SolarDarkroom Blog

I love a good Sci-Fi movie and all the fantastic creatures that come with them. Still for my money nothing matches nature when it comes to making strange and wonderful beasts. This Praying Mantis was hanging out on the edge of a pool in Palm Desert and we both had good reason to be there in the 109 degree heat. Somehow it managed to position itself where the sun was spotlighting its antennae, making them glow against the cool dark background. Various flotation devices added some eerie colors to the mix. I lay down on my belly and placed the camera on the concrete looking down into the angle-finder. I was being watched carefully.

I shot about 80 frames before I got too hot and had to jump in the pool. These are six of my favorites and I’m having a hard time choosing “the one”. We’ll just call it a portrait series and leave it at that for now…

Click on the pictures to see them nice and large!

You’ll likely recognize this tarantula. It’s a classic creepy-crawly monster firmly embedded in the collective unconscious. I stumbled onto this one in Malibu and was happy to get a shot. It didn’t really strike me as aggressive but it wasn’t going to move out of the way either. I got a shot for the record and politely stepped aside.

Apparently most of the approximately 900 species of tarantula aren’t that dangerous, with bites similar to a bee sting but I’m no expert and don’t care to experiment.

This impressive wasp is called a Tarantula Hawk and I’ve seen them on my adventures from time to time. They’re luminescent in the sunlight with colours as vivid as anything you’ll ever see. They’re pretty big too, about two inches long and impossible to ignore.

I like to get close as you may have noticed and this is about one foot away. It wasn’t until I got home and looked it up that I realized what I’d been dealing with. If you’re curious you can read about it on Wikipedia. However, suffice it to say what this thing does to tarantulas will make you feel sorry for tarantulas. It’s the stuff of horror movies. But that’s not my concern. What really caught my eye were the comments regarding the Tarantula Hawk’s painful sting.

Commenting on his own experience, one researcher described the pain as “…immediate, excruciating pain that simply shuts down one’s ability to do anything, except, perhaps, scream. Mental discipline simply does not work in these situations.”^[2] In terms of scale, the wasp’s sting is rated near the top of the Schmidt Sting Pain Index, second only to that of the bullet ant and is described by Schmidt as “blinding, fierce [and] shockingly electric”

 

So take a good look. I won’t be getting close to one of these anytime soon.

Just maximize your browser window, click on the first picture and enjoy the new slide-show feature here on the SolarDarkroom Blog. It’s all about the photographs! If you want to know the story behind the images you can find that below.

July 10th, Bluff Lake Meadow near Big Bear:

I joined my good friend Dennis Walker, sole proprietor of the wonderful Southern California Butterflies website for a trip to one of his favorite spots in the San Bernardino Mountains. Since I rarely get east of the San Gabriels I knew I was going to see something new…

Western Columbine (Aquilegia formosa)

A perfect July day in a quiet meadow, camera in hand. How much do I love California? I have enough water to last the afternoon and some cashews I know will taste like heaven around one o’clock or so. Can’t quite remember what this flower is called but I’ll figure it out later. They grow around the Lodgepole Pines and glow like neon signs in Vegas. You have to photograph them…you have to.

This is my first look at the local subspecies of Greenish Blue (Plebejus saepiolus hilda). Some call it Hilda’s Greenish Blue: Who was Hilda I wonder? I bet I can find out, but for now there’s hundreds of these little beauties fluttering about the corn lilies.

Here we see a pair of Greenish Blues mating. As with most species in the Blues family, the males are the blue ones. Although it’s rare to encounter this in the field it is easy to photograph as they remain quite stationary. Should they become disturbed they can fly away yet remain attached.

This is the local subspecies of Edith’s Checkerspot (Euphydryas editha augustina).

On Siberia Creek Trail we came across this magnificent Western Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio rutulus). This one was trying to impress a potential mate, hovering over the trail and making quite a spectacle. I shot over a hundred frames while trying desperately to maintain focus and framing. With the shutter set to a blistering 1/8000th of a second I figured sooner or later I’d capture something the eye could never see.

Thank goodness for digital. That would have cost a fortune in slide film!

