http://www.the-eis.com/atlas/sites/default/files/QUICKGUIDE%20TO%20INVASIVE%20CACTI%20IN%20NAMIBIA.pdf

The recovery and revival of more than a dozen major wildlife species in California could be one of greatest overlooked stories in a generation.

Wildlife species, including bears, elk, sharks, whales, eagles and others are at their highest populations in more than a century, a direct result of habitat protection and crackdowns on commercial take and poaching, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/travel/amp/Bears-elk-sharks-crown-landmark-wildlife-surge-14340698.php

Four people joined me this morning for the monthly group walk on Hill Country Conservancy's Nalle Bunny Run wildlife preserve. Here are some highlights.

Before the group arrived a pair Summer Tanagers flew in with some interesting behavior. The male was in heavy molt, and he was "whisper singing" which is singing a quieter version of his normal song. See how uneven his tail feathers are in this photo:

A female joined him and she was quivering her feathers like I often see begging juvenile birds do. I don't know if this was a young bird still begging from its parent or the male's mate reinforcing their bond. Here they are together:

After the group arrived we enjoyed a slow walk covering about 1.5 miles and touring most of the preserve. Birds were present but mostly heard rather than seen. Here are some fun non-bird observations we made.

We found these armadillo tracks in the road shortly after we started:

This tiny Green Anole that we found by the graveyard must've been newly hatched:

One of several dragonflies we found was this beautiful male Roseate Skimmer:

I was excited to find this White-striped Longtail butterfly feeding on Lantana flowers:

One fun bird observation we made was this female Summer Tanager, chasing, catching, and eating a red wasp!

By the end of the walk I had recorded 22 species of birds. Here's our complete eBird list.

Here are a few more photos on Flickr.

And attached are the same photos as iNaturalist observations.

We're in Turkey for the 55th stop on the iNaturalist World Tour. Here, the top two observers, @trcarlisle and @a_emmerson have observations centered along the southwest coast of Turkey. A cluster of top observers such as @sabi and @mark027 have observations centered near the coastal Lake Köyceğiz in the province of Muğla. There is a cluster of top observers such as @selini and @theturkologist with observations centered near the most populous city of Istanbul. Another cluster of observers is clustered near the capital of Ankara (e.g. @bsener and @nermin). @ieakinci's observations are centered near the city of Kahramanmaraş and @merav's to the west of Istanbul.

The number of observations per month in Turkey ramped up in 2018 and again in 2019.

@sammyboy2059 is the top identifier overall and for birds and mammals. @kastani, the second top identifier, leads in plants and arachnids. @ozgebalkiz leads in insects. Thanks to all the other top identifiers such as @sabi, @odtudedoga, and @tubacan.

What can we do to get more people using iNaturalist in Turkey? Please share your thoughts below or on this forum thread

@trcarlisle @a_emmerson @sabi @selini @merav @ieakinci @sammyboy2059 @kastani @odtudedoga @tubacan

We’ll be back tomorrow in nearby Sri Lanka!

KNNV Nachtvlinder nacht

KNNV Nachtvlinder nacht

Curious about the critter(s) inhabiting this very common gall on Quercus turbinella, I brought a half-dozen back from my most recent visit to Rackensack Canyon. I placed them in a pint canning jar and covered it with cheesecloth. Within a couple of days, this wasp emerged; it's identical to an individual I photographed in the field. The next day it was joined by this adult wasp (presumably - jointed antennae).

I intended to return them to Rackensack the next morning, but it turns out that a single layer of cheesecloth is not an impermeable barrier to these guys. They took it on the wing and they or their remains are somewhere here in the house.

I want to thank all of you for sorting through my photos. It has made my quest of censusing the flora/fauna on our land possible and fun and I cannot thank all of you enough! I am doing it, in part, to protect our land from road construction and other dangers. We own 226 acres and have been working on restoring it to its original state. Our intention is to keep it that way forever.

I try to crop and lighten where needed to make the critters easier to identify.
Please let me know what I can do better and what body parts ("naughty bits") I should try to photograph. I am learning and love it!

