View allAll Photos Tagged treebeard
Here is another shot of a tiny Crab Spider (Thomisidae) on a flower of native California Aster (Corethrogyne filaginifolia aka Lessingia filaginifolia, Asteraceae) in the woods today. This is the same spider as my [Previous] photo, and it might be the same spider I showed in this photo a few days ago - it's on a different flower in the same place. The spider is really tiny, about 550 pixels in this 1:1 macro shot, which comes to 2.2 mm - less than 1/10 inch. (See here for how I figure.) I usually figure that the yellow disk flowers in the center are 1/8 inch across, and they are indeed 830 pixels across which comes to 3.3 mm or 1/8 inch. By the same reckoning, the violet petals are about 1/4 inch long. I believe the spider is another genus Mecaphesa with that hairy abdomen, and I'm not sure if it's a juvenile or maybe it just is that size. Arachtober 28b. (San Marcos Pass, 28 October 2019)
This is another photo of the chrysalis I found on a shrub of native Bitter Gooseberry (Ribes amarum, Grossulariaceae) by the creek. See this photo and this one. I first thought it might be a Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia), but it's probably another Variable Checkerspot (Euphydryas chalcedona) butterfly. It's strange and beautiful. You can see the butterfly's future antennae and proboscis etched onto the front. (San Marcos Pass, 2 June 2015)
I wonder what the bump is on the screen-left bottom?
This is a handsome Gabb's Checkerspot (Chlosyne gabbii) butterfly perched for a moment on new leaves of Sawtooth Goldenbush (Hazardia squarrosa, Asteraceae). I'm sure this one is newly emerged - it's the first one I've seen this year, and it's so darn pretty! These butterflies are quite variable, compare this photo from last year. (San Marcos Pass, 21 April 2019)
Today started under clouds, but it cleared up early and was quite pleasant with temps in the mid-60s. There was little breeze in the morning, but it's been picking up as the day went on. Now there's a NWS Wind Advisory for Sundowner Winds on the coast tonight.
Here are a pair of tiny mating flies on a leaflet of Wild Sweetpea (Lathyrus vestitus, Fabaceae) in the woods today. I believe they are Non-biting Midge Flies (Chironomidae, Diptera). This is real sexual dimorphism, meaning that males and females look totally different, see this photo for another example with crab spiders. It's almost Wednesday, so Happy Hump Day! (San Marcos Pass, 18 January 2022)
I found a different well-camouflaged "looper caterpillar" of a Geometrid Moth (Geometridae, Lepidoptera) pretending to be a stick today. It's on a stem of native Chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum, Rosaceae), and I'm sure I only noticed it because I got this photo of a similar caterpillar yesterday. That's its tail on the left with two pairs of prolegs and its head on top with three pairs of true legs that are barely visible. It's interesting that it has little protuberances coming out from its body that are like the "pegs" that the needle-like leaves of chamise come from. This caterpillar is not small, it's at least an inch long. I don't believe I've seen one of these before, and I don't know what kind of moth it will become. (San Marcos Pass, 14 May 2019)
We were right on the edge of the marine layer today. The fog would spill over the mountains propelled by "fog winds" - and then back off for a moment of calm. We now have "rain likely" Wednesday night and Thursday, and it sounds like this might be a real storm with an inch or more of rain in the mountains. There's more info in the new post at the California Weather Blog with the title "Highly unusual sequence of winter-like storms headed for California (in late May!)"
“To Isengard! Though Isengard be ringed and barred with doors of stone;
Though Isengard be strong and hard, as cold as stone and bare as bone,
We go, we go, we go to war, to hew the stone and break the door;
For bole and bough are burning now, the furnace roars - we go to war!”
I am happy to present my latest MOC for the #thirdagecollab representing the wall of Isengard during the assault of the Ents of Fangorn. I hope you like it!
Go follow norlego to be sure to catch the next episode coming out this Saturday and trust me, you do NOT want to miss this one ;)
I would also like to warmly thank the generous Blaines_world_lego for sponsoring this collaboration.