This is my first look at the Satyr Comma (Polygonia satyrus). These aren’t the flashy types you’d find in the meadow. They like the cover of the forest and do a fine job of blending in. If you look closely you’ll see where the name “Comma” comes from. (There’s even a species called the Question Mark but I haven’t found that one yet!)

It’s a little easier to spot on this fern.

This is my first Coronis Fritillary (Speyeria coronis semiramis). I actually thought I had pictures of one in my collection for a few years until someone told me I was mistaken. Years later I finally have it! This is a fine day for a nature lover.

Time-cut: July 14th

After a 3 day extravaganza in Vegas, in the company of a dozen friends old and new I found myself on a solitary 3 day meditation in the Southern Sierra. That’s what I call a dynamic vacation.

Anyone who chases butterflies in California has heard of the Alder Creek crossing at 6700′ on Sherman Pass in Tulare County. It’s a famous location I visit every year. This time I got my first shots of this beauty: Montane Large Marble (Euchloe ausonides transmontana)

July 15th, Tulare County:

Lloyd Meadow – North of Johnsondale, CA

I arrive at 10:30am which is about the time I expect the butterflies to start flying. It’s only 67 degrees but the sun feels warm on my back and the air is still. The meadow is blanketed in wildflowers. This place looks like paradise. How can I be the only one here?

There’s no shortage of nectar here. I know it’s just a matter of moments before this meadow springs to life…

Seconds later I see this Mylitta Crescent (Phyciodes mylitta) then another and another.

I spin around to see this Northern Checkerspot (Chlosyne palla)

and the spectacular Zerene Fritillary (Speyeria zerene monticola). I’m crazy about Fritillaries. The black markings remind me of East Asian calligraphy and they often pose on flowers. They’re a photography-friendly genus!

At the bottom of the meadow there’s a stream that dries up into a wash.

Butterflies like this Lorquin’s Admiral (Limenitis l. lorquini) need nitrates as well as nectar,

and they can find them here where the stream has evaporated.

It’s a popular pit-stop for all species.

Back in the meadow I photographed my first Great Copper (Lycaena x. xanthoides)

Around 3:30pm the butterflies are tired and things begin to get quiet again. It’s time for me to head back to Kernville for the night.

The sun sets on Lake Isabella.

Another glorious day in California…

The Angeles Crest Highway (CA 2) was finally reopened on Friday, June 3rd so I made my first trip to Grizzy Flat since the Station Fire in August 2009.

This shiny new blacktop is perfect for cycling or driving the speed limit in a finely tuned turbo.

I frequented this area for a few years before the fire and it never looked so lush. This hillside is covered in Golden Yarrow which can re-sprout from its unburned roots.

Seeds that survive in the soil are stimulated to germinate by charred wood and there’s plenty of that.

Golden Yarrow is a popular nectar source for all kinds of butterflies like this Orange Sulphur (Colias eurytheme) which can now been seen flying in large numbers.

This is a Chalcedon Checkerspot butterfly on Deerweed (Lotus scoparius). Before the fire there were lots of Checkerspots and little Deerweed. Now there are very few Checkerspots and Deerweed is everywhere. The Deerweed is also known to be a larval host for the Orange Sulphur so that might explain the population explosion.

The Chalcedon Checkerspot is known to use this Sticky Monkeyflower (Mimulus aurantiacus) as a larval host. I’m going to come back to see if their numbers increase in coming weeks.

The Acmon Blue (Plebejus acmon) pictured above also uses Deerweed as a host. In previous years I suspect they were using California Buckwheat which blanketed the hills of the San Gabriel Mountains.

The Deerweed produces two kinds of seeds, one of which waits in the soil for years until the intense heat of a forest fire causes it to germinate. How’s that for a backup plan?

I hadn’t seen this before: Caterpillar Phacelia (Phacelia cicutaria)

Bush Lupine (Lupinus longifolius) can be seen everywhere from the roadside up.

Bush Poppy (Dendromecon rigida) is another species that shows up after a fire.

The seeds germinate in response to smoke and burned wood.