If anyone wants or needs a specimen, I am more than happy to try to get them; just let me know. I have already sent some Elaterids to someone. We also welcome visitors who wish to wander on our land. Let me know. A gentleman has already been by to look for our Asilids.

I have been using an incandescent light and a mercury vapor light almost nightly since mid May and have been photographing much of what shows up. At first, I tried to ID the moths before posting them but am now just posting them. I wore out :)

I remember, years ago, meeting some young men in SE Arizona, mothing. I loved the picture of tough young men with a generator, lights and a case of beer; with kleenex hanging out of their ears to prevent critters from crawling in. Our kids had a good laugh. These men were wonderful and taught us a lot.

Thank all of you!!

Brenda and I had a fantastic time at Roaring Springs the weekend of August 9 - 11, 2019, with our friends Michael Crockett, Lux Stella Loza, Luke Browning, and Arlette Vila. The impetus for the trip was wanting to watch the Perseid meteor shower in a place with dark skies. Roaring Springs definitely has dark skies, but we also had a waxing gibbous moon (about 80% full). We saw a few meteors, and the nights were perfect for sitting out in lawn chairs and just enjoying the night and each other's company. It was a sweet weekend.

Roaring Springs Ranch has a high diversity of tree species, including papershell pinyon (Pinus remota), bigtooth maple (Acer grandidentatum), Arizona black walnut (Juglans major), pecan (Carya illinoinensis), and several species of oaks.

I searched the spring run of the Premier Spring of Roaring Springs for Valdina Farms salamander (Eurycea troglodytes), but didn't not find them. https://amphibiaweb.org/species/5375. I'll check again the next time I have a chance.

Brenda enjoying the cool waters of Camp Wood Creek.

В нашем проекте 50 тысяч наблюдений птиц России.

Первая 20-ка по наблюдениям
Ранг Пользователь Наблюдения
1 @aquacielo 3,116
2 @tomegatherion 2,896
3 @janems 2,162
4 @melodi_96 1,954
5 @konstantinsamodurov 1,580
6 @alinaboksorn 1,137
7 @birdchuvashia 1,109
8 @alexeiebel 932
9 @evgenyboginsky 911
10 @polinalikhacheva 793
11 @anisimov-43 767
12 @merlu 760
13 @svetlanaagafonova 748
14 @veravolobyeva 722
15 @ev_sklyar 676
16 @radik_kutushev 660
17 @dmitrydubikovskiy 608
18 beetle23 587
19 @sofya_priezzhih 582
20 @vladimirarkhipov 564

Первая 20-ка по видам
Ранг Пользователь Вид
1 @vladimirarkhipov 323
2 @birdchuvashia 313
3 @aquacielo 297
4 @g_kolotin 284
5 @marnika 249
6 @alexeiebel 222
7 @dmitrydubikovskiy 209
8 @tomegatherion 209
9 @igor-dvurekov 200
10 @melodi_96 197
11 @alexandrkochetkov 192
12 @ruseva 190
13 @valeriya_xoma 178
14 @alinaboksorn 174
15 @radik_kutushev 169
16 @konstantinsamodurov 167
17 @gonkem1986 161
18 @zveroboy57 152
19 @svetlanaagafonova 145
20 @ev_sklyar 140

American Bittern - First one Ive seen here.

https://inaturalist.ca/observations/30965868

Hello Everyone!
We just had Moth Week, so I tried to take my usual bunch of moth photos, and then some! I'm a bit behind on uploads again, but this has more to do with taking a vacation than anything. Went to visit family on the shore, and of course made sure to take tons of pictures while I was there! Went to the beach a few times, and tried to get in as much sea life as I could capture. Was a little disappointed I didn't see any spider crabs, sea cucumbers, sea horses, or porcupine fish this year, but on the bright side, I did catch more than I expected! Wish I had had time to do even more, but alas I had to come back home, and back to work I go! Made some great memories, and hope everyone enjoys the observations! There are more to come, I just haven't gotten to them yet. Hopefully over the next couple of days!!!
-Ash

Дорогие друзья!

