Bug:

• A rough stinkbug – Brochymena sp. (Hemiptera:Pentatomidae)
  

  A rough stinkbug, Brochymena sp., found on Mesa Horkelia (Horkelia cuneata ssp. puberula). ©Nancy Hamlett.

  Rough stinkbugs, Brochymena sp. occur throughout North America. Rough Stink Bugs are often found on trees, where they are very well-camouflaged against the bark. Like all stink bugs, Brochymena sp. suck juice from flowers, fruit, seed and leaves of plants, but Rough Stink Bugs also prey on caterpillars and other soft-bodied insects and are considered beneficial in the garden because they prey on pests.

Flies:

• A robber fly – Machimus occidentalis (Diptera:Asilidae)
  

  A robber fly, Machimus occidentalis, with a small scarab beetle (Dichelonyx truncata) prey. ©Nancy Hamlett.

  Machimus occidentalis is a western species, ranging from California north to Montana and British Columbia, and is reported to be the most common robber fly species along the coast and in low to mid-elevation montane areas of California.

  M. occidentalis is usually found in grassy areas, and at the BFS they were seen in a grassy section of the east field. They range freely through their habitats, perching on bare ground or low plants. M. occidentalis takes a wide range of prey, which they capture in mid-air. The one shown here is feeding on Dichelonyx truncata, a small scarab beetle that was common in the area where the robber flies were seen.

• A hover fly – Orthonevra flukei (Diptera:Syrphidae)
  
  

  A syrphid fly, Orthonevra flukei, on a reed at the edge of pHake Lake. ©Nancy Hamlett.

  Orthonevra flukei ranges from California and Nevada south to tropical Mexico, where it’s typically found on the shore of streams, ponds, or lakes. This one was at the edge of pHake Lake.

• A tachinid fly – Cylindromyia sp. (Diptera:Tachinidae)
  
  

  A tachnid fly, Cylindromyia sp.©Nancy Hamlett.

  Cylindromyia sp. are colorful tachinids that range throughout most of North America, where they are common flower visitors in open weedy areas.

Moths:

• A geometer moth – Digrammia sp. (Possibly D. californiaria) (Lepidoptera:Geometridae)
  
  

  Digrammia sp., possibly Digrammia californiaria. ©Nancy Hamlett.

  Moths in the genus Digrammia are found throughout North America. This may be D. californiaria, but several similar species also occur in our area, and we are still waiting for species identification.

• An erebid moth – Drasteria ochracea (Lepidoptera:Erebidae)
  
  

  Drasteria ochracea behind the garage. ©Nancy Hamlett.

  Drasteria ochracea is a western species, ranging from California and Arizona north to British Columbia. The abundance of Blue Elderberry (Sambucus nigra ssp. caerulea) makes the BFS a good habitat for this species whose larvae feed only on elderberry (Sambucus spp.).

Butterfly:

• Sleepy Orange – Abaeis nicippe
  

  Sleepy Orange, Abaeis nicippe, in mixed grass and coastal sage scrub in the southwest corner of the BFS. ©Nancy Hamlett.

  Sleepy Orange butterflies have a rather slow flight, usually close to the ground. Upperside of wings (which are not often visible) are burnt orange, while the undersides are orange-yellow in summer, but brick red, brown, or tan in winter, like the tan one seen here.

  Sleepy Oranges range from America and the southern US north to about 40 °N latitude. The larvae feed on Cassia (in the pea family), which does not occur at the BFS, but may be among ornamental plantings in adjacent yards. Adults nectar on a variety of flowers.

Bees:

• Black-tailed Bumble Bee – Bombus melanopygus (Hymenoptera:Apidae)
  

  A Black-tailed Bumble Bee, Bombus melanopygus, on Black Sage (Salvia mellifera). ©Nancy Hamlett.

  Black-tailed Bumble Bees are found from California north into Idaho and British Columbia. Interestingly, the bees in the northern part of this range have red hairs instead of black on some of their abdominal segments, and were until recently thought to be a different species. In 2010, however, Robin Owen and colleagues showed that the the two color variants belonged to a single species and that the color difference was determined by a single Mendelian gene. At the BFS Black-tailed Bumble Bees are much less common than Yellow-faced Bumble Bees (Bombus vosnesenskii).

