During some overdue yard work I paused for these two butterflies.
The first is a red admiral (Vanessa atalanta). I was disappointed with my photos. The butterfly was much more impressive when I watched it in real time. When it first presented itself to me, before I hurried inside the house to grab my camera, it appeared magnificent with its wings spread wide. I wasn't offered another opportunity in such a position.
I felt more fortunate when this Gulf fritillary (Dione vanillae) arrived on the same butterfly bush (Buddleja davidii).
I’ve been missing opportunities to capture butterfly photos around the house, primarily because I haven’t taken advantage of them or actively sought them out. Perhaps the most significant aspect of this experience today was simply my decision to make the effort.
Meanwhile, little Junimoon was watching me through the dirty windows.
Another weekend of walkin' and talkin' with Docken, getting caught up on all of the terrible problems in the world. You know, as a coping mechanism. It's truly comforting to know that while the world burns, the most pressing debates are often self-serving and completely insane. So, just trying to do the right thing by laughing at it all. Thank you, Doc.
Meanwhile, there continues to be slim pickings on the photo front or perhaps I'm not looking hard enough and being patient enough to let images come to me. I'll look into that. Here are a few photos taken this weekend.
I tried to get this turkey vulture in between the out of focus foreground trees. It wasn't happening.
Cistanthe grandiflora - pink rock purslane.
Some type of Cordyline.
I believe this is a female monarch butterfly. It's not pristine. Its wings are tattered and faded--a map of every near-miss and every long, exhausting mile of its journey. It’s carrying the visible evidence of struggle. Yet, there it is. It doesn't pause to reflect on a perfect past or to worry about its fragile future. It simply focuses on the task at hand--finding nectar. The nectar is your purpose, your next little goal, the simple joy of the moment. It doesn’t matter how broken or worn you feel; the important work—sipping life’s sweetness and moving forward—is still there for you. Even if all you can do is a slow, tough flap, that single effort gets you to the next flower, making sure you both survive and keep creating something beautiful along the way.
This is a mourning dove feather. Not a white dove but a feather from your average mourning dove, just like Sally, Twigs and their offspring. On October 11, I did a post showing two feathers and asked for readers to guess what birds they belonged to. I didn't get much of a response but that's fine by me. The first feather was also from a mourning dove and the second one was from a red-tailed hawk. My assumption, a young hawk's breast feather.
Hopes, dreams, hopes dreaming that all our sorrow's gone Forever
Or something like that... This was Tim. Gophers typically live for 1 to 3 years in the wild, although some can live up to 5 to 7 years in the wild depending on the species and environment. Their short lifespan is largely due to their many predators, which include owls, hawks, weasels, coyotes, foxes, and snakes. Today I ran into another pocket gopher reminiscent of Tim, approximately 400 yards from where Docken and I used to see Tim back in 2015. It will be interesting to see if this little fellow shows up again. But first...
The little dude needs to watch out. This pair of red-tailed hawks coincidentally (or not) were hanging out right above the area where Docken and I would be visited by Tim. Speaking of Docken, my thanks to her for coming along over the phone for my walks both yesterday and today. Yesterday's walk provided no photo ops and with AM gloomy weather both days I was hard pressed in finding photo worthy material again today.
The red-tailed hawks were present both coming and going today. I only captured one of them on the way in but I saw and certainly heard them both. A red-tailed hawk's call is a harsh, raspy scream, often transcribed as "kree-eee-ar" or "kee-eeeee-arr". This sound, which lasts about 2–3 seconds, is a high-pitched cry that descends in pitch and is frequently used in movies to represent any hawk or eagle.
Onto the local botanical garden. At first glimpse this looked quite mysterious. The camera lens took my eye considerably closer. This pocket gopher spent about 15 minutes with me nearby, turning around a full 360ยบ in its hole more than once. Gophers have poor eyesight, which is not well-suited for long-distance or detailed vision, and they rely more on their other senses to navigate. Their eyes can detect light, but their primary adaptations for a subterranean life include highly sensitive whiskers and tails, which help them feel and navigate their environment in the dark. They also have poor hearing and are not well-equipped to see above ground, preferring to stay underground in their burrows. This little fellow was certainly curious about something. Did it sense my footsteps and think, ah... human. Humans often carry food...
While speaking with Doc, I sat on a bench for awhile and watched.
