These were found near a dead mouse’s head, Monomorium.
This one was described as the bottle can opener ant — notice the projection at the end of the mesoma (hope I’m right with the terminology). Dolichoderus pustulatus or D. plagiatis.
A wonderful outreach event! A rather stunning number of visitors, maybe 100 or so? Lots of kids, and enthusiasm everywhere. The one thing relatively lacking were moths, but a good time was had for all.
Here is the first set of photos, with identifications to come at leisure later.
First, though, a Platycryptus undatus at home. These are very common in this particular spot: outside the kitchen window. The lights at the window attract prey; the flat environs give the jumping spiders’ superior eyesight the space to find prey; and there are places for the spiders to hide while stalking.
Okay, time for the moth ball
Spiders
I think in Erigoninae (dwarf spiders)
Orb weaver spiders, all in Eustala I believe.
Tetragnathid, long-jawed orb weaver
A leaf beetle
Leafhopper nymph
Leafhopper
Caddisflies
Weevil
And another weevil
Carabidae, ground beetle
Chironomid midge
Micro-moth, very well spotted by one of the youngsters!
Goleta, California (north of Santa Barbara). The actual monarchs are usually found there overwintering from October onwards, but we did in fact see some during our July visit. The flowers and the ocean were spectacular.
My first time here. DEFINITELY not my last. This place was amazing for bugs. Thank you to the organizers! And as always, many people have contributed to the identifications.
I was very surprised by how different the microfauna was from what I get near my house just one hour away. I found several new life species, including ones that are otherwise very common. This means I should be traveling more — except, one of the things I love about bugwatching is that you can do it near your house, with minimal waste of time and carbon.
I guess I need to figure out a compromise.
Hymenoptera
Tons of these Bicyrtes quadrifasciatus. Fewer that were willing to pose for me.
This Great Golden Digger Wasp, Sphex ichneumoneus, had a grasshopper outside her nest. And I somehow managed to just miss a shot of it dragging it in.
Sawfly larva, I think. Notice six pairs of prolegs (I think) — most caterpillars have two to five pairs.
My best guess is Dasymutilla for this Mutillidae female, but not sure which. There were lots of males flying around and really did not give us much of a chance to photograph them.
Diptera
Since we’re going to be seeing a couple of Bombyliid flies, this seems a good time to recount some interesting info about them (mostly paraphrased from Wikipedia): the females are mostly parasitoids, looking for burrows of beetles or solitary wasps and bees to lay their eggs. Once the females find a burrow, they don’t even need to land — they flick the eggs out mid-air, aimed into the burrow (hence the name, bomber flies). They also have a special storage structure in their bodies called a sand chamber, which they fill with sand before laying (if that’s the right word with these flies!) their eggs. These sand grained are used to coat the eggs before release, perhaps for the purpose of improving their aim, slowing down dehydration, or masking the chemical scent.
I thought I had seen my first Bombylius major, but pretty sure this is instead Bombylius incanus. Still cute, though!
Bombyliidae –> Anthracinae certainly. I’m pretty sure this is Hemipenthes.
Dolichopodidae.
Coleoptera
A stunning number of tiger beetles! I think this is Cicindelididia punctulata. Among my multitudinous other shortcomings, I’ve seen very few species of Cicindelinae.
Bugguide: “slender, dark brownish-gray (in the east), with or without thin white markings; longitudinal row of pits on each elytron”
Red Milkweed Beetle, Tetraopes tetrophthalmus.
Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetraopes_tetrophthalmus, says: “When startled, the beetles make a shrill noise, while they make a ‘purring’ noise when interacting with another beetle.” Now I really want to hear it.
This weevil is a little unaware of its danger. It’s going to take a while to pin it down further, because weevils are the absolute worst to identify because they’re so specious. EDIT: Maybe Odontocorynus.
Tumbling flower beetle Mordellidae. I think tribe Mordellistenini. Not sure how to go any further.
Orthoptera
Very colorful, not sure which:
Very colorful, not sure which. (Dissosteiracarolina nymph suggested, thank you!)
Very colorful, not sure which:
Blattodea
A very under-appreciated order. Let’s give them some love. Is this Parcoblatta, a wood cockroach? And I presume that’s her ootheca.
EDIT: “more likely to be Ectobius pallidus”
Hemiptera
I think this is Graphocephala fennahi, the Rhododendron leafhopper.
Spiders
I’m not sure but this might be Mecaphesa in Thomisidae. Note it’s a little hairy around the head. Anyone who wishes to chime in is welcome!
Odonata
Widow skimmer. I’m showing the photo from further away because I like it.
blue dasher Pachydiplaxlongipennis (thanks for the help with ID!)
And another shot, just because they’re so photogenic:
Eastern pondhawk Erythemissimplicicollis, thanks for the help with ID!
Lepidoptera
This stunning caterpillar is the camouflaged looper, the caterpillar of the Synchlora aerata, in Geometridae. Look at the camouflage!
Unfortunately, I managed to drop my camera onto the parking lot pavement just as I started the hike. This may be responsible for so many of the photos coming out blurred as we look away from the center, almost like a tilt shift photo. Strangely, many of them also came out fine, so I’m not sure what was happening here.
The path took place in a valley, with heights on either side. It ended in a spectacular outlook (although the falls did not have water).
EDIT: blue-gray gnatcatcher suggested as the identification, please see comments below.
These presumably Buprestid beetles were everywhere:
See what I mean about some of the photos being blurred away from the center? This next photo actually had a f-number of f/13 , there’s no way it should be looking like this. Mildly heartbreaking, because I think it could have been a good photo.
a little wild 