Molorchus longicollis

The Merced River below Yosemite National Park runs through a beautiful yet spare landscape. It is dry most of the year and most species of plants bloom in the spring. Two years ago this last March, we camped at McCabe Flat Campground and enjoyed the beautiful show of flowers along the river and the pleasant weather.

I aslo found a few longhorn beetles (Molorchus longicollis) on buckbrush. Some were on the flowers covered in pollen and others were mating on nearby branches. They are interesting beetles with pale abbreviated wing covers and long antennae.

The species is one of the smallest longhorn beetles in the world. It is hardly even a centimeter long (about the size of your freshly clipped baby fingernail). Compared to another longhorn beetle (the largest beetle in the world) that is as long as your hand with fingers extended, you can get the idea of the size difference.  In the habitat shot you can barely see the Merced River through the oaks.

Bombus vosnesenskii

Our most common bumble bee in California is Bombus vosnesenskii. As you can see, it is quite attractive with its deep black base color and contrasting yellow abdominal band. It is one of 27 species that we have in the state.

This individual was out looking for nectar in January this year along the beach near Watsonville (Santa Cruz, County). This is one of the few bees that you can find at such times of the year. The habitat shot is of the ice plants along the beach where it was foraging.

Xylocopa varipuncta

The carpenter bee Xylocopa varipuncta is probably the biggest bee we have in California – bigger even than most bumblebees. It’s unusual as far as carpenter bees go because the male is a light orange/gold color with green eyes. Most carpenter bees are black.

In the last couple of weeks This bee has been buzzing resolutely around neighborhoods and parks looking for exposed wood to bore into. If your unlucky enough to have a vulnerable wood home, garage, or shed, you know the buzzing critters quite well. There are a handful of control options around but the best method I know of is the wood/plastic bottle trap that is just recently catching on. Type in “carpenter bee wood trap” in to your search engine or You Tube and you’ll find out how to make one (or several). They’re worth the time to make if you want to save your wood structures.

Meloe opacus

Blister beetles in the genus Meloe feed on solitary (native) bees as larvae. I have seen several species through the years and almost all of them have been clambering along the ground – often in pairs. This individual I found at Wishon Campground east of Porterville, California (in the Sierra Nevada) a couple of weeks ago. In this group the unusually-shaped middle segments of the antennae indicate that it is a male.

In collections, these beetles appear much smaller than they do alive. Most of the abdomen is hollow and, in pinned specimens, it shrinks into a wrinkled and asymmetrical piece of exoskeleton. This one was nearly an inch long alive.

The campground habitat is mixed pine and oak. As far as bees go, There were a few bumblebees about and colletid bees. And just a few hundred feet above the campground (which is at around 4,000 feet) was a blanket of snow. Clearly these beetles are fine with cold weather.

Litocala sexsignata

The day-flying moth Litocala sexsignata is out and about these days in the foothills of Southern California. We found this one a few days ago above Porterville (in Tulare County, California). It was sunning itself on a large riparian boulder and, as you can see (or can you), it fits in very well with the background color. It’s really only the abraded thorax that makes it easy to see.

It’s about the size of a typical night-flying noctuid – about an inch long and the larvae are known to feed on oak and possibly manzanita.

The habitat shot is of the North Fork of the Tule River at Wishon Campground. At 4,000 feet you can see that there is still a lot of spring yet to come.

Celastrina ladon

This is the spring azure (Celastrina ladon) that Michael, Drew and I came across three weeks ago on a hike to Marble Falls in Sequoia National Park (above Visalia). There were several bouncing above (and lapping from) a mineral rich seep on the trail.

 The butterfly is a member of the gossamer-winged butterfly family Lycaenidae - comprised of the smallest butterflies in our fauna. This one is a Western species that can be seen on warm days in the spring - usually in mountain areas at lower elevations. They are quite delicate, and with a good look, quite captivating. 

Marble Falls itself is a beautiful place. The spring run-off made for quite a cascade. The pool here by Michael looks like a great place to take a swim in July. It's a bit over 4 miles from the trailhead (that starts at Potwisha Campground). Although I can't vouch for it still being full and deep later in the year.

Imantodes cenchoa

The blunt-headed tree snake, Imantodes cenchoa, is a startling creature to stumble into at night. My encounter with this individual occurred a couple of years ago on the Osa Peninsula (in June) in southern Costa Rica. There were no sounds of rustling leaves or slithering scales from the ground. This snake came winding (silently) out of a tree, passed along an available branch and spread its full body over an enormous leaf a few feet from my disbelieving stare.

You would think that an experienced entomologist would be unflinching under such circumstances – and indeed my hunting instincts become fully active upon hearing the low buzz of a night-flying beetle. But snakes are different. When I see them unexpectedly, they can give me the spooks. Fortunately I recovered in time to take a picture. It’s an impressive creature, for sure.

The picture of the coast was taken the next day about a mile from where we found the snake.