In 20 months these hillsides have gone from charred wasteland to this.

Grizzly Flat Fire Road was all gravel before the fire.

Golden Yarrow, California Everlasting, Mediterranean Mustard, Bush Poppy, Wild Morning Glory, White Pincushion, Popcorn Flower, Thickleaf Yerba Santa, California Buckwheat…

Wildfires in California are a fact of life. This one was big, did a lot of damage and took the lives of two brave firefighters. It cost millions in taxpayer dollars and many families were impacted. Opinions about the role that fire plays and how the land should be managed and protected are varied and the issues complex. For me it was tragic to watch and I dare say I would have felt differently if it was started by a lightning strike instead of some crazy man with a gas can. More than anything I’ve been curious to see what Nature would do with this landscape. If you’ve come this far I guess you’re curious too. Stay tuned!

I visited a location known as Bob’s Gap near Valyermo in Los Angeles Co. and photographed a couple new additions to the SolarDarkroom catalogue.

This is my first look at Behr’s Hairstreak (Satyrium b. behrii) and it was quite a challenge. They dart around at high speed and it’s hard to keep your eye on them. The good news is they repeat the same route in a loop and will stop for a minute each time.

This Acmon Blue (Plebejus acmon) male made a fine display of its iridescent blue wings…

This female however was not impressed.

Another new addition to the collection: Mojave Blue (Euphilotes m. mojave)

It took a bit of research and a few tips to figure out what this was called. Previously it was classified as a subspecies in the Dotted-Blue Complex called Euphilotes enoptes mojave. Then in 1998 it was elevated to a species and given the name Euphilotes mojave mojave along with the common name Mojave Blue. Of course the butterflies didn’t have a clue any of this was going on.

On August 29th, 2009 I took this photo from our front door in Santa Monica. Even 27 miles away this fire looked terrifying. An arsonist had started what would become known as the Station Fire, the largest wildfire in LA County history. When it was finally contained 52 days later a total of 160,577 acres, 251 square miles were burned.

It’s now 20 months later and I’m just getting reconnected with places that I’d come to think of as my own backyard. Here in Alder Creek off Upper Big Tujunga road in the San Gabriel Mountains there is lots to see amongst the charred trees.

Scarlet Bugler was plentiful.

Bush Poppy and Chia add a fine splash of yellow and purple.

Yerba Santa is just beginning to bloom. It’s known to some as ‘Butterfly Crack’ and for good reason. I’m happy to see it again and look forward to the aroma when the summer temps get into the 90s. It’s just one of those things you kind of get used to.

This delicate creature is a Green Lacewing and I haven’t seen one in about 15 years. It was the first insect I ever photographed, by accident when I was shooting flowers and it just landed in the frame. Clearly it made an impact.

This is called an Antlion. The larvae eat ants as you might have guessed and are commonly called ‘Doodle Bugs. They’re nocturnal so it’s unusual to see them in the day. It was hard to miss though. They’re pretty big and absolutely the worst flyers I’ve ever seen.

In Aliso Canyon there were lots of these Northern White-Skippers (Heliopetes ericetorum) nectaring on Yellow Pincushion (Chaenactis glabriuscula). There were several other species in bloom but apparently this was the tastiest. Strangely, of the hundred or so Northern White-Skippers I saw, every single one was male. So I guess they were lonely and took to overindulgence…

This is either an Acmon Blue (Plebejus acmon) or the local subspecies of Lupine Blue (Plebejus lupini monticola). Believe it or not there are some really smart and patient people who’ve been studying these little beauties for years trying to sort out this species-complex. By the time you read this they might have new names. If you make a friend of Nature you will never be bored. The mysteries are infinite.

A butterfly by any other name…

I think this is Harford’s Sulphur (Colias harfordii) but it could be wishful thinking; I don’t have that one yet. I’m still researching it.

Everywhere you look there’s lush green goodness mixed with charcoal. I’ve decided I like it. Renewal is good.

This is as good a place as any to recharge my batteries. Apart from the occasional Harley, Porsche and Lotus out for a joyride, it’s pretty quiet.

Now get away from that desk and go get some fresh air!