• A leafcutter bee – Megachile (subgenus Megachiloides) (Hymenoptera:Megachilidae)
  

  Megachile (Subgenus Megachiloides) on Brittlebush (Encelia farinosa). ©Nancy Hamlett.

  Megachile (subgenus Megachiloides) occur throughout most of the world, with about 60 species in North Amercia. In the US, more species are found in the western half of the country than in the east. These medium to large bees typically have black bodies and white hairs. The prominent features of this group are their elongate tongues and the females’ unique mandibles, which they use to cut pieces of leaves to seal their nests in the ground.

  Taxonomically, the subgenus Megachiloides is of the most problematic Megachile groups in North America. One problem is that males and females of many species have not been associated with each other, leading to a large proportion of species that are described from only one sex. Other problems include outdated identification keys and poorly illustrated descriptions.

References

• Hawkinson, C (2006) “Beneficial Insects in the Garden: #31 Rough Stink Bug” Extension Horticulture at Texas A&M University. http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/galveston/beneficials/beneficial-31_rough_stink_bug.htm
• O’Neill, KM (2001) Observations on the behavior of Machimus occidentalis (Hine) and Machimus formosus (Hine) in Montana. Proc Entomol Soc Wash 103: 222-226. http://www.insectscience.org/10.109/
• Owen, RE, TL Whidden, and RC Plowright (2010). Genetic and morphometric evidence for the conspecific status of the bumble bees, Bombus melanopygus and Bombus edwardsii. J Insect Sci 10: 109.
• Science Daily (4 April 2013) “Let Me Introduce Myself – Leafcutter Bee Megachile chomskyi from Texas” http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130404122413.htm

For this workday students from Citrus and Mt. San Antonio Colleges joined Claremont College students and community members to enable us to clear a large area of thistles. Here are some photos of the volunteers at work…

Roberto Garcia (Citrus) and G. Kyette Bryant (Mt. SAC). ©Nancy Hamlett.

Alicia Jackson (Citrus), LaKota Moon (Citrus), Thendral Govindaraj (HMC ’16), and Dave Willbers (Citrus). ©Nancy Hamlett.

Now, that’s a thistle! TJ shows off a large Italian Thistle with Gabe, Jaylen, and G. Kyette Bryant (Mt. SAC). ©Nancy Hamlett.

…and some of the areas they cleared:

Before: lots of thistles on the east side of the “toad pond mound”. ©Nancy Hamlett.

After: No thistles. ©Nancy Hamlett.

Before: A large thistle northeast of the “toad pond mound”. ©Nancy Hamlett.

After: No thistles. ©Nancy Hamlett.

Before: thistles east of the “toad pond mound”. ©Nancy Hamlett.

After: no thistles. ©Nancy Hamlett.

Native vegetation has covered much of the mound, but a large area on the top has been occupied almost entirely by invasive weeds – mustard, Italian Thistles, and grasses. Last spring we started removing mustard and Italian Thistles, and during last July and August we solarized a large weedy area on top of the mound.

The solarization was very successful, killing all the mustard, thistles, and grass in the treated area. Interestingly, seeds of Red-stem Filaree (Erodium cicutarium) survived the treatment, so the solarized area is now essentially an E. cicutarium monoculture. The surrounding area, however, still harbored seeds, so a border of mustard and Italian Thistles sprang up around the solarized area. This past Saturday, student volunteers from Harvey Mudd, Pomona, and Mt. San Antonio Colleges removed these mustards and Italian Thistles from the top of the mound, pulling the plants where they could, and cutting them at the base where the clay soil was too hard to pull the weeds. Here you can see them hard at work. (Scroll down to the bottom for a timeline of the transformation over the last year).

Fabioloa Ospima and Ivan Quevedo (Mt. Sac). ©Nancy Hamlett.

Michael Lertvilai (HMC ’15) and Kevin Coon (Mt. Sac). ©Nancy Hamlett.

Anne Clark (HMC ’13). ©Nancy Hamlett.

Molly Horgan (Pomona ’14). ©Nancy Hamlett.

Maria Morabe (HMC ’13). ©Nancy Hamlett.

At the end of the day, we had several big piles of mustard and thistles. ©Nancy Hamlett.

