Annaphila depicta ~ 02/25/14 ~ Pinnacles

Annaphila day-flying moth nectaring on California milkmaids
Annaphila depicta nectaring on Cardamine californica
Brassicaceae

This is the same sp. moth I photographed on March 4, 2011, but these new macro shots are much clearer.  Three years ago, I had alerted Paul Johnson, Wildlife Biologist for Pinnacles, that it was on the wing.  A couple days later he was able to net a specimen for the Park's collections.  It was a new sp. for him, and he has since confirmed its ID.  Now, he's asked my permission to store my top photo in their wildlife observation files for interpretive/educational use.  Cool.  Not bad for my 10-year-old point-and-shoot.  Paul says his DSLR makes too much noise (slap of a mirror?), which scares off this beautiful moth in a blur.  Fancy-schmancy doesn't always get the goods.  Hehe.

There's also a fabulous fly in the second photo, but I'm ID'd out.  Can you ID?

ps 03/13/14 - I noticed the first set of Hodges 9866 photos in the Moth Photographer's Group by John Davis are misidentified.  I think BugGuide got it right, and they're A. macfarlandi and should be moved to Hodges 9867.  I don't know what happened to MPG, but they don't seem to be curating their collection as well as they used to.  It happens.

margined white ~ 02/16/14 ~ Los Padres Dam

female margined white / grey-veined white

female Pieris marginalis venosa (aka Pieris napi venosa)

 male margined white nectaring on California milkmaids

nectaring on Cardamine californica
Brassicaceae

Check out the cool yellow "shoulder" in the first pic above.  I'm so glad we finally found the macro setting on our ol' camera!  A small patch of milkmaids near the water was a very popular nectaring spot, being visited by butterflies, bee flies, and honey bees. There's not much in bloom, so it's worth noting that just down the way the patch of western coltsfoot had no visitors.

I also spotted margined whites at Stevens Creek last week, which at first sight I knew were related to cabbage whites (look at that dot on the male), but second guessed myself when I went to look for an ID.  I've totally missed the margined white ID before based on the fact I rely heavily on two quick references which omit entirely or misrepresent the early spring, first brood, bold version that I find in the area.  The summer brood is apparently almost all white.  It doesn't help that there doesn't seem to be much consensus on the Pieris "napi" complex.  I need to add notations to my field guides, so I can remember this for next time.

Sara orangetip ~ 02/16/14 ~ Los Padres Dam

Sara orangetip (more pictures here and here) nectaring on California milkmaids
Anthocharis sara (more information) nectaring on Cardamine californica

Brassicaceae

lustrous copper ~ 05/14/13 ~ Lang Crossing

lustrous copper

Lycaena cupreus

male lustrous copper and male greenish blue nectaring on American yellowrocket

Lycaena cupreus and male Plebejus saepiolus nectaring on Barbarea orthoceras

Brassicaceae

Dr. Shapiro sent me a list of butterflies he recorded for Lang Crossing 3 days before our excursion.  I was very disappointed to discover I wouldn't see the gorgeous lustrous copper at Washington and told Art as much.  So, late in the afternoon, parched from the extremely warm day, as the shadows filled in the primo butterfly hangouts, we faced a dilemma: go straight to the Washington Hotel for some much needed liquid refreshment and call it a day, or go 10 miles up the road for me to see my first ever Lycaena cupreus at Lang.  It was Art's wife who suggested doing both, but only after making him guarantee that I would see a copper butterfly.  That guarantee looked like it was going to be a bust, because we failed to find any coppers at the spot Dr. Shapiro saw them previously.  Fortunately, in a moist meadow across the river, we hit the coppery mother lode.  I have so many pictures of this wildly, brilliantly, bold butterfly, including the last one above where a greenish blue wanted to get in on the photo shoot action. Tired as I was, I was extremely glad we made the extra hour and a half round-trip.

Some additional notes - If I hadn't known what to look for, I could have easily brushed off the resting butterfly in the second picture as the more-familiar-to-me acmon blue, with only the underside of the hindwings showing.  It's easy to distinguish when they're flashing their brilliant copper tops or are still in a photograph, but from a distance and hiding in real life, it's not so easy.

There's some question how the lustrous copper larvae feed primarily on the moderately invasive sheep sorrel.  With all the recent heavy bashing of non-native plants [I'm a believer in if it's alive, then why kill it?  Unless it's doing great harm to others, our ever-changing opinions should not be the sole reason for death, which extends to humans and wars.], it's interesting to note that some native butterflies have taken to them and likely depend on them for their survival.  Or do they?  Art wonders if our local sheep sorrel (Rumex acetosella) has been incorrectly deemed an Old World species, and could be found native through genetics techniques.  Hmm?

