An Academic Resource of the Claremont Colleges
Posted in News, Sightings, Web Updates on Mar 25th, 2010
Spotted last Sunday on Amsinckia in the East Field, the plant bug Plagiognathus moerens: Plagiognathus moerens is a specialist feeder of Amsinckia and other Boraginaceae. It’s very little studied — the only references in the scientific literature are to the taxonomic description. So far as we can tell, our photos from the BFS are the […]
Posted in News, Sightings, Web Updates on Mar 24th, 2010
During Spring Break Jonathan Wright, Harsi Parker, and I spent an afternoon at the BFS documenting and photographing arthropods. It will take a while to figure out the identity of all the interesting insects we found, but we’ve now idenitified the first two and added them to the BFS Invert List: Zelus renardii – Leafhopper […]
Posted in News, Sightings, Web Updates on Mar 9th, 2010
Although it’s seemed likely that treefrogs would be present at the BFS, we haven’t had any confirmed sightings until now. While monitoring the ‘new’ toad pond at the BFS, Joint Science students Erin Baumler and Maya Higgins and their faculty advisor Marion Preest spotted this Baja California Treefrog, Pseudacris hypochondriaca (formerly Pseudacris regilla), in the […]
Posted in News, Sightings, Web Updates on Mar 7th, 2010
We have another new addition to the BFS Invertebrate List — the Wooly Darkling Beetle, Eleodes osculans. This species was found by Dr. Paul Stapp’s Cal State Fulllerton Mammalogy class, who collected it in their rodent traps. Prof. Stapp adds, “like other tenebrionids, they seem to really like the peanut butter and oats we bait […]
Posted in News, Sightings, Web Updates on Mar 2nd, 2010
We have two new additions to the BFS Inverts list: The Pipevine Swallowtail, Battus philenor. The larvae of this striking black and blue iridescent butterfly feed exclusively on Aristolochia species, including “Pipevine” or “Dutchman’s Pipe.” The adults sip nectar from a number of different flowers — this one was seen on Golden Current, Ribes aureum. […]
Posted in News, Sightings, Web Updates on Feb 14th, 2010
…on finding a root of shepherd’s purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris) open a seed-vessel. If the seed is yellow you will be rich, but if green you will be poor. Yorkshire Folklore BFS Manager Stephen Dreher has spotted a new addition for the BFS Plant List: Shepherd’s Purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris). Shepherd’s Purse, which originated in the Middle […]
Kerry Knudsen, Curator of Lichens at the University of California Riverside Herbarium, has discovered a new species of lichen at the BFS. The new lichen, Lecanora munzii, grows on dead wood of Chaparral and Coastal Sage Scrub plants, especially California Sagebrush (Artemisia californica). This inconspicuous brown lichen produces an unusual chemical – gyrophoric acid – […]
Posted in News, Sightings, Web Updates on Nov 16th, 2009
We have a new addition to the BFS Bird List! On Saturday, November 14, and Monday, November 16, a Virginia Rail (Rallus limicola) was seen among the cattails on the south side of pHake Lake. This small, chicken-like shore bird frequents freshwater marshes, where it most often remains hidden in dense vegetation. In spite of […]
An injured Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) has apparently taken refuge at the field station lake. Whether this is a past visitor (Cathy McFadden at Harvey Mudd College has sighted one somewhat recently) or a new arrival is unknown. I first noticed it last Friday, October 30th while conducting brush and cattail clearance around one […]
I previously posted several photos of a California ground squirrel (Otospermophilus beecheyi) interacting with one of our ground-based remote cameras. The two photos below show a California thrasher (Toxostoma redivivum) exhibiting the same curiosity. Perhaps it is the shape of the camera or minor light reflection off the lens glass (actually plastic). The “Wildview” cameras […]