Photos / Sounds
What
Long-bodied Cellar Spider (Pholcus phalangioides)Observer
tom_sargeDescription
A cellar spider hanging upside down near the ceiling.
Photos / Sounds
What
Tropical House Cricket (Gryllodes sigillatus)Observer
tom_sargeDescription
A common cricket. It crawled/jumped its way into the bathtub and got itself stuck. I'm not too sure what species it is though. Crickets are famous for the chirping noise they make by rubbing their wings together.
Photos / Sounds
What
Typical Silverfishes (Family Lepismatidae)Observer
tom_sargeDescription
Silverfish get they're name from their color. They like to eat paper, which is not good for collectors of old books.
Photos / Sounds
What
Butterflies and Moths (Order Lepidoptera)Observer
tom_sargeDescription
A moth in all three stages: grub, larvae, and adult. I found the grub and put it in a jar. The next day it turned into a larvae. About a week later it emerged as an adult moth. I took a picture of it before releasing it outside.
Photos / Sounds
What
Earthworms (Family Lumbricidae)Observer
tom_sargeDescription
An earthworm, mostly likely L. terrestris.
Photos / Sounds
What
European Earwig Complex (Complex Forficula auricularia)Observer
tom_sargeDescription
Common earwig, fairly unique looking and recognizable.
Photos / Sounds
What
Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus)Observer
tom_sargeDescription
A male peafowl resting in the shade.
Photos / Sounds
What
Slime Molds (Phylum Mycetozoa)Observer
tom_sargeDescription
A slime mold. The outside of if it orangish-yellow and the inside and underside is a brown color. There were two separate masses growing. The white color in the first picture is from when bleach was poured on it a few months ago in an attempt to remove it.
Photos / Sounds
What
Garden Snail (Cornu aspersum)Observer
tom_sargeDescription
Common garden snail. I brought this guy inside to have better lighting for a picture before returning it back to where I found it.
Photos / Sounds
What
Green Algae (Phylum Chlorophyta)Observer
tom_sargeDescription
Green algae growing in a pool. Each individual is too small to see with just an eye, but they grow in colonies large enough to see. They are pretty incredible to grow in pools despite the high chlorine content.
Photos / Sounds
What
Spikemosses (Order Selaginellales)Observer
tom_sargeDescription
Club mosses are small vascular plants, although they are larger and more complex than mosses.
Photos / Sounds
What
Genus BryumObserver
tom_sargeDescription
Moss are tiny non-vascular plants. They reproduce by means of spores. To find what species of moss it is, one would have to look at the leaves and spores under magnification.
Photos / Sounds
What
Aleppo Pine (Pinus halepensis)Observer
tom_sargeDescription
Pines are tall trees that reproduce using cones rather than flowers. Its leaves are long slender needles that grow in pairs.
Photos / Sounds
What
Castor Bean (Ricinus communis)Observer
tom_sargeDescription
Castor bean is in the Euphorbiaceae family. This plant can grow to be a small shrub, but this one is still quite small. Its leave are palmate, with points fanning out in a circle. The plant contains ricin, a toxin, which is concentrated mostly in its seeds.
Photos / Sounds
What
Common Asparagus Fern (Asparagus setaceus)Observer
tom_sargeDescription
Despite its name, Asparagus Fern is actually a flowering plant and not a fern. It is a vine and has plenty of thorns, including every point a stem branches out. The Asparagus Fern does not have leaves but rather has Cladodes, which are leaf-like stems used for photosynthesis.
Photos / Sounds
What
Common Bracken (Pteridium aquilinum)Observer
tom_sargeDescription
Bracken Fern is a vascular spore plant. When it produces spores it does so in sori on the underside of its leaves. Young stems, as the one in the photo, form as fiddle heads before uncurling.
Photos / Sounds
What
Rough Horsetail (Equisetum hyemale)Observer
tom_sargeDescription
Rough horetail is a spore plant with hollow segmented tubes for stems. When the plant readies to reproduce the tops of fertile stems have cones that hold the spores. At this time, only one stem still has this cone (middle left of the photo), since the cones on the rest of the stems have already fallen off.
Photos / Sounds
What
Coast Morning Glory (Calystegia macrostegia)Observer
tom_sargeDescription
Also called California Bindweed, this vine plant is in the Convolvulaceae family. It was medium sized white flowers. The leaves are a pointy arrowhead shape and mildly wavy.
Photos / Sounds
What
Round-backed Millipedes (Superorder Juliformia)Observer
tom_sargeDescription
A millipede. I think it is Tachypodoiulus niger (White-legged snake millipede), but am not sure.
Photos / Sounds
What
Tuckeroo (Cupaniopsis anacardioides)Observer
tom_sargeDescription
Carrotwood is a tree in the Sapindaceae family. Its leaves are elliptical and smooth. A unique feature of its leaves are how they are not flat or curved but instead are wavy. This tree gets its name from the color of its wood underneath the bark. It is often used as an ornamental street tree because it looks nice.
Photos / Sounds
What
Southern Bush Monkeyflower (Diplacus longiflorus)Observer
tom_sargeDescription
Also called Sticky Monkey Flower, this small shrub is in the Phrymaceae family. The leaves of this plant are long and thin and are covered in wrinkles. The leaves are sticky, which is how it got its name. A few Arroy Willow seeds can be seen stuck to this plant due to the sticky nature of its leaves. The Sticky Monkey Flower in the bottom left of the photo is in better focus than the one in the center.
Photos / Sounds
What
Arroyo Willow (Salix lasiolepis)Observer
tom_sargeDescription
Arroyo Willow is a small tree in the Salicaceae family. It has long, thin leaves that bulge out a bit before the tip of the leave. The flowers of the Arroy Willow are catkin form, as shown in the picture.
Photos / Sounds
What
Western Sycamore (Platanus racemosa)Observer
tom_sargeDescription
Western Sycamore is a tall tree in the Platanaceae family. Its leaves are palmate, having 5 lobes. The bark of the Western Sycamore is a combination of grey and white, with splotches of both scattered across the bark. This tree's flowers, shown in the picture, are inflorescence balls with no petals.
Photos / Sounds
What
California Buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum)Observer
tom_sargeDescription
California Buckwheat is a shrub in the Polygonaceae family. It grows commonly in dry chaparral areas. A defining feature of this plant is the clusters of tiny leaves that grows on its branches.
Photos / Sounds
What
California Bay (Umbellularia californica)Observer
tom_sargeDescription
California Bay is a tree in the Lauraceae family. It has long, ellipse shaped, smooth leaves. But, the most noticeable characteristic of this tree is its very strong smell.
