Heads or tails?

Which way do YOU eat a tiny fly

(or, say, chocolate bunny, if that's more your style)?

Heads (i.e. ears, if you're in chocolate bunny-land)?

(Just occurred to me this is one entry point used to embalm mummies...)

 Or tails?

Found this carcass beneath the dahlias which host many crab spiders.

They catch a lot of flower-visiting flies & bees.

On the same day I found a similar bug being eaten

by a crab spider in a dahlia.

Seemed like when spider saw me, it immediately passed the fly over its head.

I wonder if that's a ninja move:

hold victim #1 out of the way w/1 arm,

then prepare to attack again with other 7.

Good move.

Lots of beautiful spiders in this group:

check out bugguide.net's section about them.

Lastly, a free, helpful hint to anyone trying to run a web site

 about crab spiders and hoping people will use/trust it:

Don't say "bees and insects."

Bees are insects.

So, there's that...

I'm willing to bet bugguide.net has never said that.

'Cause they're awesome like that. =)

So, heads or tails?

I was an eat-the-chocolate-bunny-ears-first kinda kid.

You?

xoxobb

Why I can't deadhead this particular dahlia bloom

 Big ol' pale yellow dahlia flower pretty far past its prime...

This crab spider looks REALLY ready to be a mama spider.

Her abdomen is HUGE.

So, the flower stays.

=)

xobb

Summer's bounty--flowers & bugs, living fast & hard

Summer.

Time for county fairs and beautiful nights...

and for plants to leap skyward,

providing room and board for the myriad bugs that live among them.

Turquoise-eyed flies (probably related to horseflies)

none of which I noticed when I took the photo. Flies 4, bb 0. =)

In a quest to improve my attitude about summer

(it gets bloody hot here & I'm the first to drop)

I'm shining a light on summer-associated goodies that I adore.

Tiny plume moth. I've NEVER seen one before last week. SO exciting.

 ID thanks to Chris Grinter (@skepticalmoth). That body is less than a centimeter long.

A small ant (lower left) to provide scale for this wee, tiny moth.

Spotted assassin bug (Rhynocoris ventralis) on gaillardia.

First time I think I've seen this particular, dashing predator.

Nicely color coordinated with the gaillardia, eh?

Tarnished plant bug (Lygus hesperus).

A tiny little charmer.

A day later, the same species played peek-a-boo with me

Here you get a better idea of how tiny it is. =)

Crab spider dining upon an earwig, underneath a chrysanthemum bloom.

So many mysterious (and frequently tiny) creatures

to find and try to name.

An assassin bug (that I cannot ID, so far) dining on an unlucky bee or fly of some sort.

An ever-changing populace of

invertebrates in the garden. 

Ants, seemingly obsessed with carrot flowers.

For the plants

the plant pollinators,

the plant eaters,

and plant-associated-bug predators,

summer is no joke.

Lovely, little lynx spider female living on a mint plant.

She's so spiky.

Live life now,

for tomorrow is never guaranteed.

Which reminds me of two views I gained from the Ferris wheel:

the quick,

and the dead. 

It's always good to have a reminder.

Nature will do that for you.

xoxobb

Quiz answer plus power petal & bug hits for your soul...

Photo by Kropsoq

This is an ootheca.

Per Merriam-Webster, "a firm-walled and distinctive egg case (as of a cockroach)."

In this instance (above & my instance which inspired said quiz),

it's a mantid or mantis egg case.

Every time I'd see one in our yard,

"ootheca" would pop to mind,

tho' I really wasn't sure that's what it was.

Apparently, my brain is smarter than I am. =)

Speaking of smart:

Sara NAILED it, exactly--woo-hoo!! We bow to your brain.

Imperfect and Tense and Jen were totally on the right eggy track,

Sue's guess was delightful (& seasonally appropriate),

and Cindy's guess (a rock with round things popping out of it)

was EERILY close (rock-hard egg case). =)

Thank you to ALL quiz participants: YOU ROCK!!

Flowers 'n' bugs: obsessed

Delightful hits of color, pattern, and bugs

I've been indulging in via our irises & their fans.

 (how cute is that little buggy shadow?)

teeny weeny invertebrates

 crab spider (I'm pretty sure) eating said teeny weeny invertebrates

 *munch munch*

Can you see how, if one is hyper visual,

a color & pattern freak, and a giant fan of bugs,

these irises and their complement are a special kind of heaven?

Oh, and they smell amazing.

Can't stop; won't stop.

Sunday I ordered seven more irises.

I can pick them up in 5 months.

Then plant & wait another 6 months to see them bloom.

This is my new obsession.

I already know 7 more I want to order next year.

*sigh*

I think I'm going to have to start earning more money to support my habit.

Is it just me? Anyone else similarly obsessed by something?

xoxoxobb

Is it LEGAL for a spider to be this adorable?

 
Check this out. You will NOT be disappointed.

Amazing pictures of Salticids, and the first is truly out of control cute.

That's right. A spider. CUTE!

Go.

=)

biobabbler

if you like bugs, you'll never be lonely...

 
While waiting for friend at a water stop at RAMROD (see previous post), this creature appeared on my snack.

The apple is mine, the banana was destined for my cycling-maniac friend, but we didn't end up seeing each other there (crowded and he was a BIT focused and JUST climbed thousands of feet).