Suddenly, it was gone. I went to look and sure enough, the little critter had closed up shop.
It was a relatively short walk and I returned to where I parked my car off campus. The car was about .70 miles from the gopher's hole. The total walk was just a little over 1.5 miles. On the way back the red-tailed hawks were much closer. It was overcast and a tad foggy so the lighting was less than optimal. The two hawks were only about 50 yards apart here. The one in the tree is the one that was in flight in the first images.
It's about time for golden slumbers pour moi, so briefly, here are some pictures from today's walk. This was going to be a weekend walk report, but yesterday's photos left a lot to be desired.
Thanks to Docken for joining me over the phone both Saturday and Sunday.
Today, Sunday, October 19th
Even through my camera at 300 mm I wasn't quite sure what sort of flying contraption this was. Turns out it's a one man UGottaBInsane.
Let's zoom in and crop.
There's a bee in there and I was waiting for it to come out but lost my patience. Maybe he's still in there?
Today's walk report. Another post summer walk with a serious lack of photo opportunities. So I came up with this. If you can correctly identify the feathers shown below and note your answers in the comments section you may win a fabulous no-prize to be awarded at no time in no place.
Two feathers coincidentally landing pointed end down. This is the calamus, or quill--the hollow, basal part of a bird's feather shaft that anchors the feather in the bird's skin. The quill is unseen in the first picture since it's obviously buried inside the cracked asphalt road in front of me. What you can see is the rachis, the stiff, central shaft of a feather, from which the barbs (the vane) extend.
I am 100% positive I have accurately identified the first feather. Google image searches are NOT permitted. Besides. I checked to see what Google AI might have to say on this first feather and I got... "The feather's distinct pattern of chocolate-brown on one side and white on the other is characteristic of a Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster)." Google AI needs to be checked out for color blindness.
This second feather, I'm 92% confident that I have correctly identified the bird species belonging to this image. It's the first bird I thought of when I saw it but then an another bird came to mind that I've since eliminated. The softer feathers toward the quill are called afterfeathers. Afterfeathers and down feathers are both types of downy feathers that provide insulation, but they differ in their structure and location. An afterfeather is a second, smaller feather attached to the base of a larger, outer contour or flight feather, while down feathers are soft, fluffy, and grow independently from the skin.
There you have it. There is no time limit on this not a contest, participants may respond at any time and still win a wonderful no-prize. However, I will be providing the answers in my next post, or two or three. Maybe I'll even spill the beans in the comment section. Good luck! And remember, nobody cares!
Special thanks to Docken for joining me over the phone on my walk again today.
One more thing: Brown Boobies can be found in Channel Islands National Park and Sutil Island, specifically off the coast of Santa Barbara Island, where they have established a breeding colony. The birds have been expanding their range northward from Mexico, and are now seen in increasing numbers in Southern California. However, you will not find any Brown Boobies in my neck of SoCal suburbia. I am struggling to avoid jokes about boobies.
The fate of all mankind, I see Is in the hands of fools
Not much of anything on the photo front so I mostly walked and had good company over our personal communicators with Docken. Thank you, Doc.
Uh-oh! The human saw where I put my stash.
California scrub jays have been observed hiding rocks instead of acorns when they know they are being observed, to trick
other jays from discovering their real food stores.
The greatest thing you ever can do now Is trade a smile with someone who's blue now It's very easy just... Cadd#11, C5, Eb, C5, D, C5, F, C5, E, C5, G, C5, F#, C5
Sometimes I feel that way. My daily constitutional, a pleasure so great it feels like a punishment. Turns out, it was okay. I mean, it depends on how you look at it*. Company with Docken on the phone was nice. I think being able to converse misery has its benefits. It was uncomfortable though, I walk fast and for me 78ยบ F and 48% relative humidity simply is not pleasurable. Tomorrow is the autumnal equinox, I'll feel better soon. ☯ Basically, I did half of yesterday's walk. I also chased after several butterflies. Most of them got away. Here are some pictures.
The plant is Tradescantia pallida a species of spiderwort native to the Gulf Coast region of eastern Mexico. I actually donate to the Wikimedia Foundation so don't give me a hard time, okay?
The first shot was kinda rough. To be honest, all were a PITA, it was way bright and tracking at 250-300mm with a close-up lens on top wasn't especially smooth. But the first shot was fun because the smaller hoverfly was getting really testy with the bee and was insisting on that flower.