Возможно, кто-то не знает, но есть на iNaturalist сходный с нашим проект под названием "Funga of Russia" (https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/funga-of-russia). Он был создан спустя пару недель вслед за нашим и буквально только что там отметился тысячный наблюдатель!

16,507 Observations - 2,023 Species - 612 Identifiers - 1,001 Observers

Примерно половина наблюдений имеют "Исследовательский уровень", остальные нуждаются в определении.

Присоединяйтесь к родственному общероссийскому проекту, его региональным составляющим и, конечно же, фотографируйте грибы! По секрету скажу, что на iNaturalist довольно много очень сведущих в грибах специалистов, которым во многих случаях не требуется микроскоп для надежного определения ваших находок.

Администратор проекта @milakalinina из Санкт-Петербурга. Со всеми вопросами и пожеланиями пишите ей.

Благодаря загрузке архивных фотографий Натальей Ивановой @dryomys, Костромская область переместилась на 18 место, опередив Краснодарский край
На сегодняшний день 2483 (+173) находки 443 (+32) видов собранные 20 натуралистами и определенные 168 (+10) экспертами.

If you know the parasitoids that affect this plant, or if you have information that helps to identify them, or if you are interested in any way to help... you are welcome!!!

We are scientific citizens :D

It's been hot and humid here in East Texas. So much so, that for the last 2 weeks straight AccuWeather has issued Heat Advisories asking folks to limit their outdoor activities. Most days are 97 degrees Fahrenheit with a heat index of about 107.

Before the advisories, I had checked my Passionflower Vine every day (along with my other garden plants). With the extreme heat of August, I chose to trade gardening outside for crocheting an afghan inside. I was disappointed in the amount of Butterfly activity anyway.

Today was cloudy with a high of 87 degrees F, so I decided to venture out. Wow, was I surprised!

These insects must flourish in the extreme heat and humidity! Their numbers went from one or two, to more than I can keep track of! My husband stopped counting at 30; he was 1/4 of the way through my Passionflower vine. There are two chrysalides that are empty and one that is occupied. All of the vines (that had overgrown the trellises and constantly required new bamboo additions) had been devoided of the newest tender growth. These ravenous little guys are already down to the middle-aged leaves for their food supply. The largest one measured 1.5 inches long.

Bring on the hottest part of the summer! These Gulf Fritillary larvae can take it!

I got to drive out to Alpine for SnakeDays this year. Arrived in Marathon late Thursday night, August 1 and stayed with my friends James Evans and Marci Roberts. James and I cruised the road together Friday night and Saturday night and found eight species of snakes.

About halfway down the Black Gap road (FM 2627) we pulled over for a rattlesnake on the road and ended up staring at the sky for about half an hour. These was no moon, and the Milky Way was absolutely gorgeous!

I was glad to have the time with James, "The Photographer West of the Pecos". How many other photographers travel with a battery-powered softbox light?

My herp list for the weekend:
Texas toad (Anaxyrus speciosus) on US-385 a few miles north of Marathon
Mediterranean house gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus) at Tom & Susan Curry's in Alpine
Glossy snake (Arizona elegans) on US-90 a few miles east of Marathon
Trans-Pecos ratsnake (Bogertophis subocularis)
Western diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox)
Mohave rattlesnake (Crotalus scutulatus)
Prairie rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis)
Great Plains ratsnake (Pantherophis emoryi)
Sonoran gopher snake (Pituophis catenifer affinis)
Long-nosed snake (Rhinocheilus lecontei)

Unfortunately, there were lots of road-killed animals (snakes and mammals) down every highway. Also, a utility company was installing a power line between Marathon and Alpine along US Hwy 90. They had dug about 50 holes that were about 6 feet deep for the poles, and left them open, some evidently for days. They were fenced with an orange mesh construction fence, but that's only good enough to keep clumsy people from falling in. I decided to check a few and see if there were any trapped animals. In 10 holes, I found two live southern plains woodrats (Neotoma micropus) and one dead, dried-out kangaroo rat that looked like it had been at the bottom of the hole for several days. There was no way to help the k-rat, but I duct-taped my snake tongs to another stick, and was able to pull out the woodrats. They didn't like being squeezed in the thorax with the tongs, but they looked really happy as they high-tailed it back into the brush!