What tripped me up throughout the day was mistaking the blue moth (Caenurgina caerulea) for one of the blue butterflies.  Now that I looked it up, it doesn't look blue at all.  Weird.  And finally, I would have had a difficult time figuring out which fuzzy blue butterfly is in the last picture, not to mention yellow mustard-looking plant, if it wasn't for Art's continuing patient guidance via e-mail. Thanks, Dr. Shapiro!

wild radish ~ 11/12/11 ~ Elkhorn Slough

wild radish / cultivated radish
Raphanus sativus
Brassicaceae
more information

Well, knock my socks off! Hello? I had no idea the wild radish I frequently see around here is the same species as the radish I buy at farmers' markets and the grocery store. Did you know that? I even grew one this summer in my mini-greenhouse after a stocky sprout came up from my too-soon-to-use compost. I'm laughing, because the whole time I was perplexed thinking, "Hey, this looks exactly like what I see growing out in the wild." I should note, there is another species of radish that grows wild at Elkhorn and is aka wild radish / jointed charlock (Raphanus raphanistrum).

The second photo above is the exact area where last year I noticed a heavy dose of herbicide to knock down the poison hemlock. I'm sorry to say that at the time I was very critical of the reserve's generous use of herbicides. I had quickly edited the post, which now doesn't reflect what I was reading at the time. I'll admit to being ignorant of lots of things. Through following blogs, my opinions about land management practices have been changing. Bree at the now defunct Land Steward had two really good posts, what restoration means to me and weeds. I still think the marketing departments at major pesticide manufacturers do too good of a job at pulling the wool over people's eyes, ears, and mouths. However, given the choice between invasives versus reintroduced natives... well, I do like seeing native flowers... but at what costs?

tower mustard
Arabis glabra
Brassicaceae

This is an appropriately named mustard; it must have been at least 3 feet tall on a slender stalk. We only noticed this one. So, as I was reading the Wikipedia entry about tower mustard, and considering it's native to Europe, Asia, North Africa, and apparently to California and elsewhere, a big question comes to mind: How do people determine if any plant is native or introduced?

fringepod ~ 04/08/11 ~ Garland Ranch

best guess hairy fringepod or narrowleaf fringepod
best guess Thysanocarpus curvipes or T. laciniatus
Brassicaceae

The seed pods are quite stylish; they remind me of the 70's fashionable wallpaper that has now cycled around to be hip again. If I had to take a guess between the two species found at Garland Ranch, this would be the hairy fringepod (T. curvipes), mainly because these were found on the sandy floodplain of the Carmel River and not up on the hilly and rocky slopes. Even after looking up the keys in Jepson (its regular usage of "±" wacks me out as it's not informative at all), I still have no idea about the difference. I am uncomfortable making a positive ID.

Such as it is, I've never looked at fringepods this closely. In a similar train of thought to my past comment about how Monet and other Impressionist painters must have been myopic, I'm starting to really appreciate macro photography (not mine, but others, which show better). Eh, my new eye doc says I need "reading" glasses simply because I'm getting older. I don't have an issue wearing glasses as I've needed them to see distance ever since the 6th grade when Mrs. Harris went out of her way to notice and comment to my folks that I could not see the Five-A-Day math quiz on the chalkboard. However, I'm wondering about the quality of the new eye doc's corrective examination as I can read clearer without contacts, or glass at all, and through my old glasses from 6 years ago, all compared with this new prescription. Erga.

Douglas' wallflower ~ 03/04/11 ~ Pinnacles

Douglas' wallflower
Erysimum capitatum ssp. capitatum
Brassicaceae

posted 03/15/11 - Apologies for the third post this morning. Simply trying to knock out a few IDs from our March 4, 2011 hike at Pinnacles. I have to say this is one of the prettier mustards around.

Annaphila depicta ~ 03/04/11 ~ Pinnacles

a day-flying moth nectaring on California milkmaids
Annaphila depicta ssp. morula nectaring on Cardamine californica
Brassicaceae

When the first few Lepidoptera flew by me with their flashes of orange, I got excited believing I was seeing my first copper butterflies since returning to CA. Nope. It's a day flying moth! The official Pinnacles National Monument website is now including moths, instead of just butterflies. Great... except, as the PDF states, it's a work in progress. The only Annaphila they list is A. decia.

Here's a dirty little secret from my past life, I suck at identifying moths without a reference collection. So, I sent a picture to Chris Grinter of The Skeptical Moth this morning around 6:30am - gotta appreciate fellow bloggers who are up before the sun comes up. He promptly replied the following, "Love to see the moth photos. This is absolutely in the genus Annaphila (Noctuidae), and I'm comfortable calling it A. depicta. I could even take a stab at this being the subspecies 'morula' based on that pronounced brown bar on the forewing!" After comparing the very few photographs available online of Annaphila, I agree with his expert ID. Thank you, Chris!

I should mention these small moths were relatively abundant in what I affectionately term the "butterfly highway" at Pinnacles.

Plus, milkmaids were definitely the predominant blooming herbaceous perennials everywhere we hiked. Some looked more mustardy than milky. It looks like there are two varieties of C. californica (var. californica and var. cuneata) recorded from Pinnacles, but I wouldn't be able to tell you which is which or the difference.

ps - If you look closely at the second picture, there's a cute little beetle. Based on my other pictures of milkmaids, these beetles are quite abundant on this flower. However, I'm done with IDs for today.

pss 04/06/11 - Before I forget, Chris encouraged me to contact Paul Johnson of NPS. Paul and I had a couple of e-mail exchanges between March 6-9, 2011. He says he has 3 or 4 Annaphila on his Pinnacles moth list, but it's not updated and available to the public. Whether due to my e-mails or not, he did manage to catch a moth similar to the one shown above on March 7, 2011.

