Saves the best for last!

The black light was outstanding last night! Fishflies are ALWAYS fun to find. Specifically the California Fishfly (Neohermes californicus). The fish flies are different from ours in Texas because of these long antennae. These antennae are finely serrated and remind me of a hand saw blade. We are hoping this individual will fly for us tonight so we can get some flight shots.

We also got an alate Pacific Northwest Dampwood Termite. This guy is about 3-4 times the size of our typical subterranean termite. Which makes sense, since they have some of the largest trees in the world to take care of!

We also got a very unique (to us Texans) bostrichid beetle also known as powder post beetles. These guys look like the puppy dogs of the insect world, they have a sad dog look to the head. As cute as these guys are they enjoy eating all sorts of oak species. They tunnel into dead or live wood and create a powder (hence the powder post beetle). They then lay their eggs and the larvae hatch and feed on the wood. This is the California Stout's Hardwood Borer, Polycaon stouti , and this species has been known to survive as a larva for 20 years. People have reported them burrowing out of their 20 year old cabinets! Since adults will not burrow into treated lumber the larva or eggs lived for 20years!

We are now on our way to June Lake, near Yosemite! Only a 4.5 hour drive! Below is the map!






Kendra and John
- posted from ipad during the international bug expedition 2012