kathleenlryan's Identifications

Grass skipper butterfly nectaring on Coyote Brush flowers in maritime chaparral habitat.
Link to confirmed observation nearby: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/391235

Woodland Skipper (Ochlodes sylvanoides) is a small butterfly in the Skippers (Hesperiidae) family. Wingspan is 1 - 1.25 inches. It has 1-2 flights, July-November. Larval foodplant is perennial grasses. Adults nectar on asters, thistles, etc. Avoids gardens, agricultural lands, and other developed areas.

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. 190-191.
Coming soon: Companion website to Butterflies of Monterey County: https://www.montereybutterflies.online/

Butterflies and Moths of North America https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Ochlodes-sylvanoides
"Upperside is orange with toothed brown borders. Forewing has a black stigma (male) or a black diagonal band (female). Hindwing has a large reddish patch. Underside varies from yellow to reddish to brown; hindwing varies from unmarked to having a distinct band of cream to yellow spots. Life History: First-stage caterpillars hibernate, complete their feeding the next spring, diapause in the summer as fully-grown caterpillars, then pupate and emerge as adults in the fall. Flight: One brood from late July-October. Caterpillar Hosts: Various grasses including Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon), canary grass (Phalaris), wildrye (Elymus), and wheatgrass (Agropyron). Adult Food: Flower nectar. Habitat: Grassy areas in chaparral, sagebrush, woodland, gardens, and small streams. Range: Very common. British Columbia south to southern California; east to Montana, Colorado, and Arizona. Conservation: Not usually required."

Butterflies and Moths of North America https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Ochlodes-sylvanoides and https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species_search

Link to confirmed observation of Woodland Skipper for comparison: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/181002340

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

Butterflies Through Binoculars: The West: a field guide to the butterflies of western North America, by Jeffrey Glassberg, 2001, pp. 272-273.

Butterflies of Central and Northern California: a guide to common and notable species, photos and text by Jim Brock, laminated pamphlet, 2023.

Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America. Brock and Kaufman, 2003, p. 328-329.

Glossary of butterfly terms: https://butterfly.ucdavis.edu/resources/glossary

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.

Common Butterflies of California, Text and Photographs by Bob Stewart, 1997

Butterflies & Their Favorite Flowering Plants: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park & Environs, Lynn and Gene Monroe, 2004

Wagner's Caterpillars of Western North America "last we heard 1450 species accounts were in progress" thebals 6/6/23.

Grass Skippers are in the Skippers (Hesperiidae) family https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grass_skippers
Most grass skippers have a rapid, darting flight. When landed, their wings are often kept completely closed, or with the hind wings more or less completely open but with the fore wings only partially opened, forming a V or U.

Grass Skippers
Butterflies Through Binoculars: The West: a field guide to the butterflies of western North America, by Jeffrey Glassberg, 2001, pp. 250-275.

"Flight date is really helpful here. Rural Skipper flies mostly May-June, while Woodland Skipper flies mainly July-October. In some places (Channel Islands and a few CA coastal locations) where Rural Skipper does not occur, Woodland Skipper will fly on the early side. For example, I've seen it a few miles inland from Point Reyes in early July. But at Pinnacles National Park where both species fly, Woodland Skipper starts in August and usually peaks in September. Yuma Skipper feeds on Giant Reed and the only populations I know of anywhere near the Monterey/SF Bay Area are near Benicia and farther inland along Central Valley rivers." (per euproserpinus 9/9/23)

Honey Bee nectaring on flowering Narrowleaf Milkweed plant. Link to milkweed observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/180578718

Western Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) Introduced/naturalized flying insect, approx. 14 mm long. Honey bees are excellent pollinators and produce wonderful honey in their hives. Honey tastes different depending on which species the bees have been foraging on. The genus name Apis is Latin for "bee", and mellifera is the Latin for "honey-bearing" or "honey carrying", referring to the species' production of honey.
Like all honey bee species, the western honey bee is eusocial, creating colonies with a single fertile female (or "queen"), many normally non-reproductive females or "workers", and a small proportion of fertile males or "drones". Individual colonies can house tens of thousands of bees. Colony activities are organized by complex communication between individuals, through both pheromones and the dance language.
The western honey bee was one of the first domesticated insects, and it is the primary species maintained by beekeepers to this day for both its honey production and pollination benefits.

Pollen Basket: The pollen basket is located on the bee’s hind legs and consists of hairs surrounding a concave receptacle. As the bee visits a flower, she grooms herself and brushes pollen sticking to her body toward her hind legs. She then packs the pollen into the pollen basket. To help keep the pollen together during flight, some nectar is mixed in. Hairs on the pollen basket hold it all in place. Amazing!

Native Bees: Get to Know Native Bees of the Santa Cruz Mountains with Obi Kaufmann. May 6, 2020 https://openspacetrust.org/blog/native-bees/

Beekeeping Beyond the Hive: The Surprising Secrets of Bees
Native • Wild • Managed
"Bees are the wispy sprites that connect the plant kingdom to the animal kingdom; they are the ties that bind the natural world together. Because of bees, flowering plants grace our planet with beauty and food."
rustybee's website: https://www.honeybeesuite.com/

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

Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America, Eaton and Kaufman, 2006, pp. 346-347.

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There are 6 taxonomic families of Bees:

Andrenidae; (an-dren-ih-dee)
These bees tend towards being small and hairy. They make their homes in the ground so are often called mining bees, or sand bees. Generally, they are so small they can fit in tiny flowers, like the bell-shaped blossoms that hang from manzanita.

Apidae; (ap-ih-dee)
These are the really common, really big bees. Included in this family are the European honeybees, BUMBLE BEES and carpenter bees.

Colletidae; (co-lect-ih-dee)
Included in this family are two genera (Colletes and Hylaeus) that are identifiable by their unique faces. If you are lucky enough to study the face of a landed Colletes, you can identify it by its distinctly triangular face. Hylaeus usually has a black body that is contrasted to the yellow markings on its face that make it look like it’s wearing a mask.

Halictidae; (ha-lect-ih-dee)
These bees are commonly called sweat bees because apparently, they like to land on human skin and drink sweat, although I’ve never observed this. I like to call them jewel bees because they often are metallic in sheen and bright in color.

Megachilidae; (mega-chill-ih-dee)
These bees include the mason or the wool-carder bees. They make their homes inside hollowed out twigs or in tunnels made by other insects like beetles. The invasive and common Anthidium manicatum is a regular visitor to the Santa Cruz mountains.

Melittidae; (mel-it-tih-dee)
The most-rare of the bee family types in California. Feeding exclusively on Clarkia flowers in the California chaparral, Hesperapis regularis is one of a small number of native species"

At the turn of the hour I began to hear the back and forth “hu-hu, hooo hooo” calls of the Great Horned Pair that claim the lands surrounding Schulte Rd... calls I hear nearly every night and morning from my home.. finally able to share some images of one of the owls.. initially spotted this owl’s silhouette with my naked eye (roughly 100m out..) as it perched on an exposed branch of M. pine.. (many the time I’ve attempted spotting these owls at dusk.. finally finding success tonight) after seeing the silhouette bend forward in the act of calling out, indeed I knew this one of Schulte’s Great Horned residents.. using my 600mm telephoto lens to capture these images..

Bald Eagles that live in this area are here for non breeding reasons, meaning the season for their chance to mingle has passed and they have moved further south. This is what I believe to be a young Bald Eagle, which happen to fly around the northern hemisphere living a nomadic life. Their wingspan is very large, sitting at around 80in. They tend to weigh between 100-220 ounces; depending on their age and size.