Cherry blossoms peaked a couple of weeks early this year, though we did get a few snowflakes the next day.
2022-03-25 Bethesda, MD [DSC03894]
I think she looks like a gray cardinal. Red eyes though. She must be a comic book villain.
2022-03-07 Oasis of Mara, Twentynine Palms, CA [DSC09464]
Wikipedia says Peritoma arborea gives off a foul smell to discourage insects but this honeybee doesn't seem to mind. I didn't notice it walking by.
2022-03-07 Oasis of Mara, Twentynine Palms, CA [DSC09548]
AKA golden crownbeard, Verbesina encelioides is native to the southwest. GoBotany claims they have been introduced to the northeast but iNat only shows one observation. I can't investigate further since my computer froze and won't reboot.
2022-03-05 Peck Road Water Conservation Park, Arcadia, CA [DSC08821]
Playing with the late afternoon light. You can see the Joshua trees arrayed in the distance. The 5+ inches of rain every year is enough to support vegetation, though there is a lot of bare ground between the plants.
2022-03-07 Joshua Tree National Park, CA [DSC098450]
They also look good in silhouette.
2022-03-07 Joshua Tree National Park, CA [DSC09887]
Closeup of the Joshua tree flower.
2022-03-06 Joshua Tree National Park, CA [DSC09330]
The Joshua trees are flowering. This happens after a bit of rain and a bit of frost, so my timing was just right. The latin (Yucca brevifolia) makes it clear that this is an overgrown yucca; they branch when the flower falls off. About a quarter of the yucca species are tree-like, so not uncommon. Brevifolia means "small-leaved".
2022-03-06 Joshua Tree National Park, CA [DSC09331]
A most excellent stinkbug from San Dimas, the woolly darkling beetle has more of a scrub brush than a mop top.
Looking through Bug Guide there are species all over Coleoptera that have visible hair. This seems like a strange feature to suddenly appear, but there is an evolutionary path: According to Parks Canada, "Tiny hairs called “setae” on the outside of the exoskeleton help improve the beetle’s perception of touch and sound."[1] Expanding an existing structure so that it is visible is not so hard.
Across the phylum, "Arthropods also have a wide range of chemical and mechanical sensors, mostly based on modifications of the many bristles known as setae that project through their cuticles."[2] If bees and spiders can be fuzzy, why not beetles?
2022-03-08 Frank G. Bonelli Park, San Dimas, CA [DSC0596]
[1] https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/docs/v-g/dpp-mpb/sec2/dpp-mpb2c
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthropod
A ruddy duck with his breeding plumage and his lovely blue beak. Compare with the eclipse plumage shown on the guy in #249.
2022-03-10 Oso Flaco Lake, Pismo Beach, CA [DSC01413]
Shining sumac (Rhus copallinum) showing bright colours in mid-February.
2022-02-12 Brookside Gardens, Wheaton, MD [IMG_1163]
A lovely purple wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) at the local pond last summer.
2021-06-05 NIH Pond, Bethesda, MD [DSC08722]
A young robin still showing motley colors.
2021-07-12 NIH, Bethesda, MD [DSC04539]
Another obvious name, an orange mint moth (Pyrausta orphisalis) on calamint (Clinopodium nepeta). The generic name Pyrausta comes from a mythical insect-sized dragon that lives in fire. No idea about orphisalis.
2021-07-12 Bethesda, MD [DSC04515]
When you are lying in wait on a leaf you want to wear green rather than black. I like the latin: Zelus luridus. Luridly zealous? Bonus: it's a volunteer biocontrol agent.
2021-08-10 Bethesda, MD [DSC07353]
Broad-handed leafcutter (Megachile latimanus) with sachem (Atalopedes campestris) on NY ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis).
There are two dozen leafcutter bee species in Maryland, and I'm not certain I've got the right species label. Regardless, I do like the name. Wiktionary claims Megachile comes from Greek for "big lips". The common name (leafcutter) is because many of them line their burrows with bits of leaf which they cut from plants.
2021-08-25 Bethesda, MD [DSC08407]
Yes, I'm ready for my closeup.
2021-11-06 Bethesda, MD [IMG_9771]
A convenient roost for looking your best and posing for the camera… and for checking that it is safe to approach the feeder! The fall colours provide a nice complement for your feathers.
2021-11-06 Bethesda, MD [IMG_9851]
Some house sparrows posing on a neighbourhood fence.
2021-11-07 Bethesda, MD [IMG_9910]
You can see why they are called double-crested.
2021-03-28 Lake Needwood, Rockville, MD [DSC09168]
2021-11-24 NIH pond, Bethesda, MD [DSC04179]
A variety of leaf-hopper. This one a nymph,
2021-06-29 Bethesda, MD [DSC01884]
Calligrapher flies are so named because their backs look like they were drawn in fancy script with a fountain pen. This one is "margined", with none of the black stripes going all the way to the bottom.
2021-06-22 Behesda, MD [DSC06024]
The Japanese beetle is introduced from Japan where it is a minor pest, but here they have no predators so populations can expand rapidly.
Who knew that beetles have hair? That's what the white tufts are around the sides.
2021-08-15 Cabin John powerline, Bethesda, MD [DSC07809]
Lots of things going on here. The thin cloudy sheet is called "cat ice". It's so thin it can't even hold a cat? Then there are the ribs underneath. Why are they growing down in the water, and only in some parts? On the surface there On the top we see crystal clear versions of the same thing. The ice surface is covered in fractal crystals like you see on a window pane on a really cold morning. Thawing and refreezing?
2022-02-06 McGee-Beshers WMA, Poolesville, MD [DSC07767]
Same season, different year, an early spring flower pokes up through the lawn. It's a tiny little thing not much wider than a blade of grass, but no less pretty when you look closely. The latin Veronica persica hints that it is an introduced species, which has adapted well all over North America.
2021-03-09 NIH pond, Bethesda, MD [DSC05180]
One would hope from the name that it would be wild indigo but instead it is in a dusky wing that hangs out on wild indigo. But the hairy legs are pretty wild!
2021-08-15 Cabin John Powerline, Bethesda, MD [DSC07761]
The crocuses are back!
2022-03-02 Bethesda, MD [DSC08669]
A tiny bird, she was systematically exploring every branch of the tree, up and down, up and down. It's catch-22. Either they are still and I can't spot them or they are moving and I can't shoot them. She (?) finally paused long enough for a click.
2022-02-27 Gunner's Lake, Germantown, MD [DSC08637]
Duck soup: Toss in a pair of lesser scaup (black and white males) two pair of redhead, a pair of ruddy duck (spiky tails), and a pair of American widgeon. Include a large helping of aquatic weeds to keep them stirring. Let bake in the afternoon sun.
2022-02-27 Gunner's Lake, Germantown, MD [DSC085460]
A redhead (not red) hanging out with the guys, a redhead (red) and a widgeon (green).
2022-02-27 Gunner's Lake, Germantown, MD [DSC08513]