Bird tracks and signs are fascinating, yet there are not many resources existing to identify them. In this project, we hope to collect as many bird tracks and signs as possible. Those observations confirmed with sightings of the bird making the track or sign are valuable because they help us all learn those tracks and improve our skill. We hope you enjoy this project and learn a lot about bird tracks and signs in the process!

Western monarchs migrate to California annually to overwinter in coastal groves. In her study, Schultz analyzed data reported by the Xerces Society, collected from 1997 to 2016, about monarch populations in the coastal groves, as well as some older data. Schultz found that the average abundance of the western monarch in 2016 was less than 5 percent of the abundance in the 1980s. “What we think we’re seeing is a long-term decline related to threats of habitat loss and pesticides,” she says.

https://entomologytoday.org/2019/08/16/look-science-insect-conservation/

Original source: http://www.tehachapinews.com/lifestyle/pen-in-hand-bears-in-bear-valley-more-sightings-and/article_89636348-c05c-11e9-9ba4-777e555c79ba.html

There have been indications over the past few years that there is a growing population of bears in a place known, appropriately enough, as Bear Valley Springs.

Unknown to many, though, is the fact that the bears for which both Bear Mountain and Bear Valley were given their names in the 1850s were the fearsome but now extinct California Grizzly Bears (Ursus arctos californicus). These shaggy giants were once abundant in the Tehachapi Mountains and other parts of Kern County.

The bears that are now thriving in Bear Valley Springs and other local areas are California Black Bears (Ursus americanus californiensis), a subspecies of American Black Bear that was first recognized in 1900. This is the kind of black bear found throughout the Sierra Nevada, Tehachapi Mountains, Coast Range and other Southern California mountains.

California got its nickname as the "Bear State" from the now-vanished grizzlies, but it remains an appropriate moniker as California has the largest black bear population of any of the contiguous United States. A precise census is impossible, of course, but there are believed to be more than 30,000 black bears living within California's borders.

California allows seasonal black bear hunting in many areas, though the season is closed when 1,700 bears have been taken. In 2018, a total of 1,349 bear tags were validated. Successful hunters must present the bear skull to California Department of Fish and Wildlife authorities, who remove a premolar tooth for ongoing bear management studies. The hounding of bears by hunting dogs, which were used to chase bears up into trees, was permanently banned in California in January of 2013.

As bears in other parts of the state thrive, there definitely seem to be more black bears living in our area. They have never been absent from the Tehachapi Mountains, but there are more sightings of them these days than there were 20, 30 or 40 years ago.

In the past 50 years, black bears have more frequently been reported in the vicinity of Sand Canyon than any other local areas. Sand Canyon itself has only sparse housing and infrastructure, and it is adjacent to large tracts of undeveloped land to the north connecting it to the Piute Mountains and the Sierra Nevada.

Bears are now regularly sighted at Tehachapi Mountain Park, on a weekly or monthly basis, when in the past there were years at a time with no bear sightings. Homeowners in Bear Valley Springs now report seeing neighborhood bears routinely.

Some of this increase may be due to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, who have at times reportedly relocated young bears to the Tehachapi Mountains. Other bears are part of the resident population or have moved in during natural dispersals. California's black bear population in general seems to be healthy and either stable or growing.

While known as American Black Bears, not all of these animals are truly black, especially in the West. Author Gary Brown in his book The Great Bear Almanac noted that while 100 percent of bears in New England, New York and Michigan were black, in Yosemite only 9 percent of the bears were black while the remaining 91 percent were brown or blonde.

I have seen and photographed bears in the Tehachapi Mountains that were brown like a chocolate Labrador or even lighter, like the sun-bleached hackle feathers of a golden eagle. In an old railroad tie fence post that was used as a bear scratching and marking pole in Sand Canyon, I've seen bear hairs that were as blonde as straw.

California Black Bear sows typically give birth to their cubs at a denning site in February. The babies, usually from one to three of them, can begin walking when they are about five weeks old, but are rarely seen until they are two or three months old. Cubs usually stay with their mother until they are about a year and a half old, and the sow doesn't become pregnant again during that time.