I found this interesting spider webbing on a stem of Prickly Phlox (Linanthus californicus aka Leptodactylon californicum, Polemoniaceae) in the woods today. I believe the frizzy webbing is the work of a cribellate species of Mesh Web Weaver in the family Dictynidae. The webbing is comprised of very fine threads that are spun into strands like hand-spun wool or chenille yarn, different from ordinary spider webbing. I have photos of similar webbing here, here, and here - not to mention my shot two photos [Back]. There's more info at Wikipedia and a nice article in The Atlantic. Note that the plant is starting to green up even though we've had no rain yet for this season. Arachtober 30b and Happy Web Webnesday! (San Marcos Pass, 30 October 2019)
This is a tiny Jumping Spider watching me from a twig of Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia, Fagaceae) in the woods today. These spiders prove that "cute spider" is not an oxymoron! There are many different kinds of these little jumpers that are hard to tell apart, but maybe this one is a female in the genus Pelegrina? I've found them before early in the year, e.g. this photo from last February. (San Marcos Pass, 18 January 2019)
I only found soggy mushrooms today after our good rains yesterday, though I did find more slime molds on dead oak leaves. They can wait. The sun was out, the breeze was mild, and I actually found some tiny critters to photograph today! I look forward to many more mushrooms in a few days.
This is a tiny Trashline Orb Weaver (Cyclosa, Araneidae) spider hanging in the inner circle of her web in the woods today. These spiders decorate their webs with the body parts of their prey, pirate fashion -- like this. These spiders always have that odd hump on their abdomen. Arachtober 22b. (San Marcos Pass, 22 October 2024)
This is a fairly large Silver Argiope (Argiope argentata, Araneidae) spider wrapping its prey on its web. Its prey seems to be a Green Stink Bug in the family Pentatomidae, Heteroptera, Hemiptera - maybe genus Chinavia or Thyanta, see this photo. I wonder how the spider caught it? You can see patches of the spider's stabilimentum - those thick white zig-zag webs on the diagonal. The common name of this spider comes from the white/silver part on the spider's top side, but a better characteristic for identification is their remarkable "horns" around the abdomen which gives them a cartoon look. Look close - this one seems to have a safety line! Arachtober 9. (San Marcos Pass, 9 October 2017)
I was lucky to find this spider today. I would normally have spiders located before Arachtober, but we were in Portland, Oregon this year. It's pretty remarkable how you can be standing right in front of a spider web and not see it until ... *wham* there it is! The spiders I had located before we left (like this one) are gone now. This is a new one.
This is looking into the funnel-like opening of the web of a Funnel Web Weaver (Agelenidae) spider in the woods today - but what is it showing?? My first thought was that it's two spiders mating, but the one on top is all shriveled up. My second thought was that they were mating, but now the one is eating the other - it happens, see this photo of different spiders. But no, the spider on top has the slender palps of a female. I think my third thought is right, that it's a female spider just finishing its molt into a larger size. I'll go back tomorrow and see if I can find the cast-off skin or exuviae as it is properly called. (San Marcos Pass, 11 July 2020)
“You must understand, young Hobbit, it takes a long time to say anything in Old Entish. And we never say anything unless it is worth taking a long time to say.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers, spoken by Treebeard.
ps.....does anyone know how to allow someone to download one of your Flickr photos? I can't even download it! It'll appear on my desktop until I click it off.......then it doesn't minimize and stay. It disappears.
Does anyone know how I can "unlock" it so someone else can download it?
This is a little beetle (Coleoptera) on a leaf of native Canyon Sunflower (Venegasia carpesioides, Asteraceae) in woods today. I'm not sure what kind it is, but I've seen it before -- see this photo. Perhaps it is the genus Trirhabda? (San Marcos Pass, 9 April 2022)
This is another photo of a remarkable Bee Fly (order Bombyliidae, Diptera) - probably Geminaria canalis. It has a long sharp proboscis and it's built like a jet plane. What's most remarkable are those dark "eye spots" on its back that reflect light just like Jumping Spider (Salticidae) eyes. Is that camouflage for when it's digging into a flower with its butt in the air? See my [Previous] photo and this one for more photos of this remarkable fly.
This one is perched on a composite flower (Asteraceae) that I can't identify yet. It's a subshrub that grows near rock outcrops in the desert that reminds me of our summer-flowering California Aster (Corethrogyne filaginifolia aka Lessingia filaginifolia) at home, though that one is not reported here. HFDF! (Alabama Hills, Owens Valley, Inyo County, California, 1 May 2015)
Aquest retall de bosc verge entorn el poblet de Tor em recorda el personatge vegetal d'El Senyor dels Anells, Barbarbrat, Barbol en la v. castellana i Treebeard en l'anglès original.
ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbarbrat
===============================================
This damp and virgin corner of mountain forest arround the tiny village of Tor reminds me of Tolkien's Treebeard.
