There were quite a few of these resting on blades of grass, some in what appeared to be threesomes. I could never get a photo of these, but I was able to capture one of these clusters. It appeared to be two live flies and one dead one. A mating pair of dance flies with a nuptial gift? I had misidentified these as robber flies, but just read Loarie's and Kueda's comments to curiousgeorge and reconsidered my identification.
Just the basal rosette of leaves at this time of year. Doesn't bloom until later
Copious amounts of "Spanish moss" or lace lichen, Ramalina menziesii, hangs from every coast live oak at Fort Ord.
This small insect has the long antennae and twitchy behavior of a wasp in the family Pompilidae.
Saw the blue fiesta flower today, but a few weeks ago white fiesta flower, Pholistoma membranaceum, was also blooming in this same area.
This western black-legged tick was in the questing position. Ticks wait on vegetation with their front legs extended, ready to latch on to your pants leg.
This area of Fort Ord has one of the highest concentration of woodrat nests I have ever seen.
I see that the Monterey Bay California Native Plant Society lists two species of Calandrinia in this area, C. breweri and C. ciliata. Not sure what I have here but now I know I have to look closely before leaving the field.
In area with scattered Coast Live Oaks and grassy understory.
I have no mushroom books handy but my guess is this is either an Amanita or a Volariella. Cany anyone help?