Gaillardia, AKA, blanket flower. It was named after Maรฎtre Gaillard de Charentonneau, an 18th-century French magistrate who was an enthusiastic botanist and apparently an egotist.
Verbena bonariensis and a grass skipper, specifically an adult male fiery skipper, Hylephila phyleus.
I followed four or five different monarch butterflies but this is the only one that cooperated. The plant is Salvia farinacea (I think).
*What have you got to lose? You know, you come from nothing You're going back to nothing What have you lost? Nothing!
I had to go back and look. I haven't posted a walk report since June 29th and that post wasn't titled as such. However, I have been walking, not as often as I would like and most of the walks have taken place in my general neighborhood with "beat the heat" departure times. For me, beating the heat means making efforts to get out during a temperature range between 65ยบ F and 75ยบ F with 80ยบ+ being a sort of self-imposed constraint. Relative humidity also plays a role in this. Anyway, the addition of an often energetic kitten in the house has created a number of modifications in day to day activities and this is especially true in the morning and by morning I mean AM and by AM I mean anything from about 1:30 AM until I actually start my day anywhere from 5:something to as late as 7:something AM. This is due to devoting time with both my long time pal, Queen kitty, Lucy and my new companion, kitten, Junior. Since there's some tension between 19 year old Lucy, who mostly wants to sleep peacefully and curious and playful Junior, the house gets divided up in the evenings for my sanity and my own need for peaceful sleep. In other words, I divide the night and sleep with both cats in different rooms for several hours each. Hopefully, this will change in the not so distant future and we can all get along without any fuss. During the day I monitor proximity between Lucy and Jr. I'm working on it!
I didn't know I was going to explain all of that. Onto today's walk. I took a few pictures. Special thanks to Docken for joining me over the phone.
Coreopsis Tickseed 'Full Moon' and a hoverfly.
Calandrinia grandiflora and another hoverfly.
The Gulf fritillary or passion butterfly.
Finally the reason for the title of this post.
Pepsis mildei, also known as Milde's tarantula-hawk wasp, is a species of predatory spider wasp native to the Western Hemisphere. These wasps capture live tarantulas to feed to their larva; the adults graze on flowers. There is a pain scale rating for stinging insects called, the Schmidt sting pain index (any volunteers?). The original 1983 paper was a way to systematize and compare the hemolytic properties (refers to the premature destruction of red blood cells) of insect venoms. Ratings start at 0 for stings that are completely ineffective against humans, progressing through 2 for familiar pains such as those caused by common bee or wasp stings, and finishing at 4 for the most painful stings. Pepsis mildei is ranked a 4. This places it among the most intensely painful insect stings in the world. The command "lay down and scream" is famously attributed to entomologist Justin O. Schmidt, who developed the pain scale rating, as advice for anyone stung by a tarantula hawk wasp, such as Pepsis mildei. The wasp's sting is considered one of the most excruciatingly painful imaginable, and the suggestion is a practical survival tip to prevent further injury. Continuing Schmidt's description of the pain he notes it is "blinding, fierce, [and] shockingly electric." The pain is "immediate, intense, and completely debilitating." The good news is these wasps are not aggressive toward humans, they will only sting if they are provoked. Also, the excruciating pain is said to only last for about five minutes.
I took all of the photos in this post with a Canon 70-300 mm lens with a Canon 500D close-up lens attached. The 500 represents that the close-up focuses at 500 mm, which is 19.68". That's how close the front on my camera is in these photos. Fortunately not a distance where this lady felt provoked. This is a female, as with all stinging insects only females have a stinger. It's an evolutionary adaptation from the egg-laying organ, or ovipositor, which became a specialized venom delivery system. Also note, she only has one antennae. A missing antennae is an uncommon but possible occurrence for any insect. Wasps do not have the ability to regenerate a lost antennae after reaching their adult stage. The curled orange portion of the antennae is the way to differentiate a male from a female.
The other insect is Oncopeltus fasciatus, known as the large milkweed bug. The plant is Narrowleaf Milkweed (Asclepias fascicularis).
I know she looks black but she's actually a very deep purple and blue. I couldn't catch her under an angle of light that better showed off how pretty she is.
If you wonder why I picked this song today, you're not paying attention. Please pay attention.