This is another tiny dragonfly-like Robber Fly (Asilidae, Diptera) perched on a flower bud of native Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia, Rosaceae). It's tiny, only about 1/4 inch long. I found a different tiny robber fly recently, see this photo, but this one is much more colorful. It's another fly with golden hairs, see this photo. HFDF! (San Marcos Pass, 15 June 2017)
I believe this is a common European Earwig (Forficula auricularia, Dermaptera) taking wing from a new flower head of Trask's Yerba Santa (Eriodictyon traskiae) in the Boraginaceae plant family. I say "common" - but these insects are not at all common up here in the mountains. I think of them as household pests, though I occasionally find them in the woods too - see this photo. Its wing is quite beautiful, fan-folded to tuck into the small space under its short wing covers - see this photo series to appreciate the fold. HWW! (East Camino Cielo, Santa Ynez Mountains, 29 May 2018)
I went up into the higher mountains today mostly to find Copper butterflies - see this photo and this photo. I saw one male Gorgon Copper (Lycaena gorgon) butterfly in a place where I've found dozens in years past. *Sigh* It's been that kind of year. It was a few degrees cooler today, but still close to 80°. The marine layer is expected to come back tonight bringing cooler temperatures, then back into the 80s next weekend.
The pine trees standing at the lake's edge had many low branches stretching out over the water.
If I didn't know better, I'd say this was Treebeard's distant cousin just waiting for "someone" to swim underneath so he could toss a pinecone at them.
Here's another shot of the large bottlecap-size Orb-Weaver Spider (Araneidae) on its web that I've shown a couple of times already in this photo and this photo. I believe the spider is genus Araneus, probably Araneus gemma or A. gemmoides. (These species are known to cross.) This spider has a large web that's close to our home, and it's the first one I've found this year that's actually easy to get to - just in time for Halloween if it sticks around for two more days. It's a handy spider for a quick morning photo just in case I get skunked for new photos the rest of the day. I didn't get skunked today, I just like this photo. Arachtober 29c. (San Marcos Pass, 29 October 2019)
This is a small atypical Tachinid Fly in the family Tachinidae of the Diptera - probably genus Cylindromyia and maybe species Cylindromyia intermedia. It's working mint flowers in the garden. It does have a bristly abdomen like many other tachinids. I have another recent photo here. I got this photo a week ago. I try to keep these photos more current, but sometimes I fall behind and don't want to lose a good shot. (San Marcos Pass, 13 August 2017)
This sleek "true bug" is Closterocoris amoenus (Miridae, Heteroptera, Hemiptera). It's the adult that comes from the ant-mimic nymphs that I showed in this photo a couple of days ago. It's interesting that the adults don't look anything like ants, just the nymphs. I found this adult (and more nymphs) on a shrub of native Black Sage (Salvia mellifera, Lamiaceae). I usually find them on White Sage (Salvia apiana), but I guess any sage will do. I've also found them inside the flowers of Bush Monkey Flower shrubs, see this photo. (San Marcos Pass, 17 May 2019)
Here is another good-sized caterpillar of a Pale Swallowtail (Papilio eurymedon) butterfly on a leaf of California Coffeeberry (Frangula californica, Rhamnaceae) in the woods today. This is a different shrub from where I was finding these caterpillars back in June, see this photo. Those caterpillars disappeared and are probably butterflies by now, so I was happy to find this new one somewhere else in the woods today. Hah, just by chance I happened to find a new "bird turd" stage caterpillar in that other shrub that looks like this one. Note that the caterpillar in my photo today has a cushion of webbing like they always seem to have - something to hang on to? (San Marcos Pass, 2 August 2020)
I love the shape of this tree seen on a walk to Hareshaw Lin waterfall near Bellingham, Northumberland.
It's very "Tolkeinesque" and being a LOTR nut, it reminded me of Fangorn Forest. Fangorn or "Beardtree" in J.R.R. Tolkien's Legendarium, was a forest located in the fictional world of Middle-earth and was the home of the tree shepherds, the Ents. It was named after the oldest Ent, Treebeard or Treebeard after it. Tolkien did, however, state that there was confusion about the two. The Forest of Fangorn provided an important role in The Lord of the Rings novel as did Mirkwood, Doriath and Lothlórien in the Third Age, a time when Sauron challenged Middle-Earth to battle and domination. The forest provided the means by where adventure expanded with the breaking up of the Fellowship. Merry Brandybuck and Peregrin Took were the first to discover the Ents were alive but were dwindling in numbers due to the loss of the Entwives. They were lost because of the events of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men. The forest was again severely damaged during the War of the Ring by the forces of Saruman who lived close by in the fortress of Isengard.
