photo from the gallery of native plants and wildflowers
 
 

Insects and Insect pollinators


Did you know? The largest groups of pollinating insects are butterflies and moths, flies, beetles and bees

My pick for the number 1 pollinator - (if you've ever been in a field of flowers you won't even have to ask what that is) - bees of course! The honey bees here are very cool, they just ignore you when sticking your camera in their flower.


Here's a few photos of insects that made their way into a plant photo.
Click the image to view a larger picture






Butterflies and Moths
  1. White lined Sphinx moth caterpillar
    • many on the california primrose in spring
  2. Acmon Blue - plebejus acmon
  3. California sister - adelpha bredowii
  4. Dusky wing - erynnis funeralis
  5. Painted Lady - Vanessa cardui
  6. Sara Orangetip - anthocharis sara


Lizards
  1. San Diego Alligator lizard - elgaria multicarinata webbii
  2. Western Fence lizard


Snakes
  1. Rattlesnakes - western and red diamondback - scary
  2. California striped racer - good


Spiders
  • One or two every year in August


Biting Insects
  1. Black fly - (Simuliidae) - aka buffalo gnat
    • These are horrible, tiny, black, biting flies. They are fierce daytime biting flies and from what I've read (online anyway) seem to be everywhere in the world! They can make outdoor life miserable late spring through fall in my area in Fallbrook, especially in late afternoon. Their bites leave itchy sore welts that can last for days
  2. Chigger - (trombicula alfreddugesi) - aka chiggers
    • Chiggers are insidious, they may be worse than the buffalo gnats - with the buffalo gnat you know right away when you've been bitten and you can see them circling you trying to get in a bite. You can't see chiggers and you can be happily walking around for a couple of hours before noticing the symptoms. Chiggers are mites that inject a digestive fluid containing enzymes that cause skin cells to rupture. The fluids from the skin cells are then consumed as food. The injected enzymes cause the skin to become red, swollen and itchy. The itch may last for several days and will persist even after the chigger has detached from the skin.


Ants
  1. California harvester ant - (Pogonomyrmex californicus)
    • Large, shiny, red and hairy with large heads and mandibles, they nest in large colonies in sandy soil, several feet deep! Colonies have several openings with debris piles nearby. Ouch - they bite or sting. They harvest seeds and dead insects and clear the ground in large circles around their nests. You'll see lots of these along the 500 foot trail.



Gallery and Slideshow
  1. These photos and some more insects

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