graysquirrels favoriter

Update of 9/2/23 observation of Artichoke gall-like observation found on Quercus agrifolia.

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/181449885

Larvae preserved in 40% ethanol and refrigerated.

Larvae measure ~2.5mm in length.

New gallformers.org code: "q-agrifolia-swollen-bud":
Gallformers page: https://www.gallformers.org/gall/5318

Galled manzanita berries? I can't find anything similar. Every berry had exit holes--I was trying to find one that was intact to bring home and see what happens. I had to go a ways before finding a few. Photo 3 has a couple of views of a wasp that was on an adjacent berry. I didn't see it until I looked at the photos at home or I would have tried for a better shot.

Originally I had no idea what this was. I thought it was a cordyceps as it has erupted from the body of a katydid or grasshopper. Someone has suggested pin mold, another has suggested slime mold.
Found positioned on a decaying log in subtropical rainforest next to a creek. We have recently had lots of rain and high humidity.

Via a cordyceps identification page on Facebook, Nigel Hywel-Jones commented "It is indeed spectacular, and rare. In 35+ years and over 20,000 collections in 12 countries I have found it once. On an adult moth. That is how rare it is. It is in the genus Sporodiniella and is a Zygomycete. It looks similar to Sporodiniella umbellata."

So I have now listed it as such.

This is a follow-up post to some odd growth on manzanita (Arctostaphylos manzanita ssp. manzanita) branches. Morgan Stickrod suggested that it might be a "disturbance response," which does occur in various types of Arctostaphylos. In this case, the disturbance seems to be woodborers. All of the burl-like growths on the outside of branches had woodbores underneath, inside the stem. However, this conclusion is based on a pretty small sample--I only opened up 3 or 4 sections of one small branch. (Manzanita wood was too hard for most of my available tools.) I found two types of woodborers; one I believe is Agrilus sp, possibly Agrilus arbuti which has been documented in manzanita in California. The second might be Lyctus sp, but there really isn't much to compare either borer to online, especially larvae or eggs. Photos 5-10 show the possible Agrilus bores, etc, and 11-12 are the possible Lyctus.

Original post: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/140753976
Follow-up 2 observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/143517527
Coleoptera Observation 1: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/143513192
Coleoptera Observation 2: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/143513486

Host: Catsear (I think - other opinions welcome.) Note brown gall body within a rosette gall composed of clustered leaves showing swollen petioles/ midribs. Not represented in Russo's field guides. @nancyasquith, @megachile, @kemper

Spotted knapweed (Centuarea stoebe) and star thistle (Centuarea solstitialis) hybrid. Centuarea stoebe X solstitialis. Growing among the two parent species. ID confirmed by Genevieve Walden at CDFA plant pest diagnostic lab via morphology. Molecular analysis by Patrick Woods and Monica Negrete turned up partial reads with hits on analyses to ribotypes for Centuarea solstitialis and to Centaurea stoebe.