Crickets in December

I can hear no crickets tonight. But a few nights ago I was coming back from holiday shopping and heard them as I was walking home. Crickets in December! Will they come back this year?

The gulf fritillaries are still active. I have eggs and caterpillars in the house, and I saw the out gallivanting in the yard today. Usally they are around all year.

Well, the crickets were still singing last night. Wonder how long it will go on. I think it sounds most like the fall field cricket on this website.

http://www.musicofnature.com/songsofinsects/index.html

The snowy cricket sounds lovely, I wish we had those.

Well, the rains have paused and the crickets were back last night. I wonder how long they will last. The sound of crickets is familiar to most of us, but what about the sound of a courting medfly. For some interesting insect noises, try this link:
http://www.ars.usda.gov/pandp/docs.htm?docid=10919#anoplophora

crickets

I think of cricket songs as a summer event. But I have been noticing the last few years that they are definitely still singing in the fall. In fact, they were singing just a few days ago. But now that the rains have come, the songs are gone. It is sad, but we really need the rain, so i am welcoming fall.

Bot Garden Insects

A couple of days ago, I was in the UC Botanical Garden to attend to my docent duties. The kids were fourth graders who had come to the Garden to learn about how Indians used plants. I did my best to inform them. Here they are before the tour listening to the head docent.



After the tour I took some pics of insects in the Saint Catherine's Lace, Eriogonum giganteum. The white flowers don't look particularly lacy to me, but it is gigantic compared to some other buckwheats. Many honey bees were collecting nectar and were not spooked by me or the camera. The Painted lady was a bit shy, but she kept coming back, so I eventually got a good picture of her. She looked very fresh for the beginning of October. Maybe butterfly season will extend into the fall this year.

Butterfly Class

Yesterday, my Albany Adult School butterfly class met at the Tilden Botanical Garden to go for a walk. It was cool and overcast, so we didn't see many butteflies, but the ones we did see sat around long enough so that we could get a good look at them and identify them. There was a field crescent trying to camouflage itself on an orange sign and a woodland skipper on the path, also well camouflaged. We enjoyed being out amoung the plants and maveled about how many were in bloom in September. We will meet one more time in the classroom and go for one more walk. Hopefully it will be sunny next week.

Butterfly Presentation

Yesterday, Andy and I did a presentation at MIG, a landscape architecture firm in Berkeley. It was the first time ever that Andy had put together a powerpoint presentation, and I must say it turned out rather well. Very nice pictures of butterflies. And he brought in plants to show what the caterpillars like to eat. He put a lot of work into his presentation.

On the other hand, I was lazy. I just put the monarch lifecycle in the DVD player, and played it. I didn't even narrate like I usually do. The audience seemed to really appreciate the presentation, and some stayed afterwards asking questions.

It is a busy week. Tuesday was my class at Albany Adult School, and Friday I am supposed to give presentations at LeConte. We have to take advantage of summer while it is still warm and sunny.