Five years ago I started reporting seeing a small dragonfly in the middle of winter on sunny days, even following frosty nights. Dragonflies usually spend the cold months as larvae in the water. Up until then, none of the other dragonfly enthusiasts were reporting anything at all. I’ve been able to photograph and report this […]
Science
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: Earwigs
I have not been a big fan of earwigs ever since they ate the ceanothus moth I was trying to rear. Reading a bit about them, I found they indeed have some interesting and worthwhile features. The most common variety around here is the European earwig (Forficula auricularia). We called them “pincer bugs” when I […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: Sailors and Queens in Winter
Winter time is a slow time for bugs. Being cold blooded the chemistry of life that powers them slows down. Many of their life cycles are adapted to spending the short cold days in their sedentary forms as eggs, larvae or pupae. Those that persist as adults mostly hide through the worst of it, emerging […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: Insect Armageddon
I have had a lifelong interest in insects, collecting, observing, studying, and photographing them for more than 60 years. Looking back, I’ve noticed progressively fewer insects around my porch lights at night and far fewer splattered across the windshields of my various cars. While my evidence is merely anecdotal, others are making rigorous studies of […]
Posted inNews
North Coast Night Lights: The Changing Milky Way
I think many people take the night sky for granted, not realizing all that is happening in our view. It’s the night sky, what is there to think about, right? When the weather is clear, it is full of stars, there is a moon, which is probably full or else it’s a crescent, and maybe […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: Millipede by the Millimeter
I didn’t intend to spend all night working on a single photograph but a Eurasian millipede (Ophyiulus pilosus) trapped in a measuring cup was an opportunity to try some equipment in a new way. Instead of using the computer-controlled StackRail to move the focus point, I set it up to travel along the critter, acquiring […]
Posted inNews
Mysterious Light in the Sky and Smoke Trail Likely a Meteor
A mysterious light and what appeared be smoke trailing behind it blazed across the sky around 5:40 p.m. Residents of the North Coast as well as people in Reno, the Bay Area and beyond spotted the bright light followed by a curvy tail of smoke. Several sent us photos and video. Many at first thought […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: Rainy Day Locals
Head’s up: It’s tick season again. It seems they like damp weather. My archives show photos of them primarily in April to May and December to January. In the last week, I’ve pulled one off a dog and one off a friend who had one on her arm. Even if you haven’t been outdoors where […]
Posted inNews
A Gift of Glasses: Three Eureka Men See the World in a New Hue (Video)
When Brendan Hartsell put on the red-tinted EnChroma glasses for the first time, he didn’t say a word. He simply looked around — first down at the green bushes nearest to him then at a pair of blue and pink balloons tied to a sign. A nervous grinned spread over his face. Hartsell was one […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: Seasons Change, Bugs Change
Following up on last week’s post of photos of the American rubyspot (Hetaerina americana) male, I decided to try to get a better shot of the wings. Relying on the fact that this species is extremely territorial, I found him in exactly the same spot. This time I got closer and waited until he flew […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: A Sparse Week
Looking for something to write about this week, I remembered back in June I posted a photo of a robber fly cannibalizing another one. When it was done, it flew away leaving the dead victim’s carcass in the weeds, so I collected and mounted it. Surprisingly, it fell apart, the back half of it disintegrating […]
Posted inNews
Things are About to Get Wet Outside
After a mild beginning to the fall season, things are about to get wet. Really, really wet. And, maybe, a bit loud as well. The National Weather Service is predicting the first storm system will hit late tonight and continue into the morning hours with the possibility of coastal thunderstorms Wednesday afternoon into Thanksgiving morning. […]