As we were finishing up, we found a patch of Italian Thistles that was being eaten by caterpillars, who had rolled the leaves up with webbing while they munch away. One of them hitched a ride back to the field house on a volunteer’s shirt, and by attempting to feed it different leaves, the volunteers determined that it really preferred thistles. A little research revealed that these were caterpillars of the Painted Lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui), and that they are sometimes even known as “Thistle Caterpillars“.

A Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) caterpillar on an Italian Thistle leaf. ©Nancy Hamlett.

A Painted Lady, Vanessa cardui, in the trail on the north side of pHake Lake. ©Nancy Hamlett.

To put the work in context, here’s a series of photos that show the timeline of the transformation of the area over the last year:

5 May 2012:

5 May 2012: The top of the toad pond mound covered with mustard and Italian Thistles. ©Nancy Hamlett

5 May 2012:

Four tired volunteers – Tim Cox, Elliott Cox, Lee Krusa, and Cleo Stannard (HMC ’15) – who have just cleared the mound of mustard and thistles. ©Nancy Hamlett

26 June 2012:

The cleared area prior to solarization. ©Nancy Hamlett.

7 July 2012:

We fenced the solarization to keep the coyotes from playing on the plastic. Tim Cox, Prof. Dick Haskell (HMC), Bryan Visser (HMC ’13), and Anne Clarke (HMC ’13) put in the last fence support. ©Nancy Hamlett.

19 April 2013:

The solarized area growing Red-stem Filaree, bordered by mustard, Italian Thistles, and grass. ©Nancy Hamlett.

The top of the toad pond mound with mustard and Italian Thistles removed from the border of the solarized area. ©Nancy Hamlett.

Prof. Dick Haskell (HMC) and Maria Morabe (HMC ’13) pull Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii) behind the old infirmary. ©Nancy Hamlett.

After removing the mustard behind the infirmary…

The area behind the old infirmary cleared of Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii). ©Nancy Hamlett.

…we headed up to the top of the ‘Neck’, where we removed a second stand of Sahara Mustard in the area just below the Abilene Way gate

A thick stand of Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii) just below the Abilene gate. ©Nancy Hamlett.

The area below the Abilene gate cleared of Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii). ©Nancy Hamlett.

The mustard was growing in front of a nice patch of Phacelia distans, which was being worked by a number of Yellow-faced Bumble Bees (Bombus vosnesenskii), and we paused a moment the admire them…

A Yellow-faced Bumble Bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, on Phacelia distans. ©Nancy Hamlett.

…before heading down to the lower east side of the ‘Neck’, where several thick patches of Italian Thistles (Carduus pynocephalus) were growing between the fire road and the fence. We started removing these last month, but we hadn’t made it to the northernmost extent of the infestation. The thistles have now started to bolt and flower, which did make them easier to spot. Some were very large…

Maria Morabe (HMC ’13) holds a large Italian Thistle (Carduus pynocephalus) she pulled from the east side of the ‘Neck’. ©Nancy Hamlett.

…while others were very small…

A tiny Italian Thistle (Carduus pycnocephalus) growing among brome and Cryptantha. The bottom end of a weed digger provides scale. ©Nancy Hamlett.

…but in the end, we think we got them all, including some that had hopped over the fire road into the native vegetation:

Italian thistles (Carduus pycnocephalus) growing among native vegetation in the ‘Neck’. ©Nancy Hamlett.

The same area in the ‘Neck’ cleared of Italian thistles (Carduus pycnocephalus). ©Nancy Hamlett.

At the end of the day, we’d packed three large trash cans full of Sahara Mustard and Italian Thistles.

Three large trash containers packed full of Sahara Mustard and Italian Thistles. ©Nancy Hamlett.

Annual weed removal will be continuing from now through June, so please join us if you can! You can check out the workday schedule here

The good news is that in the clearing itself we saw no Bull Thistles and only scattered Italian Thistles, which the volunteers quickly removed.

A few thistles lurking under an Artemisia in the area we cleared last year. ©Nancy Hamlett.

Now you see them, now you don’t! Good-bye, thistles! ©Nancy Hamlett.

There were, however, quite a few thistles growing around the periphery of the clearing, in areas we hadn’t year, so we attempted to make sure we removed thistles from the full extent of the infestation.

Tim Cox roots out thistles under shrubs while Bryan Visser (HMC ’13) carries thistles to the discard. ©Nancy Hamlett.

Once this area was cleared, we were able to move on to areas that hadn’t been treated last year — under an oak tree on the other side the trail and further north along the trail.

