Last week I wrote about setting up a light trap in my backyard with only limited success. At the suggestion of some folks in an entomological chat room, I tried it with black compact fluorescent lights rather than Coleman lanterns. The old gas lanterns give off a great deal of heat and frequencies in the […]
Outdoors
Posted inNews
HumBug: Missing Giants
The last couple of nights I’ve been running an experiment to answer a question. When I was a kid, I could leave the porch light on almost any night and there’d be a bunch of insects around it in an hour or so. Lately, I’ve been noticing that there don’t seem to be nearly as […]
Posted inNews
HumBug: An Afternoon on the Van Duzen
Trying to stay up to date with the entomological fauna in my area, I went for an extended hike, braving ankle-deep waters and wading upstream from my usual haunts. I saw quite a few pale-faced clubskimmers (Brechmorhoga mendax), one of my many favorite dragonflies. You usually see them flying within inches of the surface at […]
Posted inNews
UPDATED: Bay Billboards No More
UPDATE: The Humboldt County Association of Governments just issued a press release noting that removal of the 10 billboards won’t just be good for scenery enthusiasts, but also for the Humboldt Bay Trail and the Safety Corridor Improvement Project. See the press release copied below, along with a billboard map. PREVIOUSLY: Motorists on the Safety […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Light and Fog
Under sunny skies on Saturday morning, the northwest corner of the Arcata Plaza was filled with people making their personalized remembrance lanterns for that evening’s 34th annual Lantern Floating Ceremony at Klopp Lake in the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary. “This has become a way of remembering those who died 70 years ago in the […]
Posted inNews
HumBug: Silver Spotted Tiger Moth Grows Up
Finally! Early this spring, coming back from the mailbox, I noted a brown glob about the size of my fist on one of my fir trees. On closer inspection, I saw several irregular blobs which all turned out to be bunches of brown furry caterpillars, each a little over an inch long. I wondered what […]
Posted inNews
Garberville Man Drowns in South Jetty Boating Accident
A 66-year-old Garberville man drowned Thursday after a 19-foot boat wrecked on the rocks of the South Jetty, sending four people into the water. The Humboldt County Coroner’s Office identified the deceased man as Gary Floyd Abena, and its press release notes the other three boaters were treated for minor injuries and hypothermia. According to […]
Posted inNews
HumBug: Who’s Your Daddy?
Late last night, I took the dogs out for their final walk when I noticed a small member of the arachnid family of Opiliones on a rhododendron leaf. This is what I learned as a little kid as “daddy long legs.” Sometimes known as harvestmen, they look like a spider with unusually long legs and a […]
Posted inNews
UPDATED: Humboldt Dog Tests Positive for Rabies
UPDATE: The 11-month-old dog that was euthanized after contracting rabies earlier this month had undergone its first round of rabies vaccination, which starts at around 3 months old with series of subsequent boosters, and was “legally vaccinated for its age,” said Amanda Ruddy, consumer protection supervisor with the division of Environmental Health. “Of course, with […]
Posted inNews
In Celebration of National Moth Week
In observance of National Moth Week, I thought I’d mention a few of our unusual local mothy residents. Together with butterflies, moths comprise the order “Lepidoptera,” roughly translating to scale wing. A good rule of thumb to distinguish between the two is that butterflies have thin antennae terminating in a club shape, while moths (with a […]
Posted inNews
UPDATE: Klamath Boating Accident Victim Identified
At 10:30 a.m. today, a Yurok Tribal Police Department officer assisted a sheriff’s deputy to recover the body of James Dennis Cook, also known as Major. Cook’s body was tangled up in branches and brush in the river. He had been missing since last Friday following a boating accident. The Humboldt County Coroner’s Office will […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Folklife Does ‘Send me Back Home’ for Merle
A full house experienced a magical “Sing Me Back Home” tribute to Merle Haggard at Saturday’s closing performance of the Humboldt Folklife Festival in the Dell’Arte Amphitheatre in Blue Lake. The “Merle choir,” which performed the tribute, was put together with members of different local bands who shared a common bond in that they all […]