Black bears generally have a life expectancy of about 18 year in the wild, though they can of course live longer than that. The record confirmed lifespan for a wild black bear was 39 years.

The Tehachapi Mountains were one of the few places in California that once had populations of both grizzlies and black bears — there are words in the Nuwä (Kawaiisu or Paiute) language for both black bears (odo'kid mo'orizh) and grizzly (po-git).

The grizzlies are gone, though there have been studies regarding the feasibility of reintroducing some Rocky Mountain Grizzly Bears into the remotest parts of California.

The number of California Black Bears in our area appears to be increasing. Enjoy observing them from a safe distance if you happen to encounter them, and remember that they are wild and potentially dangerous animals who may behave unpredictably. They generally flee from human contact.

Unlike the Antelope Valley, which has no antelope since the last big herd was shot into oblivion in the 1880s, the beautiful Bear Valley and Bear Mountain still have bears.

Have a good week.

Jon Hammond has written for Tehachapi News for more than 30 years. Send email to tehachapimtnlover@gmail.com

But something happened to disrupt that pattern. A few decades ago, humans made changes to one of those island lakes that might have set off a chain reaction causing gulls to nest in the Bay Area. They then end up eating trash at places like Bowers’ transfer station and eating shorebirds, some of which are already on the state’s list of species of special concern.

***

https://www.kalw.org/post/chain-reaction-brought-gulls-bay-now-they-are-eating-other-birds#stream/0

Randonnée au col de Bonaudon (1755m) depuis Jaman.

Puerto Rico - iNaturalist Tour Mundial

We're in Puerto Rico for the 54th stop on the iNaturalist World Tour! The top observer is @blueinferno with activity centered near the capital of San Juan where there seems to be the highest concentration of local users including @iveirizarry, @ritirene, @ricardocolonrivera and @mqzed. The next two top observers, @keishacharlene and @lvilla2962 are most active along the western tip of Puerto Rico near the University of Puerto Rico Aguadilla Campus. Both are involved @prsofia's Proyecto Playuela. Many of the top observers are visitors, mostly from the mainland United States including @drbh2o @rangertreaty50 @jbroadhead @mjplagens @billicbugslucas @annikaml and @botanygirl with activity centered in various clusters around island. A group of observers including @kent_miller and @fatroosterfarm have observations centered on the small island of Culebra to the east.

¡Estamos en Puerto Rico para la 54ª parada del iNaturalist Tour Mundial! El principal observador es @blueinferno con actividad centrada cerca de la capital de San Juan, donde parece haber la mayor concentración de usuarios locales, incluidos @iveirizarry, @ritirene, @ricardocolonrivera y @mqzed. Los siguientes dos observadores principales, @keishacharlene y @lvilla2962 son más activos a lo largo del extremo occidental de Puerto Rico, cerca del campus de Aguadilla de la Universidad de Puerto Rico. Ambos están involucrados en el Proyecto Playuela de @prsofia. Muchos de los principales observadores son visitantes, principalmente de los Estados Unidos continentales, incluidos @drbh2o @rangertreaty50 @jbroadhead @mjplagens @billicbugslucas @annikaml y @botanygirl con actividades centradas en varios grupos alrededor de la isla. Un grupo de observadores, incluidos @kent_miller y @fatroosterfarm, tienen observaciones centradas en la pequeña isla de Culebra, al este.

The number of observations per month in Puerto Rica is quite jagged with peaks higher than 250 observations per month stretching back to 2014. This indicates that this is mainly due to activity from visitors. But there seems to be more organic, sustained growth since 2018. Many of the local top observers such as @keishacharlene, @lvilla2962, and @ritirene have affiliations with the University of Puerto Rico, I'd be curious to know how iNaturalist is integrated, if at all, into the University and if thats driving this recent growth. Likewise, top observer @iveirizarry's academic affiliations are with Rutgers and their observations coincide with the Spring 2019 Rutger's Personal Bioblitz organized by Rutgers professor @vilseskog.