I went for a stroll in the neighborhood to see if there were any signs that this really was the end. If this was to be Judgment Day then surely I would see signs of it on Venice Beach.

This guy seemed pretty happy. I don’t know what he was singing about but he didn’t seem concerned.

On the other hand this man seemed quite agitated and was stapling dollar bills to his body. Was this some sort of atonement?

Don’t give up without a fight.

For his parents at least, this must surely be a sign the end is near.

Then again this guy’s flying, and wearing a top hat. That’s gotta be a good sign.

“Sun’s up, uh huh, looks okay
The world survives into another day
And I’m thinking about eternity
Some kind of ecstasy got a hold on me”

(‘Wondering Where the Lions Are’ by Bruce Cockburn)

The last day of April at Erskine Creek in Kern Co. CA.

There were lots of these: Common Ringlet (Coenonympha tullia california). This is not a glamorous species and you might not be inspired to stop if one crossed your path. The pattern reminds me of stains on a yard-sale sofa. But this one’s in great shape, perched on a nice little flower and looking about as handsome as it ever will. Despite my unflattering reference I still think it’s a beauty;-)

Next I stopped at Corral Creek in Tulare Co. where I found plenty of these Acmon Blues (Plebejus acmon).

I was eager to photograph the Leanira Checkerspots (Chlosyne leanira) that had taunted me in previous years; so much so that I convinced myself this was it. Wrong!  This back-lit beauty is a Northern Checkerspot (Chlosyne palla australomontana). There’s a lesson in there somewhere. In the meantime you might notice I got the genus right at least. More on that in a moment…

Day 2: Mt. Baldy, Los Angeles Co.

On May 1st I was joined by Dennis Walker of socalbutterflies.com for an adventure in the eastern San Gabriel Mountains near the quaint little town of Mt. Baldy. I’m more familiar with the western slope but that’s been largely off-limits since the Station Fire in 2009. Dennis felt sorry for me after learning of my identification problem with the Leanira Checkerspot so while I was strapping on my photographic space-suit he found me this at Beer Bottle Flat:

The Leanira Checkerspot (Chlosyne leanira wrightii)

The morning was kind of cold for butterflies, in the low 60s and windy so when I offered this one a hand,

it happily got on board. I know what you’re thinking: “Dude, you’re like the Butterfly Whisperer!” but I think I was just being used as a heat source. This happens every now and then.

I promptly turned my hand towards the Yucca next to me and a more natural perch was chosen. The dark coloring on the wings will absorb the Sun’s heat and help it get motivated for the day.

This is the shot that made it to the Gallery. Without my hand in the shot it looks bigger doesn’t it? People are often surprised when they find out the actual size of the various species in photographs. Photography is all about those kinds of assumptions and illusions.

A little farther up the mountain we were looking for an elusive little creature called Moss’s Elfin but first we had to find its host plant, Broadleaf Stonecrop (Sedum spathulifolium). We saw just one of the butterflies but it was out of reach. The host plant though is a keeper. I want some for my little cactus garden.

The SolarDarkroom Lizard of the day: no blog is complete without one!

After a brief discussion we committed to the grand adventure of the day. We would hike up the treacherous ridge to Sunset Peak in search of the local Indra Swallowtail, Papilio indra pergamus. Those familiar with my previous expeditions know I go to great lengths to photograph these creatures but why? Because it’s hard that’s why! Because the chances of failure are great and the rewards of success, sweet. The fact is Indra Swallowtails do not come to visit your garden. They like mountain peaks, steep ridges, loose-sharp rocks, rattlesnakes and such. Even if you know where to go and when, there will not be many. Game On!

On the way up we found California Tortoiseshell larvae (Nymphalis californica) on Ceanothus leucodermis…

and Chalcedon Checkerspot larvae (Euphydryas chalcedona) on Keckiella ternata,

and of course the Pale Swallowtail (Papilio eurymedon) which is a common sight in these mountains.

This was a good sign: Southern Umbrellawort (Tauschia arguta), the host plant of Papilio indra pergamus.

This is the view from the top of Sunset Peak. If they’re flying they should be up here.

