Masai Giraffe in Nairobi NP.
Taxon.notes:
G. camelopardalis tippelskirchi (orig.taxonomy)
G. tippelskirchi (new suggest revision from 2016 – Fennessy et al.)
Grass skipper butterfly nectaring on Coyote Brush flowers in maritime chaparral habitat.
Link to confirmed observation nearby: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/391235
Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus) is a small butterfly in the Skippers (Hesperiidae) family. It has a stout body, short wings, and fast flight. Adults rest with wings closed or bask with hindwings opened farther than forewings (the "jet-plane" position), a posture unique to Grass Skippers.
Wing Span: 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 inches (3.2 - 3.8 cm). Identification: Antennae are VERY SHORT. Male wide black stigma. Underside of the hindwing is scattered with small black spots. Female: Upperside is dark brown with a very irregular orange band. Underside of hindwing is pale brown with paler checks.
Life History: Males perch in lawns and grassy swales to wait for receptive females. Eggs are laid singly under leaves and also on other plants and objects. Caterpillars eat leaves and roll and tie them to make shelters which lie horizontally in the sod.
Flight: Several broods from May-August in the north, all year in Florida and South Texas.
Caterpillar Hosts: Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon), crabgrass (Digitaria), St. Augustine grass (Stenotaphrum secundatum), and other grasses.
Adult Food: Nectar from flowers of a variety of plants including milkweed, asters, sneezeweed, knapweed, ironweed, and thistles.
Habitat: Sunny, open areas such as fields, lawns, gardens, levees, roadsides, and second-growth scrub.
Range: Southern United States south through the West Indies and Central America to Argentina. Cannot survive harsh winters; each summer this skipper may stray and re-colonize north to northern California, southern Minnesota, southern Ontario, and southern New England.
Conservation: Not required.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: None reported.
Alternate Scientific Names:
Hylephia phyleus
Hylephilia phyleus
Butterflies Through Binoculars: The West: a field guide to the butterflies of western North America, by Jeffrey Glassberg, 2001, pp.262-263.
Butterflies and Moths of North America https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Hylephila-phyleus and https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species_search
Bug photographs from the U.S/Canada for I.D: https://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Hylephila+phyleus and https://bugguide.net
Butterflies of Central and Northern California: a guide to common and notable species, Jim Brock, laminated pamphlet, 2023
Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America. Brock and Kaufman, 2003, pp. 302-303.
Glossary of butterfly terms: https://butterfly.ucdavis.edu/resources/glossary
Butterfly Wing Areas and Body Parts (diagram)
Butterflies Through Binoculars: The West: a field guide to the butterflies of western North America, by Jeffrey Glassberg, 2001, p. 40.
Grass Skippers are in the Skippers (Hesperiidae) family https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grass_skippers
Most grass skippers have a rapid, darting flight. When landed, their wings are often kept completely closed, or with the hind wings more or less completely open but with the fore wings only partially opened, forming a V or U.
Grass Skippers
Butterflies Through Binoculars: The West: a field guide to the butterflies of western North America, by Jeffrey Glassberg, 2001, pp. 250-275.
Common Butterflies of California, Text and Photographs by Bob Stewart, 1997.
Butterflies & Their Favorite Flowering Plants: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park & Environs, Lynn and Gene Monroe, 2004
Wagner's Caterpillars of Western North America "last we heard 1450 species accounts were in progress" thebals 6/6/23.
Honey Bee nectaring on flowering Narrowleaf Milkweed plant. Link to milkweed observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/180578718
Western Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) Introduced/naturalized flying insect, approx. 14 mm long. Honey bees are excellent pollinators and produce wonderful honey in their hives. Honey tastes different depending on which species the bees have been foraging on. The genus name Apis is Latin for "bee", and mellifera is the Latin for "honey-bearing" or "honey carrying", referring to the species' production of honey.
Like all honey bee species, the western honey bee is eusocial, creating colonies with a single fertile female (or "queen"), many normally non-reproductive females or "workers", and a small proportion of fertile males or "drones". Individual colonies can house tens of thousands of bees. Colony activities are organized by complex communication between individuals, through both pheromones and the dance language.
The western honey bee was one of the first domesticated insects, and it is the primary species maintained by beekeepers to this day for both its honey production and pollination benefits.