Wow! Look at the roots on that thistle! It was growing on in leaf litter under the oak. ©Nancy Hamlett.

We cleared all the thistles under the oak….

Before: Italian thistles springing up under an oak tree. ©Nancy Hamlett.

After: The area under the oak tree with thistles removed. ©Nancy Hamlett.

…and we think we got all the Italian Thistles on the east side of the lake. If this year’s progress is any indication, we may be able to eliminate them from this area in another year or two.

A basal rosette of an Italian Thistle (Carduus pycnocephalus). ©Nancy Hamlett.

The area along the entry drive had many fewer thistles than last year; in one spot that previously had many thistles, we couldn’t find any.

The area next to the houses on the east side of the ‘Neck” had more thistles than the entry drive, but they were still fewer than last year.

Volunteers pull thistles in the ‘Neck’. Left to right: Carol Cox, Thomas Andrews, Prof. Dick Haskell (HMC), Anne Clark (HMC ’13), Bryan Visser (HMC ’13), Tim Cox, and Maria Morabe (HMC ’13). ©Nancy Hamlett.

Carol Cox holds a handful of thistles while going after another one. ©Nancy Hamlett.

Volunteers near the end of their work for the day. Nearest to farthest: Maria Morabe (HMC ’13), Anwen Evans, Jacob Thomas, Prof. Dick Haskell (HMC), Anne Clark (HMC ’13), Thomas Andrews, Bryan Visser (HMC ’13), and Carol Cox. ©Nancy Hamlett.

By the end of the workday, we’d pulled enough thistles to fill two garbage cans.

Two garbage cans full of Italian Thistles. ©Nancy Hamlett.

While pulling thistles, the volunteers also spotted some of the local fauna, including native millipede, Hiltonius pulchrus…

Jacob Thomson inspects a millipede (Hiltonius pulchrus). ©Nancy Hamlett.

…and two European molluscs that presumably wandered over from adjacent gardens, a Garden Snail (Helix aspera)…

A Garden Snail (Helix aspera). ©Nancy Hamlett.

…and a Gray Field Slug (Deroceras reticulatum).

A Gray Field Slug (Deroceras reticulatum). ©Nancy Hamlett.

As we headed back to the outdoor classroom for pizza, we also spotted a gophersnake wending its way through the daffodils by the field house.

San Diego Gophersnake (Pituophis catenifer annectans). ©Nancy Hamlett.

I’m sure we will be spending several workdays on Italian Thistles, so if you missed this one, you will have other chances to pull those thistles! Just check our volunteer page for the schedule.

Brassica tournefortii plants. ©Nancy Hamlett.

Nontheless they could be recognized as Sahara Mustard by the pale yellow flowers…

Brassica tournefortii flower. ©Nancy Hamlett.

…hairy leaves and stems…

Brassica tournefortii leaves. ©Nancy Hamlett.

…and especially the long beaked fruits (“siliques”) borne on pedicels.

Fruits (siliques) of Brassica tournefortii. ©Nancy Hamlett.

Although last year’s Sahara Mustard plants were confined to the parkway outside the BFS fence, we found some this year inside the fence. Their sticky seeds would appear to have been tracked in through the pedestrian gate, where they were hard to spot among the grass.

Brassica tournefortti growing among grass just inside the pedestrian gate. ©Nancy Hamlett.

On Saturday, February 16, a crew of volunteers removed all the Sahara Mustard they could find, although finding them wasn’t easy. Some of these sneaky little plants were flowering and bearing fruit when they were no more than two inches tall.

A two-inch flowering plant of Brassica tournefortii. ©Nancy Hamlett.

Even though the plants were small, the volunteers pulled enough of them to nearly fill a large garbage can!

A garbage can full of Brassica tournefortii! ©Nancy Hamlett.

Thanks to all the volunteers for a great job! We will clearly we need to keep an eye on this invasive mustard in the future.

The BFS birds were counted by Prof. Cathy McFadden (HMC Biology) and Paul Clarke (CUC), who have been carrying out monthly bird surveys at the BFS for over ten years.

Paul Clarke and Cathy McFadden counting birds at pHake Lake, April 2010. ©Nancy Hamlett.