El número de observaciones por mes en Puerto Rica es bastante irregular con picos superiores a 250 observaciones por mes que se remontan a 2014. Esto indica que esto se debe principalmente a la actividad de los visitantes. Pero parece haber un crecimiento más orgánico y sostenido desde 2018. Muchos de los principales observadores locales como @keishacharlene, @lvilla2962 y @ritirene tienen afiliaciones con la Universidad de Puerto Rico, me gustaría saber cómo se integra iNaturalist, en todo caso, a la Universidad y si eso está impulsando este crecimiento reciente. Del mismo modo, las afiliaciones académicas del observador superior @iveirizarry están con Rutgers y sus observaciones coinciden con la Primavera 2019 Rutger's Personal Bioblitz organizado por el profesor de Rutgers @vilseskog.

The top identifier overall and top insect, herp, and arachnid identifier is @ritirene who recently finished her PhD at the University of Puerto Rico. @joshuagsmith, based in Colorado, is the second top identifier and top bird identifier. The mysterious @greenline is the third top identifier and the top plant identifier. There are alot of beaches in Puerto Rico and thus a relatively high proportion of crustacean, bivalve, and fish observations with identifications in these categories led by myself (@loarie), @susanhewitt, and @maractwin respectively. Many thanks to other top identifiers such as @jbroadhead and @john8.

El identificador superior en general y el identificador superior de insectos, herpes y arácnidos es @ritirene, quien recientemente terminó su doctorado en la Universidad de Puerto Rico. @joshuagsmith, con sede en Colorado, es el segundo identificador superior e identificador superior de aves. El misterioso @greenline es el tercer identificador superior y el identificador superior de la planta. Hay muchas playas en Puerto Rico y, por lo tanto, una proporción relativamente alta de observaciones de crustáceos, bivalvos y peces con identificaciones en estas categorías lideradas por mí (@loarie), @susanhewitt y @maractwin respectivamente. Muchas gracias a otros identificadores principales como @jbroadhead y @john8.

What can we do to get more people using iNaturalist in Puerto Rico? Please share your thoughts below or on this forum thread

¿Qué podemos hacer para que más personas usen iNaturalist en Puerto Rico? Comparta sus pensamientos a continuación o en este hilo del foro

@blueinferno @keishacharlene @lvilla2962 @drbh2o @rangertreaty50 @ritirene @joshuagsmith @greenline @jbroadhead @john8

We’ll be back tomorrow in nearby Turkey!

¡Volveremos mañana en Turquía!

We are local moms working with high school students to promote better habitat for pollinators. Through this contest we aim to find where are the places within the Great Chicago Region (Chicago Wilderness) with more diversity of pollinator species.

As requested, have opened the project for additions by anyone.

Dear Students - This will be our iNaturalist project home for the Fall semester.

Yesterday I went out to Smith and Bybee lakes in North Portland, to find a Snowy Egret that had been reported multiple times in recent weeks. After some searching I managed to find it amonst a group of Great Egrets. The black bill and smaller size made it easy to identify.

Observación de Aves
Hotel Tinamú Birding Nature Reserve, Manizales, Caldas, Colombia

•—•

Jornada A:

Viernes, agosto 9 de 2019
9:45 - 14:00

36 Especies reportadas
101 Individuos vistos

Temperatura: 23º
Clima: Mayoritariamente despejado
MSNM: 1249

Participantes:
Simón Santiago Santos Chaparro
Márinson Chaparro Suárez
Fernando Galvis

“Recorrimos este hermoso sendero lleno de biodiversidad, donde observamos y escuchamos especies como tapaculos, tángaras, canarios y mirlos.”

https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S58868774

•—•

Jornada B:

Sábado, agosto 10 de 2019
6:30 - 18:30

52 Especies reportadas
114 Individuos vistos

Temperatura: 16º
Clima: Parcialmente nublado
MSNM: 1232

Participantes:
Simón Santiago Santos Chaparro
Márinson Chaparro Suárez
Fernando Galvis
... y 2 personas más

“Caminamos por otros senderos en medio de un maravilloso hábitat natural. Llegamos a registrar aves como guacharacas, palomitas, trepatroncos, carpinteros, barranqueros, chulos, gavilanes, martines pescadores y loros.”

