Polyphylla decemlineata

The ten-lined june beetle (Polyphylla decemlineata) is one of the most attractive pests in the Western US. It emerges towards the end of June / early July here in Fresno at which time it begins showing up at porch lights.

It's the unseen larvae (feeding as grubs on roots) that cause the damage, and they are known to feed on a variety of plants. In a suburban neighborhood (were I live) it isn't really possible to know who's yard they are coming from and so controlling them can be a challenge. If you have unhealthy grass (or grassy areas) you might want to treat it. The adults aren't a problem and birds love to eat them, and keep their numbers down for the most part. In rural areas they can be a problem in peak years.

Oncopeltus fasciatus

Oncopeltus fasciatus, the milkweed bug, is a wide-ranging lygaeid bug that feeds on several milkweed species (and dogbane) througout North America (although not commonly in the Rocky Mountains or the Pacific Northwest). It can be fairly abundant and chances are, you’ve seen one before. They share the same host plant as monarch butterfly larvae and milkweed beetles.

 In California, they can be found every month of the year. I found these individuals just south of King’s Canyon National Park in September this year (at about 3,500 feet).

The habitat was mixed pine / oak forest.

Ampedus occidentalis

Ampedus occidentalis is a medium-sized click beetle (about a centimeter long) that lives much of its life in the decaying wood of fallen pines. I found this one under the bark of a dead ponderosa pine several miles east of Jackson, California a couple of weeks ago.

There are several species of Ampedus that have this general color pattern - of the black body with pale (almost orange) wing covers. Many of the species have a black spot at the end of the body. In A. occidentalis, the black spots normally do not touch the sides of the wing covers.

The grove of trees where I found it was a mixed conifer forest of ponderosa pine, white fir and incense cedar (with the occasional oak as well) in El Dorado County at about 4,300’ elevation.

Platycerus virescens

Here's a Thanksgiving beetle somebody might enjoy. It isn't officially the Thanksgiving beetle (which doesn't exist as far as I know), It's actually called the oak stag beetle (Platycerus virescens) but I found it a couple of weeks ago around Thanksgiving time. It isn't a stag beetle of the same proportions as its Asian relatives that can be ten times bigger (or more). Platycerus virescens is only about a centimeter long, but the male still bears a fine set of mandibles and it clearly a lucanid belonging to the Sacred Order of the Lamellate Antennae (christened SOLA by my scarab-collecting colleagues).

Perhaps more appropriately though, I found this individual within a block or two of where the first Thanksgiving was celebrated near Williamsberg, Virginia. I was visiting my son Spencer, who is working on his doctorate in Colonial History at William and Mary, and as I was driving towards town I stopped to have a look in some old fallen timber. This is where I found the beetle and this historical marker.

It surprised me that the first Thanksgiving was celebrated in Virginia and not in New England - and in 1619, not later with the Pilgrims. Since I'm not a historian, I'll leave it others to explain my (and probably others') confusion on this. I should also mention, that mid-November is not a good time to be walking around the forests near Williamsburg. I was stopped by a gentleman dressed in hunting gear and notified that it wasn't safe to be about. In fact I was looking for beetles on the opening day of muzzle-loader season. Here's a picture of scenic Lake Matoaka near campus, and the habitat typical of P. virescens.

The American Alligator

About six years ago, Erik, Michael and I received an offer we couldn't refuse. Floyd Williams, a park naturalist with North Carolina State Parks, asked if we would like to take a canoe trip out into the swamp of Merchant's Millpond - a cypress-wooded backwater in Eastern North Carolina. I had been working with Floyd for a number of months identifying beetles from the park and he wanted to show us an area we couldn't get to by hiking.

We found a number of Donacia beetles on the pond lilies. We also saw several water moccasins swimming across the water. This was a new experience for me. I knew this particular species was fond of water but I had only seen snakes before on dry land. Watching its movement on water was at first fascinating and then a little disconcerting - especially when one swam right past our canoe. Floyd picked up the creature with his paddle for a closer look as if this was the natural thing to do.

After an hour or two, we came to the far end of the park and clambered out of our canoes near the largest cypress I had ever seen. It was well over 6 feet in diameter and must have been many hundreds of years old. There were also water moccasins all around the trunk. We didn't stay too long. It really wasn't very safe. On the way back, Floyd's wife spotted what we hoped we might see: an American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis). She pointed to an area covered with duckweed and it took me several moments to finally see the giant reptile. Only the top of its back and head were visible.

We were several yards away from it and I asked Floyd how close we could safely get to it. He suggested that fifteen feet would probably be a good distance and so I got out my camera and told Erik and Michael to paddle to within 15 feet. What I didn't account for was how effective the two of them were at paddling. They indeed stopped at 15 feet but then the canoe's momentum carried us several more feet forward. Sensing this, I hurried and instructed them to paddle the other way while I took a couple of pictures. Fortunately, the alligator was not in a mood to bother us and we managed our retreat without incident. It was quite a rush. I think we got to within seven or eight feet of the animal.

 

 

Stenomorpha lecontella

Stenomorpha lecontella is a medium-sized darkling beetle that can be locally common here in the Central Valley of California in the spring. It likes to eat the fresh soft tissues of several plant species when they are just seedlings - as you can see from this picture.

Most individuals are only half an inch long and don't move very fast. Beginning entomology students sometimes have a hard time telling the difference between darkling beetles (especially ones like Stenomorpha) and ground beetles. One very easy way to tell them apart is to watch them in their natural habitat. Darkling beetles move a lot slower and some species will stick their back end in the air when disturbed.

Kathy and I found a large population around a small pond just outside of Fresno on a nature trail. There were painted cement walls and a central display board telling of the many interesting creatures that lived in the area. There were several local species of vertebrates listed but the darkling beetles were a little misrepresented. They were called "stinky head-stander beetles". Now I've been studying beetles for quite a few years (make that decades) but that's the first time I've heard of such a creature as a head-stander beetle. I think the name Stenomorpha lecontella has a nicer ring to it.

Yosemite's Tame Coyotes

There are a couple of tame coyotes in Yosemite National Park these days. Kathy and I came across a pair a couple of weeks ago as we were driving north along Highway 41 about 30 minutes north of the park's southern entrance. I've learned that it pays when travelling in national parks to pull over immediately when confronted with a traffic jam (something I've learned from my friend Steve). People are often stopped to take pictures or just to look at some interesting natural phenomenon. This time it turned out to be a big dog (two actually): Canis latrans, commonly known as the coyote.

I've seen a number of coyotes in my life and when I saw this one, I was impressed by its size. For a second I wanted to believe that it might just be a small wolf. Maybe California introduced a pack of wolves, I thought. But the longer I watched the creatures, the more I realized that this wasn't likely. These two animals seemed almost tame. They made no attempt to leave the line of clicking cameras and seemed to be all but asking for hand-outs.

After spending a lovely day in Yosemite Valley, we returned and found the same animals on the same stretch of road as before. At this point I was certain that we were looking at tame coyotes. More cars were stopped and tourists were taking pictures. The thought went through my mind that this animal is known to be the bane of ranchers. People are willing to pay money for their pelts. But you have to admit that they're attractive animals and make for a nice show. Yosemite could do worse.