Black Petaltail

The black petaltail dragonfly (Tanypteryx hageni) is one of only a handful of species in the family Petaluridae. This is an ancient group of dragonflies which makes them truly ancient since dragonflies themselves have a long history in the fossil record. There are only two species of this family in North America. One is eastern the other is western.

I saw this individual a couple of weeks ago just above Wishon Reservoir in eastern Fresno County (California) at an elevation of about 6,700 feet. This is near the highest point known for the species (as recorded in Sidney Dunkle's useful book Dragonflies through Binoculars). It is also further south than the known range which is the general area of the northwest.

We (Spencer, Michael and his friend Zack, and I) were camping along Little Rancheria Creek when we saw it. It was a very scenic spot surrounded by 100 foot (and higher) red firs. The place just felt primeval and was a perfect spot for such an antediluvian creature.

Cliff Lake California

Spencer, Michael, Zack (Michael's friend) and I spent a couple of days last week in the high country northeast of Fresno (California). We started from the Cliff Lake trailhead just northwest of Courtright Reservoir (elevation just over 8,100 feet) and climbed about 1,300 feet to Cliff Lake. July is a great time to be backpacking at this elevation. The trail was nice and the temperature couldn't have been better. The one drawback (and it was a big one) was the relentless cloud of mosquitoes that never went away.

This has been a wet year and a lot of snow has accumulated in these mountains. There were several snowpacks still dotting the meadows that we walked through. In some places, the trail had been transformed into a small stream and we were forced to walk along the side. With all this water there were also a lot of snowmelt pools. And in these pools there were mosquito larvae (wigglers) by the thousands (by the millions). At first we thought they would disappear as we got higher. We were wrong. Even though the first sight of Cliff Lake was a welcome reprieve to sore legs, it turned out to be just as mosquito - infested as many other places on the trail. We ended up covering ourselves with repellent and covering our faces with articles of clothing in order to keep our sanity.

We somehow managed to set up a small camp and enjoy the evening (after the mosquitoes went to sleep) but by the next morning we were ready to get away from the torment. Later in the day we drove to Wishon Reservoir and jumped in the cool water. It felt great on our many festering wounds.

I don't mean to make this sound too bleak. Cliff Lake is a beautiful place. Hopefully these pictures will make you want to make the trip. I just advise that you do so at another time than July in a wet year. The hike itself is four to five miles long (one way) and not all that difficult.

Cucujus clavipes

Cucujus clavipes is the largest flat bark beetle (Family Cucujidae) in North America. This may not seem like much since most other species in the family (and related groups) are normally not much more than a quarter of an inch long. Cucujus clavipes, by contrast, commonly comes in at over half an inch. It is also striking in its bright reddish color.



It lives under the bark of dead trees and feeds on other insects. I have seen it in a number of US states (north, south, east and west) but it seems to be most abundant in the coniferous forests of the Western US. This individual was found about 40 miles northeast of Fresno (California) under the bark of fallen Douglas fir at about 6,000 feet.

Metrius contractus

Just over three months ago I was spending the night by a neglected dirt road north of Auberry, California (Fresno County). Before nodding off to sleep, I took a walk with my flashlight and came across this black ground beetle - Metrius contractus - wandering in search of something to eat (I suppose).

It was crawling up this large rock covered with lichens and browning moss. It is a squatty thing, not so typical of other ground beetles and just over a centimeter long. Its shape reminded me of the snail-eating carabids in the genus Dicaelus but this resemblance is superficial. In fact the beetle belongs to the primitive ground beetle subfamily Paussinae, a group that is much more diverse in the tropics. Many species are associated with ants in some way. This species may as well although I am unfamiliar with any work confirming this.

The habitat picture is from the spot where I found it, but on the following day.

Xylocrius agassizi

Over Father's Day weekend (last week) we decided to celebrate and go camping at Dinkey Creek (at about 5,000 feet and just east of Shaver Lake in Fresno County, California). The campground had just been open the week before. This is quite late in the year but the heavy rains and snow had required the delay. Not long after setting up the tent we took a short walk down to Dinkey Creek by the famous bridge. It was there on a large granite boulder that I saw this impressive longhorn beetle, Xylocrius agassizi.

With antennae poised, it is a bit over an inch long and the black body is heavily punctate and covered with black hair. If you look close you can see that the 3rd and 4th segments of the antennae are roughly equal in length and are more rounded at the end than the later segments. These are diagnostic characters of the species.

It is sometimes referred to (unofficially) as the gooseberry borer because it feeds on Ribes, although I've never seen it recognized as a pest. It probably takes a couple of years to complete its life cycle and is not all that frequently encountered. This particular individual is hardly tarnished at all and seems to have just recently emerged. It's quite an attractive insect in its bold black simplicity. The habitat shot is from Dinkey Creek where I found the beetle but from two years ago when the water was much lower.

Prionus californicus

Over 30 years ago I hung out my first blackight trap to attract night flying insects. It was in the early summer along the Wasatch Front of the Rocky Mountains and I really didn't know what to expect. I hung it out behind our barn and after I had watched it for some time with nothing more than midges and water boatmen coming in I left for the house. Then several minutes later my brother came in quite excited and said that there was a big beetle on the sheet. I ran out to see for myself and found the largest beetle I could imagine. It was Prionus californicus and it was almost 2 inches long.

Since then, I've discovered that this insect isn't uncommon at all. In fact in some places it can be a pest of fruit trees. It is a Western species occuring from Colorado to the West Coast. In the North it occurs in southern Canada and ranges south into northern Mexico.

These pictures are of an individual that landed just outside my office west of Fresno this week. I'm not sure where it came from - maybe somebody's apple orchard. Finding it was like finding an old friend.

Omus californicus

The California night-stalking tiger beetle Omus californicus intermedius occurs sporadically through the Sierra Nevada of California. It can be fairly common if you find the right place. Fortunately for us, we found such a place this last weekend a few miles south of Shaver Lake (in Fresno County). Because of the many rains this year and cool temperatures, the area (at an elevation of about 5,000 feet) was still moist (almost wet) and the California dogwoods were still in "bloom". The beetles themselves were under pieces of wood or logs or just under fallen leaves. Jon found the first one. The habitat shot is of Michael in a prime spot.



Finding Omus is always a thrill for me. Having lived in a number of states where I've seen and collected a number of impressive "tigers" I've often rued the fact that Omus was so restricted to the West Coast. Now that I'm living in California I find that they're not all that hard to find after all, at least if you're persistent. Even so, they're an impressive insect. Their mandibles are certainly capable of drawing blood if you gave them the chance.

I've collected them at elevations ranging from 5,000 feet to 8,000 in the Sierra Nevada above Fresno. I know Dennis Haines has found them at lower elevations further south. He tells me that there may be subspecific (or even specific) differences between some of these populations, but further work is needed (which Dennis is currently doing). In the mean time keep your eyes open for them (or any Omus) and let us know if you find some.