California milkmaids
Cardamine californica
Brassicaceae

Um... oh boy, I got an eyeful as I tried to search for more information on this plant. Makes me wonder about the etymological relationship of the family name Brassicaceae with brassiere. I might add more information once I get the boobs out of my memory.

This plant is also known as bitter-cress or toothwort. There's a small section above the waterfall trail at Garland Ranch where I can always count on seeing this small white flower in February.

summer field mustard
Hirschfeldia incana
Brassicaceae

These were not technically in Hatton Canyon and were located across Carmel Valley Road. Don't quote me on this ID. I really should take a flower ID class. I'm trying to get over my prejudice for invasive non-native plant species. It's not their fault for being so successful. Of course, I'm not in the business of restoring habitats, either. Taken at face value, they really are quite pretty and extraordinarily common.

ps - I've added a postscript to an older mustard post, but will repeat it here. For plants, I often use the common names according to The Jepson Online Interchange from UC Berkeley, e.g., click to see the page for this particular species. I've found both Calflora (often embedded in scientific name ID) and CalPhotos (often embedded in common name ID) to be inconsistent in their use of common names due to database requirements and a variety of submission sources.

painted tiger moth
Arachnis picta

I'm setting the caterpillars free in one of my compost containers, because there's a nice supply of various young shoots. The 2nd instar caterpillars are now over 5mm in length and about ready to molt again. I turned the vinca over for the last pic to show how they seem to like a bit of overhead protection during the day. Here are my blog posts to when the mother laid eggs (10/17/10) and when they hatched (10/26/10).

ps 11/08/10 - They ate my 2 tomato shoots to the nub in one day. Good golly, they are little pigs!

pss 02/23/11 - Those small, heart-shaped leaves are hairy bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta), a non-native wildflower in the Brassicaceae family. Thanks to a friend who pointed them out in her garden I now know what they are. Both of ours have grown enough to set seed with tiny, thin seed pods that pop when touched. Not wanting them to spread to my container plants, I pulled them all out. I hope the caterpillars, if any are left in this compost container, are okay.

rape mustard
Brassica rapa
Brassicaceae

This is a very bold, non-native mustard and covers many hills in a bright yellow. I'm using Calflora for this ID. It's also known as Brassica campestris and is closely related to rapeseed (Brassica napus). As I was trying to figure out the difference between the two species, I came across this genetic Triangle of U theory. Interesting.

As an aside - speaking of rapeseed, does anyone else smell and taste fish in canola oil? I'm guessing it's a genetic trait like with phenylthiocarbamide. We've only recently discovered our sensitivity to canola oil's fishiness. And here I long thought fishy tasting fries at certain local restaurants were due to dirty fryer oil. Plus, it's too bad our local grocer has stopped carrying Best Foods mayo with olive oil, because the alternative brand Kraft primarily contains canola oil. Phooey!

ps 02/09/11 - For common names of plants, I often look to The Jepson Online Interchange from UC Berkeley, e.g., click to see the page for this particular species.

Douglas' wallflower
Erysimum capitatum
Brassicaceae

None of the books I have at home are in agreement for the common name or the scientific name. I'm a bit confused. It's also known as western wallflower and/or Erysimum occidentale and there are several subspecies of E. capitatum. This is a native mustard. I can always count on seeing this bright orange flower along the CV Road in the spring.

acmon blue ~ 03/04/10 ~ Carmel Valley Road

acmon blue on rape mustard
Plebejus acmon on Brassica rapa
Brassicaceae

I'm not positive about this ID. Usually I ID based on what's common, in this case an acmon blue, or simply state I don't know. However, it could be a lupine blue (Plebejus lupinus), because from above there's an obvious black border on the inside of the hindwing's orange band and the forewing black border is fairly wide. Then again, it could be an early spring acmon blue female. Erg! Can anyone help me with this ID?

It was happenstance that I even captured this butterfly on camera, because I jumped out of the car to get a close-up shot of the yellow flowers which covered the hills where Carmel Valley Road meets G17. I'll post pictures of the hills and ID the flowers later.

ps 03/07/10 - On a whim, I queried Art Shapiro, professor at UC Davis and author of Field Guide to Butterflies of the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento Valley Regions, about this butterfly ID. He was kind enough to promptly reply, "It's a female acmon of the early-spring phenotype "cottlei," but abnormally heavily-marked on the lower surface--so much so that it superficially resembles a Euphilotes battoides! The ID is made easier by the fact that nothing else but acmon would be out this early in the year on the central coast (or almost anywhere). Even at sea level, lupini--which is always found in chaparral in the central Coast Ranges--wouldn't be out before April (or May!). The flowers appear (I can barely see any leaves) to be either Brassica campestris or Brassica napus, both naturalized weedy Old World mustards. Thanks for the kind words." Thank you, Dr. Shapiro!