A Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) feeds on Black Sage (Salvia mellifera) flowers in Sapwi Trails Community Park in Thousand Oaks, California.
Category: California Natives – Fauna
Blainville’s Horned Lizard on the Meadow Vista Trail
Last Saturday my sister Roxanne and I hiked a loop on trails in the Lang Ranch and Woodridge open space. As has become my habit, I took photos of wildflowers. While walking down the Meadow Vista trail, my sister heard a rustling sound and turned to spot an unusual creature trying to hide in a… Continue reading Blainville’s Horned Lizard on the Meadow Vista Trail
White-lined Sphinx Moth
On a recent hike with a friend, Silvia, we came across a late instar of a White-lined Sphinx (Hyles lineata) caterpillar that was probably looking for another plant to consume followed by a good place to pupate. Silvia nick-named him Gilberto. The color and markings of this moth’s larvae varies. All the individuals I have… Continue reading White-lined Sphinx Moth
Green Lynx, Peucetia viridans
A welcome surpise in the garden this summer was the appearance of a female Green Lynx spider on a Wild Cotton milkweed plant. The Green Lynx is native to most of the southern half of the US from the east to west coasts and south through Mexico, Central America, Columbia and Venezuela. A spiny-legged denizen of… Continue reading Green Lynx, Peucetia viridans