The unseasonably warm and dry weather seems to be to allowing some species of insects to linger later in the year than I’ve seen before. Among them are two damselflies. I checked my archives, and this is the latest date in the year I’ve ever noted either the rubyspot or California spreadwing (Archilestes californica). I […]
Science
Posted inLife + Outdoors
HumBug: Lepidoptera
Walking along the Van Duzen River today after three frosty nights, I noted four different kinds of butterflies. We saw many Mylitta crescents (Phyciodes mylitta), got a brief glimpse of what was most likely a woodland skipper (Ochlodes sylvanoides) and a West Coast lady (Vanessa annabella). A California sister (Adelpha californica) flitted up and posed […]
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HumBug: Who’s Your Daddy Longlegs?
As soon as the UPS delivered my newest camera lens, I had to go a hunting. Since it’s fall, many insects are gone until next year but there’s always something interesting out there. Today was no exception. Before I even got out the door, I noted a daddy longlegs on my window screen. It only […]
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HumBug: Halloween Romance
You see them nearly everywhere this time of year, the big female cross orb weaver spiders (Araneus diadematus). If you get close you can see the emblem of the cross for which they’re known. As I looked at one particularly large female spider, I noticed another spider with a leg span nearly as large as the lady […]
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SECOND UPDATE: Warning Issued on Dungeness Crab After Testing Shows Toxin
SECOND UPDATE: The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has “enacted a delay” of the recreational Dungeness crab season for areas stretching from Patrick’s Point to the Oregon border due to “unhealthy levels” of domoic acid. UPDATE: The California Department of Public health is now warning the public against eating Dungeness crab caught from Patrick’s […]
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HumBug: Spiders in the House
The month of October, ending in Halloween, is the perfect time to check out our local spider fauna. Many of the largest and showiest species are at their finest at this time of year. With that in mind, I’ve seen quite a few lately. At my house, at least, the common house spider (Parasteatoda tepidariorum) […]
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HumBug: Creepy, Cute and Unusual
Looking closely at more crawling critters than most folks, you’d think I’d get used to them. But there is one critter that still holds a Class 4 creep factor for me: the common centipede. If you could cross a spider and a snake, centipedes would be the result. Flexible, fast and venomous — in their […]
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SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Rocket Spotted in North Coast Skies
Three readers reported seeing an unusual light in the southern skies. Most likely this is related to the SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket which launched around 7:30 p.m. Pacific time. According to Ars Technica: After it separated from the second stage, the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket arrested its forward movement, and began falling […]
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HumBug: The Girls of Autumn
If spring is the season of butterflies, autumn must be the season of spiders. A short walk across some brushy terrain yielded several dozen spiders of at least half a dozen species. Among spiders, females are often much larger and more conspicuous than the males and, for ones with an annual cycle, this is when […]
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Flash Flood Watch Issued for Mendocino Complex Burn Scar
The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood watch, in effect until 7 p.m., for areas impacted by the Mendocino Complex fire. According to the NWS, scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms could produce “intense rainfall that may cause debris flows and flash flooding in these areas.” In Mendocino County, Cold Creek along State Route […]
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HumBug: A Dead Crane Fly and a Strange Nursery
I grew up calling them “mosquito catchers.” Other folks know them as daddy longlegs (a name also used for Opiliones,a type of arachnid) or mosquito hawks. More properly they are known as crane flies, or family tipulidae of the order diptera — true flies. Resembling giant mosquitos, they inspire fear in some people. But unlike […]
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HumBug: Locals Among the Invaders
Finding myself with an uncommitted day and the Himalaya berries in season, I went blackberry picking along some of my favorite logging roads. I did OK but the best part of the day was wandering through patches of Queen Anne’s lace, cat’s ear, pampas grass, Scotch broom and bird’s foot trefoil. One and all thriving […]