Everything is sharp and scratchy.

Dennis was the first to spot what appeared to be the only Indra Swallowtail on the mountain and I jumped through the thorn bushes to get a better look. While I was trying to get close, Dennis realized he was standing next to a rattlesnake. We laugh at danger.

And finally, my one chance for the day:

Indra Swallowtail (Papilio indra pergamus)

Even the experts will tell you that searching for butterflies in the desert can be a tricky business. You can do your research, make educated guesses and drive hundreds of miles only to come home empty-handed. Nature’s rhythms are more like Free jazz than a Sousa march. But I love the desert and will take my chances.

This year I was fortunate to start the season with an experienced guide as I explored Riverside county for the first time. My friend Dennis Walker runs a website called Southern California Butterflies and when he offered to show me his favorite spots in Palm Desert and Joshua Tree National Park I jumped at the opportunity. There was a chance I could see a few species I’ve not photographed before and one or two that have mocked my efforts in the past.

This is the view from above Cactus Spring in the heart of the Santa Rosa Wilderness near Palm Desert, CA and gives you an idea of the terrain.

More than anything I wanted a shot of this: the ‘Loki’ Juniper Hairstreak (Callophyrs gryneus loki) perched on California Juniper of all things! Like all Hairstreaks this one was wiggling those little tails that mimic antennae. You can see how a bird would be confused about which end of the butterfly to bite. It helps having a strategy to get out of trouble.

Near a creek I found my first Juba Skipper (Hesperia juba)…

and also this Silvery Blue (Glaucopsyche lygdamus australis) nectaring on Desert Lotus.

These Prickly Pear cacti are everywhere. No matter how eager I am to get these photos I’m always paying attention to where I’m stepping. The desert is always willing to teach these lessons.

The most brilliant colors in flight belonged to the California Dogface (Zerene eurydice). This is California’s State butterfly and I’ve only photographed it once before. The males have a distinctly poodle-like pattern on the dorsal forewing yet ironically there are few images of this in the wild. Even butterfly field-guides resort to photographing pinned specimens to show this pattern as they always close their wings when they land. So it seems the only way I would ever capture this was in flight. This male was chasing a female above me and I fired off as many shots as I could. Luck!

This is a subspecies of the Chalcedon Checkerspot called Euphydryas chalcedona hennei otherwise known as ‘Henne’s’ Variable Checkerspot. Last I looked there were 10 listed subspecies of Euphydryas chalcedona in America. The concept of subspecies is complicated from where I sit but there are some very dedicated people who work hard trying to sort these things out. I like to think of it like this: If you travel to ten different cities and order lasagna at a local restaurant, every dish will be unique. You’re sure it’s lasagna (hopefully!) but it may have some special ingredients that are regional. There, I’ve reduced Natural Science to a food metaphor. Bon Appétit.

Down at Horse Thief Creek this female was resting, and not bothered by the photographer inches away.

It was swollen with eggs and sat very still.

Day#2: Cottonwood Spring, Joshua Tree National Park

This pretty much sums up my mental image of a desert oasis.

I’m used to seeing a lot of lizards in the desert, with dozens of them scurrying out of my path. They’re usually between 3 and 8 inches long. This however is a male Chuckwalla (Sauromalus ater) and as impressive a beast as I’ve come across. I’m guessing he was about 18″ but when I tried to get closer…

he wedged himself between the boulders. This is what they do when threatened. I got my shot and left him alone. You’re likely to think he’s either hideous or beautiful. I just think I was lucky to see him!

This is Neumoegen’s Sagebrush Checkerspot (Chlosyne acastus neumoegeni) and I’ve never been able to get close to one before. The males dart around the wash patrolling for females and it’s hard just to keep your eyes on them in the bright sun. So this was to be my day.

Patience is a virtue in this game.

This Desert Metalmark (Apodemia mejicanus deserti) was the last butterfly I saw. The sun was getting hotter…

and the land started to feel harsh. As much as I love the desert I must return to civilization.

This little guy is going to stay and keep an eye on things. I’m going home for a cold beer.

Cheers!