However, this lovely spider (who is holding his/her legs like a crab spider...) did stop by to hang out. Was running around the top of the apple. I think it was setting up a web and thinking "wow, cool flower" and then decided, hm, I don't think it IS a flower, and left. This is my own personal theory. Who knows.

Either way, if you appreciate bugs (I use this term very loosely), you have a HUGE advantage over everyone else re: being interested and entertained and enlightened and accompanied by SO many amazing species.

I know an entomologist who started out as a kid being really into herps (reptiles and amphibians) and would go on hikes to find them and would frequently come up with very few, but all along the way there were bugs. All different kinds. Always. And that got him to thinkin'.

I've also heard about someone in solitary confinement basically becoming very interested in the comings and goings of ants because that was the only living thing he got to hang out with. I feel like it was Nelson Mandela, but can't find evidence to back that up.

Anyhow, re: appreciating bugs, I'm just sayin'. It's worth considering.


biobabbler

P.S. Discovered a goldfinch nest in the tree out my back door--was standing nearby this week (apparently too near, and I'm tall so my head was probably WAY too close) and I heard but didn't see a bird REALLY CLOSE chirping very unhappily at me. And it was thin and high pitched so figured it was something small. And now and then I hear the super rapid, very high pitch of what I expect are the babies when the parents are near saying "FEED ME!" I'll take a pic when I get back. It's a SMALL nest, my goodness.

P.P.S. And I investigated (while doing yard work yesterday) the place where I thought Stellar's jays nested this spring and yes, there is a substantial nest there, say, volleyball sized?

gorgeous, elegant white moth + spider question...

    
Two posts today 'cause of impending field work, so biobabbler may be electronically quiet for a few days (i.e. babbling live to other biologists while cruising for wildlife sign).

So, extra babble dose:
    
1. Beautiful stranger.

Profile of beauty. 

Wing-top view (this is where it becomes clear the moth is not well).

 Took this shot so we could see the antenna clearly, but I like this portrait best. 

Poor creature. Barely wiggling it's feet. But SO BEAUTIFUL. I moved it into some more natural habitat, away from the peril-from-passing-peds zone. Found it during a quick errand on the way to Yosemite Valley, Sunday morning.

E-mailed a moth friend and he said if there is red on the forelegs then it's the vestal tiger moth (Spilosoma vestalis). Genus for sure is Spilosoma. I see some red, but this poor pup is pretty beat up, so it's hard to say.

Now I know to take a front shot with forelegs in clear view next time I find a moth (especially fuzzy gorgeous white moth).

Thanks D!

2. In which family does my lovely spider belong?

This shot looks exactly like my spider, and it's in the Thomisidae family, crab spiders.

But, so does this one, which is listed as being in Philodromidae, running crab spiders.

The first is UC Berkeley's CalPhotos, the second is University of Michigan's site. I love the UM site but they explicitly disclaim super-accuracy, being run by and for students, so I'd kinda lay my $ on UCB's classification if these are all the same creature.

Plus, the running crab spider pics on BugGuide.net don't look much like mine. So, my guess is Thomisidae.

The back legs are small and slender, and the Thomisidae is supposed to have smaller back legs than Philodromidae, but I have no perspective from which to render a comparison.

Any spider-y experts out there (or any sort of entomologically savvy person)? Please render your opinion.

=) biobabbler

homework for a biologist - Q&D flowering plant i.d.

          
From the hike I took yesterday are, as usual, many unanswered questions. Most of which are "what is this plant?" So, here's a look at a few of the plants I got shots of, but was not certain re: it's name (common or scientific), or where I learned something about it today that I did not know yesterday.

Caveat: these names are my best guesses, based upon readily available references and these photos, and not from having the specimen in hand and our field scope out of storage (where it sadly waits for us) and Jepson's guiding me at every step in keying out. This is the quick and dirty (Q&D) version.

1st, candidate for most adorable. SO tiny. The whole thing is about two inches tall. A Lilliputian masterpiece.

I am basically in love with this plant. Linanthus bicolor is the scientific name, true baby stars and Linanthus are two of the common names (www.calflora.org). Another common name listed is bicolor linanthus, but if the scientific name is Linanthus bicolor, I don't think that common name adds much, do you?

Here's one I learned last year and since forgot, but looked up again and, voila, caterpillar phacelia (Phacelia cicutaria):

It's a flower you can readily overlook as there are SO many other, much brighter white flowers, not to mention the purple, orange, yellow and pink ones. But it is a cool bloom, especially when you stop and look at it more closely.

Now, on to goldfields, which are painting the foothills right now (hence their name).

Now, a closer look:

This particular goldfield is sporting what I assume is a crab spider (family Thomisidae), specifically a flower crab spider (genus Misumena). SO cute. I love crab spiders and how they love to hang out on flowers. Charming trait.

Of course, once I think about it again, what better place to lurk than a flower, which SO many species are drawn to for sustenance... cute? Hm... maybe not so much. Efficient, yes.

Many blog entries ago I put up a picture of a spider doing a very good job of NOT looking like a spider. Pretty sure it's also a crab spider.

BTW Thank you bugguide.net, AGAIN. Check out this amazing picture... http://bugguide.net/node/view/67374/bgpage  Those are some fierce, stylish spiders.

Alright, that's all for now. More soon. Rest of day/life beckons... but so psyched about the additional photos I have to fling at you! And a tiny butterfly let me get SO CLOSE I was amazed...

xobiobabbler

P.S. Anyone else out there nuts about spring? LOVE it so much.