https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S58895992

•—•

Jornada C:

Domingo, agosto 11 de 2019
6:45 - 12:45

34 Especies reportadas
77 Individuos vistos

Temperatura: 23º
Clima: Despejado
MSMM: 1203

Participantes:
Simón Santiago Santos Chaparro
Márinson Chaparro Suárez
Fernando Galvis
... y 2 personas más

“En el último sendero estuvimos en contacto con la naturaleza, donde disfrutamos de la presencia de mieleros, batarás, tiránidos, eufonias, chamones, asoma candelas y cucaracheros.”

https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S58915438

•—•

https://www.inaturalist.org/journal/simons6/26759-observando-aves-en-hotel-tinamu

A Peck’s Skipper, seen by @carl-adam, is our Observation of the Week for August 10th to 16th: https://inaturalist.ca/observations/30774271

Peck’s Skipper is our most commonly observed native skipper species, and it is currently tied with the introduced European Skipper for the number of observations in this year’s blitz.

I have to admit that I didn’t think very much of Peck’s Skipper before this year, but I have been charmed by this little brown butterfly during our blitz. I like the colour pattern on the underside of the wings, which is more interesting and distinctive than many of our other grass skippers. The ID note that I read in my Butterflies Through Binoculars field guide has stuck with me: Peck’s is a pointer, referring to the middle cell in the lighter area on the underside of the hindwing which points out towards the edge.

Peck’s Skipper can be found in both disturbed and more natural grassy areas – this year in our blitz it has been found in both Mississauga parks as well as northern watershed conservation areas. In addition, while Peck’s Skipper only has one generation per year in much of Ontario, in our region and areas further south it has two generations.

This extended life cycle plus its generalist habitat preferences are what makes it one of our most commonly observed skippers. And when I go out to look for butterflies in a disturbed area and I’m not finding very much, the sight of a few Peck’s Skippers can brighten my day and make me feel like my effort was worthwhile.

Have you gained a fondness for any particular species this summer? Let us know!

Проект "Флора Крыма" достиг 3 000 наблюдений!

3,019 Observations - 840 Species - 229 Identifiers - 159 Observers

1. Топ-наблюдатели (наблюдения):

1 @lenatara 550 417
2 @katerina_kashirina 476 249
3 @melodi_96 335 216
4 @epikhin 202 159
5 @naturalist16000 161 89
6 @cambala 150 130
7 @andreytikhonov 126 74
8 @naturalist7636 62 51
9 @dmitrysvobodin 55 48
10 @valya88 46 39

2. Топ-наблюдатели (виды):

1 @lenatara 550 417
2 @katerina_kashirina 476 249
3 @melodi_96 335 216
4 @epikhin 202 159
5 @cambala 150 130
6 @naturalist16000 161 89
7 @andreytikhonov 126 74
8 @naturalist7636 62 51
9 @dmitrysvobodin 55 48
10 @sokolkov2002 41 39

3. Топ-эксперты:

1 @roman-evseev 797
2 @apseregin 679
3 @katerina_kashirina 582
4 @mercantour 399
5 @epikhin 352
6 @julia_shner 294
7 @kastani 265
8 @phlomis_2019 253
9 @lenatara 218
10 @convallaria1128 131

Свыше полутора тысяч наблюдений, по разным причинам, пока не определены. Вот короткая ссылка на выборку, нуждающихся в определении растений:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/identify?project_id=45968&place_id=12376

Кроме того, еще сто растений застряло в "Неизвестном", поскольку наблюдатели оставили пустым поле "название". Отсюда стоит вынуть все растения, подписав их хотя бы до семейства или класса:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/identify?iconic_taxa=unknown&place_id=12376

Напоминаем, что проект "Флора России" устроен по субъектам Федерации, поэтому Севастополь лежит отдельно здесь: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/sevastopol-flora

Всем огромное спасибо за большую совместную работу и новых свершений! В Крыму редко где можно встретить снег, поэтому август, осень и зима не время останавливаться! Если растение сфотографировано правильно, то мы его рано или поздно определим ))