shxx60's Identifications

Link to Propertius Duskywing butterfly observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/219422034

I’ve been told Pacific Poison Oak flowers have a very nice scent. This is my favorite photo of Poison Oak taken at Jack's Peak County Park: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/84268598

Pacific Poison Oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum) A.k.a. Western Poison Oak. It has leaves in threes, shiny and bright green, but turning to brilliant red in the fall. Flowers are dioecious, male and female flowers growing on separate plants. Poison Oak can grow as a creeper, climber or as an ordinary shrub. All parts of the plant secrete an oily resin (urushiol), which is capable of causing an extremely unpleasant rash. The oil can affect you by direct contact, or from clothes that have been in contact with the plant, or even from dogs that have passed through the leaves or bare branches. Inhaling smoke from burning Poison Oak can also induce a severe reaction.
It grows on slopes in many plant communities throughout California including Yellow Pine Forest, Closed-Cone Pine Forest, Foothill Woodland, Chaparral, and Valley Grassland.

Calflora (includes species distribution map in CA) https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=8015

Jepson eFlora with botanical illustration: https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=46791

Monterey County Wildflowers– a photographic guide https://montereywildflowers.com/anacardiaceae/

Plants of Monterey County: an Illustrated Field Key, 2nd edition, Matthews and Mitchell, 2015

Flora of North America http://beta.floranorthamerica.org/Main_Page (species not listed as of 2/28/24)

Flora of Fort Ord: Monterey County, California, David Styer, 2019,

Monterey County Wildflowers: a Field Guide, Yeager and Mitchell, 2016,

5-minute video of Fort Ord Flora and Fauna, produced by David Styer: https://fortordcleanup.com/archives/2020/natural-treasures-of-fort-ord-90-amazing-photographs/

Fort Ord A Love Story, Dorothy E. Denning, 2024 (includes 1,000+ color photos), pp. 147-149.

(The) Monterey Pine Forest: Coastal California's Living Legacy, 2nd. ed, The Monterey Pine Forest Watch, 2018.

Mylitta Crescent (Phyciodes mylitta) are small, abundant butterflies in the Brush-footed Butterflies (Nymphalidae) family with a wingspan of 1.0 -1.5 inches. They have 2-4 flights per year, February-November. They are orange with black patterning. Hindwings are rounded and appear scalloped. When wings are closed, there is a distinct silvery crescent on hindwing margin. They have a direct, low flight, with alternating series of flaps and flat winged glides. Adult nectar plants include buckwheats, yellow composites, and asters. Larval food plants are thistles.

Butterflies of Monterey County: A comprehensive guide to finding and identifying 91 species of butterflies in Monterey County, Chris Tenney and Jan Austin, August 2023, pp. 124-125.

Butterflies Through Binoculars: The West: a field guide to the butterflies of western North America, by Jeffrey Glassberg, 2001, pp. 178-179.

Butterflies of the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento Valley Regions, p. 179, plate 19.

Law's Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada, p. 168.

Bug photographs from the U.S/Canada for I.D: https://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Phyciodes+mylitta

Butterflies and Moths of North America https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Phyciodes-mylitta

Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America. Brock and Kaufman, 2003, p. 178.

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BUTTERFLY and CATERPILLAR (Annotated References):

In California, there are about 240 species of butterflies. There are more than 3,000 species of MOTHS, which represent 4 suborders in about 50 families. Butterflies have clubbed antennae, moths do not. Many moths are nocturnal, but not all.

Field Guide to California Insects, by Kip Will, J. Gross, D. Rubinoff , J. Powell, 2nd ed., 2020 (Lepidoptera, pp. 347-426)

Butterflies of Monterey County: A comprehensive guide to finding and identifying 91 species of butterflies in Monterey County, by Chris Tenney and photograher Jan Austin, August 2023 and companion website: https://www.montereybutterflies.online/

Glossary of Butterfly (and Moth) Terminology: https://butterfly.ucdavis.edu/resources/glossary

Butterflies of the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento Valley Regions: A Field Guide, Arthur M. Shapiro and Timothy D. Manolis, 2007

Law's Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada, John Muir Laws, California Academy of Sciences, 2007

eButterfly: (2115+ species) https://www.e-butterfly.org/ebapp/en/observations/explore

BugGuide: Butterflies and Moths (U.S. and Canada) clickable categories or use search bar: https://bugguide.net/node/view/57

Butterfly Wing Areas and Body Parts (diagram)
Butterflies Through Binoculars: The West: a field guide to the butterflies of western North America, by Jeffrey Glassberg, 2001, p. 40.

Butterflies Through Binoculars: The West: a field guide to the butterflies of western North America, by Jeffrey Glassberg, 2001

Butterflies and Moths of North America https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species_search

Butterflies of Central and Northern California, a laminated pamphlet (guide to common and notable species) by Jim Brock, 2023

Caterpillar Anatomy diagram and Butterfly Basics: https://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/butterfly/activities/printouts/caterpillarprintout.shtml Life Cycle of a Butterfly: Egg --> Larva (the caterpillar) --> Pupa (the chrysalis or cocoon) --> Adult.

Caterpillars: INaturalist Project https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/california-caterpillars