Pollen Basket: The pollen basket is located on the bee’s hind legs and consists of hairs surrounding a concave receptacle. As the bee visits a flower, she grooms herself and brushes pollen sticking to her body toward her hind legs. She then packs the pollen into the pollen basket. To help keep the pollen together during flight, some nectar is mixed in. Hairs on the pollen basket hold it all in place. Amazing!
Native Bees: Get to Know Native Bees of the Santa Cruz Mountains with Obi Kaufmann. May 6, 2020 https://openspacetrust.org/blog/native-bees/
Beekeeping Beyond the Hive: The Surprising Secrets of Bees
Native • Wild • Managed
"Bees are the wispy sprites that connect the plant kingdom to the animal kingdom; they are the ties that bind the natural world together. Because of bees, flowering plants grace our planet with beauty and food."
rustybee's website: https://www.honeybeesuite.com/
Bug photographs from the U.S/Canada for I.D: https://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Apis+mellifera and https://bugguide.net
Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America, Eaton and Kaufman, 2006, pp. 346-347.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
There are 6 taxonomic families of Bees:
Andrenidae; (an-dren-ih-dee)
These bees tend towards being small and hairy. They make their homes in the ground so are often called mining bees, or sand bees. Generally, they are so small they can fit in tiny flowers, like the bell-shaped blossoms that hang from manzanita.
Apidae; (ap-ih-dee)
These are the really common, really big bees. Included in this family are the European honeybees, BUMBLE BEES and carpenter bees.
Colletidae; (co-lect-ih-dee)
Included in this family are two genera (Colletes and Hylaeus) that are identifiable by their unique faces. If you are lucky enough to study the face of a landed Colletes, you can identify it by its distinctly triangular face. Hylaeus usually has a black body that is contrasted to the yellow markings on its face that make it look like it’s wearing a mask.
Halictidae; (ha-lect-ih-dee)
These bees are commonly called sweat bees because apparently, they like to land on human skin and drink sweat, although I’ve never observed this. I like to call them jewel bees because they often are metallic in sheen and bright in color.
Megachilidae; (mega-chill-ih-dee)
These bees include the mason or the wool-carder bees. They make their homes inside hollowed out twigs or in tunnels made by other insects like beetles. The invasive and common Anthidium manicatum is a regular visitor to the Santa Cruz mountains.
Melittidae; (mel-it-tih-dee)
The most-rare of the bee family types in California. Feeding exclusively on Clarkia flowers in the California chaparral, Hesperapis regularis is one of a small number of native species"
Watched this male put on quite the show from atop the same perch on the same oak on and off for about an hour period along the Laguna Vista Loop.
At the turn of the hour I began to hear the back and forth “hu-hu, hooo hooo” calls of the Great Horned Pair that claim the lands surrounding Schulte Rd... calls I hear nearly every night and morning from my home.. finally able to share some images of one of the owls.. initially spotted this owl’s silhouette with my naked eye (roughly 100m out..) as it perched on an exposed branch of M. pine.. (many the time I’ve attempted spotting these owls at dusk.. finally finding success tonight) after seeing the silhouette bend forward in the act of calling out, indeed I knew this one of Schulte’s Great Horned residents.. using my 600mm telephoto lens to capture these images..
Damaliscus lunatus (Topi). Photographed at the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda on 17 February 2014. Subspecies jimela.
Damaliscus lunatus (Topi). Photographed at the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda on 17 February 2014. Subspecies jimela.
Phacochoerus africanus (Central African Warthog). Photographed at Lake Mburo National Park, Uganda on 26 February 2014. Subspecies massaicus.
Equus quagga (Grant's Zebra). Photographed at Lake Mburo National Park, Uganda on 26 February 2014. Subspecies boehmi.
African Buffalo (Syncerus caffer) profile closeup, Kruger National Park in South Africa
Bald Eagles that live in this area are here for non breeding reasons, meaning the season for their chance to mingle has passed and they have moved further south. This is what I believe to be a young Bald Eagle, which happen to fly around the northern hemisphere living a nomadic life. Their wingspan is very large, sitting at around 80in. They tend to weigh between 100-220 ounces; depending on their age and size.