes, but feed on — you guessed it — fungus. Others, like the tiny, glistening black Bradysia, emerge from soil in potted plants to become household pests.
While researching them I was continually referred to the book Flies by Stephan A. Marshall so, despite it's heft (5 pounds 5.5 ounces) and hefty price tag ($88), I ordered a copy. It is a truly great book and a new favorite among my collection of entomological works.
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