August 2023 – Page 3

Conocybe

Published on August 11, 2023August 10, 2023 by HashiLeave a comment

I’d like to get better at fungi identification. Not that I want to forage them for dinner (though that might be cool). But just to learn.

Platyptilia carduidactyla

Published on August 10, 2023August 10, 2023 by HashiLeave a comment

This little guy is too small for me to observe in detail, so the sketch is approximate. But such an odd looking moth!

Manduca sexta

Published on August 9, 2023August 8, 2023 by HashiLeave a comment

Here’s something interesting: hornworms’ hemolymph (blood) is blue, coloured by a protein called insecticyanin. The foliage they eat contains carotenoids, which are primarily yellow in hue. The resulting combination (blue + yellow) gives them their green colouring. If fed a wheatgerm-based diet in a lab, these caterpillars are turquoise due to the lack of carotenoids in their diet.

Both tobacco hornworms and the very similar tomato hornworms are big fans of Solanaceae (nightshades like tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, tobacco), but they also eat crucifers, legumes, eucalyptus, ficus, and other plants.

wide brown land

Published on August 8, 2023August 7, 2023 by Hashi5 Comments

Kuruvunga Springs

Published on August 7, 2023August 7, 2023 by HashiLeave a comment

Would you drink from a spring in the middle of Los Angeles? I did. It tasted fairly neutral, and I didn’t get sick. In fact, someone in the museum told my friend the water was reputed to be heal joint and muscle pain. Regardless, it was nice to drink water straight from the ground in the middle of a metropolis, with no ill-effects.

dracaena

Published on August 6, 2023August 5, 2023 by Hashi3 Comments

I went to my first Urban Sketchers event in a year; we met at Kuruvunga Village Springs, which is only a 30 minute drive from home, but I’d somehow never heard of it before. This very large dragon tree caught my attention.

A couple of fun things happened when I arrived. First I saw a guy I worked with years ago, and his wife, and we had a nice catchup. He was just randomly visiting the springs that day, nothing to do with USK. Then, I overheard one of the other sketchers mention John Muir Laws, so I sidled over and told her about our new nature journal club. She was very interested and said she’ll come along. Yay!

smmnjc

Published on August 5, 2023August 5, 2023 by Hashi2 Comments

I worked all day on a web site for the new Santa Monica Mountains Nature Journal Club. My friend Alli and I have talked about starting a local group for ages, and we’re finally launched! First meetup will be on September 10. We’re excited!

Heteromeles arbutifolia

Published on August 4, 2023August 3, 2023 by HashiLeave a comment

I’ve blogged about toyon before, but here’s something new: The plant has been used as a treatment for Alzheimer’s by indigenous people of California, and 2016 research backs this up. Toyon contains compounds that are known to protect the blood-brain barrier, prevent the infiltration of inflammatory cells into the brain and prevent neuronal damage. This plant medicine may provide new leads for drug therapy in the disease. Cool!