Chonkiest one of the day
Found in plant nursery, many plants sourced from Southern California and possibly beyond.
Many infected at this location.
Caught a California Bee Assassin!
On cultivated flannelbush
You can see a bulge in its belly from a recent meal.
Gall? On Toyon leaf. This plant had at least 6 of these, probably a lot more.
The red stem gall on clarkia sp.
Additional galls seen the same day:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/112632810
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/112625631
Found in an estuary marsh in southern New Jersey. Adults take on an orange color. Covered in lots of long cilia and whisker-like setae. Adults are roughly 1mm.
Under the impression that these 5 separate observations are possibly the same things.
Firm to the touch and attached to the leaf on each.
(Did not collect)
March 13th https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/108590817
March 18th https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/109054703
March 21st https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/109183721
March 26th https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/109778344
March 31st https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/110104458
A pretty iridescent egg (maybe from a leaf-footed bug?) on a blueberry in a Mississippi yard.
Web on eucalyptus
I was surprised to notice what appeared to be several fresh galls of varying growth patterns on my backyard Frangula californica.
Part of my surprise is the timing. It is early for flowering and especially fruiting. When I looked at the bush today I only found one flower bud on a bush that is approximately 2 meters x 2 meters. Yet there were 7 apparent galls of varying forms. I am moderately-to-highly confident that these galls did not exist in November.
This gall looks a bit like a possible fruit gall previously reported here:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/95882473
But it is lacking the pointy appendage (which was visible on some other galls today).
It looks like there was a single puparium (or is it two?) inside.
This is distinct from the spring flower gall that has multiple larvae inside, as seen here:
Here is a video of the little guy https://youtu.be/7yUbX2MJa-0
VIDEO: WELL WORTH THE 5 SECONDS! https://flic.kr/p/SZpDSR
NOTE: A permit is required to enter the water or sweep it with a net. Fortunately we were deputized by none other than the author of a field guide to the area (has a permit and was our supervisor). She was coaching a team from US Fish & Wildlife Service. All my IDs for the water creatures are from her. Everyone was super kind, and I greatly appreciate their including and educating us for the morning.
Observed and photographed by my colleague Mike Morrison. A rare find usually associated with deep water in the tropics. This specimen was 3 m in length, 300 mm from spine to belly and 75-100mm thick and was estimated to weigh around 50 kg.
Oarfish stranded in La Jolla Cove
Bretz Mill area, Fresno County, California
Host: canyon live oak
Not sure about this one. On California Scrub Oak I think.
Host: Artemisia douglasiana, California mugwort
ID is tentative.
On Salix
Some sort of black cottonwood pest, this is an update to a gall I saw a week or two ago. Those galls have turned into holes in the leaves (last 4 pics). This time I found new faded spots on the top of the leaves, no bump or gall yet, but under those bumps is an exposed larva of some type. Does it burrow in and form a gall?
Original observation of the last 4 pics - http://www.inaturalist.org/observations/92533568
Russo's "Flange Gall" (2021, p128). On Q. douglasii.
aspect de parasite ou gale du chêne ? en forme de champignon collant à l'extrémité des branches
gall on Serviceberry leaf on forest floor. west ridge nandg
An oddball from @merav's excellent gall week event. ;-) On Blue Oak.
Haha @merav note the stalk-on-a-stalk! Lacewing egg on Hair Stalk Gall Wasp. :-)
On Blue Oak.
Q macrocarpa
Not at all sure what this is, maybe fasciation?
On white oak group
Ant crawling on what are probably stink bug eggs on a seed pod of Chamaecrista fasciculata.
Host: Arroyo Willow.
On Q. lyrata. I've never seen so many in one place.
On Common Witch-Hazel.
I think. On western sycamore.
One of maybe 100 of these snails in a small area where water drains. Coyote feeding ground, so perhaps they scavenge?