Hah - you don't need any warning to keep your hands away from this spider! This is a female Western Black Widow (Latrodectus hesperus, Theridiidae) spider on her cobweb-like web. I got this photo last May, see this photo from the same day. I don't see these spiders very often, but I know they're out there - a good reason not to stick your hands into dark places. A couple of years ago I found a male of the species which looks quite different - see this photo and this photo. The second of these photos shows that the male also has a red hourglass-shaped mark under the abdomen, but it's not nearly so impressive as the lady's mark. Surely the whole point of that red hourglass is a warning to keep away - even when its not Halloween! Arachtober 31b. (San Marcos Pass, 4 May 2018)
This is my photo for the Macro Mondays group, with the theme of "Staying Healthy". It's actually a photo (my camera) of a photo (Julie's cell phone) of a photo (on Flickr) of a spectacular caterpillar of a California Sister (Adelpha bredowii) butterfly on a branch of native Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia, Fagaceae), see this photo for the original shot. Staying healthy has been an issue for me since I had my heart attack and cardiac bypass surgery a year ago in May. My first photo taken outside after surgery was a different caterpillar - see this photo. I believe that getting outside everyday and taking photos of the life in our mountains is what's keeping me going. It's a healthy hobby that has also been a passion. BTW, Julie's cell phone is 2-1/2 inches wide, so I'm legal by the group rules. HMM! (San Marcos Pass, 6 August 2017)
This is a Stiletto Fly in the family Therevidae on a prickly pear (Opuntia) cactus, see this photo. Maybe it's the species Thereva fucata, see this BugGuide info page. I've seen these handsome flies before, but not often. (San Marcos Pass, 31 August 2021)
I will be away for a few days, so I'm posting my Fly Day Friday and Beautiful Bug Butt Thursday photos today. HFDF and HBBBT!
She lives in the green spaces along the Tualatin River. I think Treebeard would find her lovely.
The tree is located between the River Lofts apartments and the Tualatin River. I made the photo from the SW Boones Ferry Rd. bridge.
Happy Tree-mendous Tuesday!
Here is another shot of the beautiful mama Green Lynx Spider (Peucetia viridans or P. longipalpis, Oxyopidae) pacing around her egg case in a seed head of native Coastal Goldenbush (Isocoma menziesii var. vernonioides, Asteraceae). I think she's slowly turning more brown and less yellow, compare this photo. I've been checking in on her every day or two waiting for the eggs to hatch. Any day now, but not yet. I think she's getting anxious too - I watched her circle around her nest twice, like an expectant dad in the waiting room. (Do they still have those?) Arachtober 20. (San Marcos Pass, 20 October 2015)
Yeah, I've shown this spider before - but why not? She's large, beautiful, and I know where she lives! I'll keep checking in. We had one of these spiders on a buckwheat shrub by the mailboxes a few years ago. She waited and waited... until December, and finally disappeared . I hope that doesn't happen with this fine spider.
I believe it's an Ichneumon Wasp in the family Ichneumonidae -- superfamily Ichneumonoidea for sure. This is on of leaf of native Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia, Fagaceae) this morning. These are parasitic wasps that lay their eggs on the larvae of other insects, see this photo for an example. (San Marcos Pass, 22 April 2022)
Here is another clutch of tiny insect eggs on the underside of a leaf of Eastwood Manzanita (Arctostaphylos glandulosa ssp. mollis) in the Ericaceae plant family. These eggs have already hatched. They are stacked like little hexagons, with six neighbors each. The eggs are tiny, about 150 pixels across in this 1:1 macro shot, which comes to about 1/2 mm. (See here for how I figure.) I suspect these are the eggs of true bugs in the order Heteroptera, Hemiptera. This is my photo for the Macro Mondays group, with the theme of "Redux 2017--My Favorite Theme of the Year" and the sub-theme of "Egg". Hah, I got another photo of insect eggs for the original "Egg" theme back on March 6 - see this photo. I happened to find this clutch in a week when we were asked to reuse a theme from the past year, so I took that as an omen. HMM! (San Marcos Pass, 28 December 2017)
Here is another little Trashline Orb Weaver (Cyclosa, Araneidae) spider hanging from what's left of its web after the wind got through with it yesterday. It was really a pretty crummy day for getting photos - cloudy and windy both - but I'm really pleased how this one came out despite the conditions. Yes, these spiders always do have that odd hump on their abdomens. It provides a handy way to recognize them, though a few other spiders have humps too, like the odd Tmarus spider in this photo. (San Marcos Pass, 4 April 2020)
It was too wet to get outside with my camera today, so I'm posting one photo from each of the last four days instead. It started raining before dawn today and continued pretty much all day with light but steady showers. We've had a bit over an inch so far, which is not bad considering that the real rain is expected to arrive later tonight. It's raining pretty hard right now, and we're under a NWS Flood Advisory for the next few hours.
