Small wildlife seen on a hike near a stream. The main trail mostly ran along the chaparral-covered hillside just outside the riparian zone, but a few branches went down through the trees to the stream.
The lizard was well-camouflaged as it skittered around the tree trunk, in contrast to the two #dragonflies (a vivid blue dancer and a flame skimmer -- you can probably guess which is which!) There were quite a few small blue dancers (like half this length!) flying around the trail uphill from the stream bed. This one was resting on a wooden beam placed across the stream as a bridge. Finally, a checkered white #butterfly in front of the invasive mustard plants that were all over the lower parts of the chaparral.
Fly fact of the day: Some adult flies produce silk.
Silk is a very common protein fiber to produce, shared by a lot of arthropods, so I'm not so surprised when I learn of another insect that can produce it.
But still, it's pretty cool.
Some male flies in family Empidae wrap gifts for females in silk produced in their legs.
The more you know! #insects#entomology#flies#ecology#silk
Yesterday I returned from a few days away. I was reminded once again that often the best thing to do is to go with the flow, and to always consider what your heart is telling you
Entomologists: What challenges do you face in talking insect science w/ news reporters? Some expert colleagues and I are organizing a workshop at #EntSoc23 and would love to hear your thoughts. #Entomology#Insects#scicomm
It seems that we now have Snuffilufigus living in the yard. S/he passes through the front yard between midnight & 2 am, snuffling loudly as it searches for delicious bugs, slugs, and other things I don't want to think about. Very unperturbed about me observing it, but so far, does not show up if the dog is out on her cable in the side yard.
It's an example of why we avoid pesticides as much as possible too.
The "blob" is relatively new, and the ants were quite interested in it. The ant in the lower right of the photo is carrying a drop of something in her mandibles, maybe honeydew?
Blue Butterfly, watercolor. This butterfly is one of three in my gallery. In addition, I offer all three of the butterflies in one vertical image. Pretty wall art for the butterfly or colorful insect lover.
This is an Agile Long-horned Bee (Melissodes agilis), one of my favorite visitors to our city garden with their lovely green eyes, fluffy bodies and pink antennae.
ETA: They also have beautiful pink veins on their wings, which you can see a little of in the photo. Quite striking!