At Mount Pisgah, Phyciodes mylitta have a fairly long adult season, flying into late summer and at least into mid-October. They spend the winter as late-stage larvae, and apparently they wiggle out to bask on sunny winter days. So look near thistles for small, bristly black caterpillars in the coming months.
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Bushtits are busily moving about the landscape in small foraging flocks. It is common to see around 20 in a group, and I have counted as many as 40 together.
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The first time I saw one of these flashy orange flies, I thought it looked like a cowboy with bow-legged back legs and fringed boots.
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While the Steller’s Jay is busily exploring the oak tree canopy collecting acorns, the Black-capped Chickadee is investigating the speckled oak galls on the underside of leaves.
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I love finding something that flummoxes me. So I was intrigued to spot this three- to four-millimeter long insect parading up and down grasses near the horse area at Mount Pisgah. At that small size, I couldn’t tell if it was a beetle or a bug, and at first I thought the enlarged front legs might be its antennae.
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