From f/1.4 to f/22. I should really figure out what those numbers inbetween do...
3-3xp HDR processed in Photomatix and merged in PS.
Taken at Monkey Run nature preserve, Cornell Plantations.
This is a gorgeous Western Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio rutulus) butterfly working a new flower of California Thistle (Cirsium occidentale var. californicum, Asteraceae) in the woods today. I've mostly been seeing these brilliant butterflies flying up and down the canyon without ever landing, so it was a pleasure to find this one visiting this new flower today. Later in the summer, the Pale Swallowtail (Papilio eurymedon) butterflies start to look cream-colored like this one, but there's no confusing them with the real thing. (San Marcos Pass, 22 May 2022)
"Tree? I am no tree! I am an Ent."
Here is my latest creation of everyone's favourite moving and talking tree (after Groot perhaps?)
This was built for the creature category of the summer joust www.flickr.com/groups/4472704@N25/discuss/72157694334704632/
I am really happy with how it turned out and how I was able to incorporate articulations to make is somewhat posable while not compromising too much on the aesthetics.
I hope you like it and C&C is always appreciated :D
I found this lovely Jumping Spider (Salticidae) perched on a cactus pad of a Prickly Pear (Opuntia, Cactaceae) cactus in the garden this morning. I'm sure it's genus Phidippus. It seems an add place to find this, but maybe it's a male Johnson Jumper (Phidippus johnsoni) as a mate for the female I found a few weeks ago, see this photo. It's looking straight ahead to the right, but it has me nailed with its "posterior lateral eye"! Arachtober 13. (San Marcos Pass, 13 October 2015)
It was pretty deep inside the cactus plant, so this is a bit of a crop. I couldn't get any closer! The big thorns are a deterrent, but the tiny "glochid" spines are the worst!
Today started cloudy, but then the sun came out and it warmed up. Then it started cooling down in the afternoon, and some clouds started to move in from the SW. There's still a 30% chance for a bit of tropical rain tomorrow. I hope it happens.
It was windy today, and I finally gave up trying to get a photo of this Leafhopper Assassin Bug (Zelus renardii, Reduviidae) which was swaying back and forth in and out of the light as I tried to get its photo - but this half of the insect (and photo) doesn't look bad. This predator is in a defensive pose with front legs held high ready to grab, see this photo for another example. This is the same insect I've been showing lately, e.g. in this photo. I believe it is teneral and has recently molted in its final transition from nymph to adult. In time it will lose those pretty blue/green (aquamarine?) colors, but it's especially gorgeous right now. (San Marcos Pass, 14 January 2020)
It was breezy this morning becoming downright windy in the afternoon with 20-30 mph gusts. It's chilly as well. This makes getting my kind of photos difficult, but I'm out there trying.
“Side? I am on nobody's side, because nobody is on my side, little orc.”
-Treebeard
― J.R.R. Tolkien
I believe this is a tiny Labyrinth Spider (genus Metepeira, Araneidae) in a still-flowering shrub of native Coyote Bush (Baccharis pilularis, Asteraceae). It looks like one of the big orb-weavers like this one, but it's really tiny - only about 560 pixels across in this 1:1 macro shot, which comes to 2.2 mm - less than 1/10 inch. (See here for how I figure.) That's even smaller than the similar spider in this photo, though foreshortening might make the difference. I don't know if it's a juvenile or just tiny. These spiders make a composite web with a proper orb web and a separate retreat off to the side, see my [Previous] photo. There is always a line that connects the two, and this spider has its screen-left front legs on the line waiting for a strike. Arachtober 14. (San Marcos Pass, 14 October 2019)
Today was cooler and breezy. Tomorrow will be a problem as we have another maintenance power outage so that the power will be off from 8:00 to 5:00 . . . they say. If they really finish their work by 5:00 pm, I'll be able to post tomorrow. Otherwise maybe not.
I found this impressive wasp (Hymenoptera) on in the water tub we keep by the summer-dry creek. I believe it's an Ichneumon Wasp in the family Ichneumonidae - superfamily Ichneumonoidea for sure. These are parasitic wasps that lay their eggs on the larvae of other insects, see this photo for an example. That's pretty gruesome, but it's essential to preserving any kind of balance in nature. (San Marcos Pass, 6 August 2021)