They counted a total of 538 birds of 47 different species. The most abundant birds were Bushtits (83), and the most unusual was a Western Tanager, a species that is rare in Southern California in the winter. pHake Lake was bustling with 9 Mallards, 4 American Coots, 2 Buffleheads, 2 Ruddy Ducks, a Ring-necked Duck, and a Pied-billed Grebe.

pHake Lake on Saturday. You’d need your binoculars to see them all, but there are 9 Mallards, 4 American Coots, 2 Buffleheads, a Ruddy Duck, and a Ring-Necked Duck in this photo. ©Nancy Hamlett.

You can see the complete BFS count for Saturday here.

A Western Scrub Jay at the south shore of pHake Lake on Saturday. ©Nancy Hamlett.

Scientists use data from the GBBC, along with observations from other citizen-science projects, to get the “big picture” about what is happening to bird populations. The GBBC has been held every year since 1998, and the longer these data are collected, the more meaningful they become in helping scientists investigate questions like how weather affects bird populations, how the timing of bird migrations varies from year to year, how bird diseases affect birds in different regions, and how bird diversity differs in different habitats.

Once the raptor rehabilitation program ended, the flight cage fell into disrepair. The chicken wire of the enclosure was rusty and torn, leaving large gaps, and recently a hawk flew in and was trapped until the Director was able to “shoo” it toward an opening.

Not wanting any more bird trapped in the enclosure, we had the BFS volunteers remove all the old chicken wire at last Saturday’s workday. They also removed old metal flashing, loose boards, remnants of old experiments, and old electrical conduit. They also removed the deteriorated liner and a non-functional electric fence from a former small pond that had been used to rear juvenile Western Pond Turtles.

Here are some photos of the volunteers at work…

The crew of volunteers goes to work. ©Nancy Hamlett.

Peter Pellitier (Pomona ’14), Michael Lertvilai (HMC ’15) , and Bryan Visser (HMC ’13) cut and remove chicken wire. ©Nancy Hamlett.

Dean McHenry, Stacy Guzman (Citrus College), and Anne Clark (HMC ’13) roll up and compact the old chicken wire. ©Nancy Hamlett.

Stacy Guzman (Citrus College) and Anne Clark (HMC ’13) cart away the old chicken wire, while Michael Lertvilai (HMC ’15) and Tom Andrews cut more wire loose from the supports. ©Nancy Hamlett.

Maria Morabe (HMC ’13), Amy Long (Citrus College), and Kourtney Williams (Citrus College) trim branches of a Laurel Sumac that were entangled in the chicken wire. ©Nancy Hamlett.

…and here are some’Before’ and ‘After pictures of the flight cage:

Old chicken wire and metal flashing were removed from the flight cage. Left: before. Right: After. ©Nancy Hamlett.

Debris and remnants of old experiments were also removed. Left: before. Right: after. ©Nancy Hamlett.

The electric fence and disintegrated liner were removed from the old turtle pond. Left: before. Right: after. ©Nancy Hamlett.

The Larry Oglesby Slide Collection in the Claremont Colleges Digital Library has some photos of birds in the raptor rehabilitation program at the BFS including some young Western Screen Owls and a Barn Owl.

References:

• Brown, J.S., B.P. Kotler, R.J. Smith, and W.O. Wirtz II1. 1988. The effects of owl predation on the foraging behavior of heteromyid rodents. Oecologia 76: 408-415. Abstract | PDF
• Kotler, B.P., J.S. Brown, R.J. Smith and W.O. Wirtz, II. 1988. The effects of morphology and body size on rates of owl predation on desert rodents. Oikos 53: 145-152. Abstract | PDF (Subscription required)

BFS Director Marty Meyer, Ronnie Hollet (Citrus College), and Prof. Dick Haskell (HMC) attack overgrown shrubbery along the side of the classroom. ©Nancy Hamlett.

Prof. Dick Haskell (HMC) trims trees away from the classroom roof. ©Nancy Hamlett,

The results were quite satisfying, as you can see in these ‘before’ and ‘after’ photgraphs:

Before and after: The path on the west side of the classroom. ©Nancy Hamlett.

Before and after: Path on the east side of the classroom. ©Nancy Hamlett.

Before and after: the north side of the classroom. ©Nancy Hamlett.

Before and after: Path on east side of the classroom. ©Nancy Hamlett.

Have a good semester everyone and enjoy the spiffed-up classroom!