Meet at the Red Barn in Elyria Canyon Park at 9:30 AM.
From Left: Clare, Elizabeth, Jerry, Monique, Mark, Julia and Julia with her dog on a leash.
The Coyote Melon is a squash plant that has taken root in the meadow near the big dead walnut tree, and it is beginning to set fruit. This sprawling plant is a native and it can be found wild on the hill on a winding hairpin curve above La Abeja restaurant on the East Side of Mt Washington in the Greater Cypress Park Neighborhood.
Coyote Melon Plant
We expect native bees are pollinating the blossoms and perhaps getting trapped inside when the blossoms close.
Coyote Melon Blossoms
For more information on the Coyote Melon or Coyote Gourd, Cucurbita palmata, visit Cold Splinters. There are some beautiful photos on Northern California Flora.
Two unripe Coyote Melons
Update: September 25, 2011
Due to a very low turnout of volunteers and the absence of one of the cohosts, the work party ended a bit early today after plants in the nursery were watered and some Castor Beans and Poison Hemlock were pulled out.
1
August 26, 2011
Location: Elyria Canyon Park, Mt. Washington, Los Angeles, California
Several of the Indian Milkweed Plants growing wild in Elyria Canyon Park have serious Milkweed Aphid infestations, and one especially hard hit group of plants is also covered in black Sooty Mold. See the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resourceswebsite for more information on Sooty Mold.
Indian Milkweed with Sooty Mold
Convergent Lady Beetles, Hippodamia convergens, have begun to feed off of the Milkweed Aphids, though it seems there are far too many Aphids for the few Lady Beetles that were observed. Learn how to identify the Convergent Lady Beetle on BugGuide and read more about the benefits of the native Convergent Lady Beetle on the San Francisco State University Department of Geographywebsite.
Convergent Lady Beetle
1
Location: Mt Washington, Los Angeles, California
June 28, 2011
A few times a year, Emerald Moths in the subfamily Geometrinae come to the porch light. This is the first individual we have noticed this year.
Emerald
May 22, 2011
In preparing for the PowerPoint lecture at Theodore Payne Foundation next weekend, we came to the realization that there are no generic Ground Beetle photos from Southern California on our site, hence there is no image to use in the presentation. We grabbed the digital camera and turned over some wood in the garden without any luck, but when we turned over a slab of concrete, about 15 ground beetles started to scurry about. We captured two in a container and took a few quick photos. We believe, according to Charles Hogue in Insects of the Los Angeles Basin, that these are Black Ground Beetles, Pristonychus complanatus. Hogue writes that they are “the largest of the ground beetles listed here (5/8 in or 10 mm), this species is all black and has a narrow prothorax, The front of the head is flat and protruding. The Black Ground Beetle was introduced into the basin, but coleopterists (beetle specialists) are not sure of its origins.”
Black Ground Beetles
5
April 15, 2011
Last Friday, Daniel noticed this Diabolical Ironclad Beetle, Phloeodes diabolicus, nestled into a crevice in the asphalt paving of the street along side the Mt. Washington WTB? offices. It seems the beetle was attempting to cross the road. With most insects, this might be a dicey proposition since getting run over by a car would mean squishing, however, the Diabolical Ironclad Beetle has a very hard exoskeleton. It would most likely survive being run over by a vehicle. The Diabolical Ironclad Beetle played dead during the photo shoot, and it was eventually released in the garden among the logs. See BugGuide for more photos of Diabolical Ironclad Beetles.
Diabolical Ironclad Beetle
As an aside, we will be out of the office for several days, and no new identification requests will be answered during our absence. We can say with some confidence that any emails that arrive between April 20 and April 26 might not get a response. However, we will be preparing daily automatic postings in our absence.
Diabolical Ironclad Beetle
I like This
