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Nomad Bees Nomada Apidae Nomada Describe your image Describe your image Describe your image Describe your image Describe your image Describe your image Description Bees in the Genus Nomada comprise many species of cuckoo bees: they usually parasitize nests of Andrena bees (as well as Eucera and some other bees), laying 1-4 eggs in the provisioned nest. Nomada are often red, yellow, and/or black in color, nearly hairless, and look wasp-like. Size ranges from 2-12 mm in length (usually medium). Females lack scopae on legs (they don't provision nests). Nectar/ Pollen Plants Nectar generalists; no care for pollen. Habits Cleptoparasitic, the female bee flies slowly over Andrena nesting areas, sneaks into uncompleted host bee nests and lays 1-4 eggs on the nest cell wall. Its larva hatches, devours the host bee larva and any other Nomada larvae using its sickle-like mandibles, and then eats the nest provisions. The larva pupates in the cell and emerges in the Spring. Season February - June

Melissodes Longhorn Bee Melissodes Apidae Melissodes Describe your image Describe your image Describe your image Describe your image Describe your image Describe your image Description Melissodes are similar to Eucera , as male bees have very long antennae, but antennae may appear bicolored. Medium-large bees (13-15 mm), with irregular pale hair bands (often located medially) on abdomen. Scopae are plumose (simple in Eucera ). Like Eucera , males also have pale or yellow on lower face. Forewings have a large marginal cell. Nectar/ Pollen Plants Often seen on sunflowers and other late-season Asteraceae (Sunflower) flowers. Habits Ground nesters, where females dig tunnels that side-branch, and then extend downward. Side tunnels then branch off the downward portion, with single cells for each egg Season Late Summer to Fall

Andrena Miner Bee Andrena Andrenidae Andrena Describe your image Describe your image Describe your image Describe your image Describe your image Describe your image Description Andrena are small to medium-sized bees, often dark and metallic, with broad-looking, elongate abdomens. Females have dense, shorter hairs next to eyes, known as facial foveae. Males have dense, long hair on their lower faces. The tip of marginal cell in wing extends to wing edge (see black arrow above). Many Andrena have transverse hair bands at the apex of abdominal segments. Nectar/ Pollen Plants Andrena include both generalists and floral specialists. They are often seen on buttercups, manzanita, buckbrush and mustard (crucifer) flowers, and others. Habits This genus includes many common bees on Mount Diablo, and some of the earliest Spring bees. Andrena are ground nesters, with entrances surrounded by circles of excavated dirt. Season January - Fall (but primarily January - April)

Black-tailed Bumble Bee Bombus melanopygus Apidae Bombus Describe your image Describe your image Describe your image Describe your image Describe your image Describe your image Description Bombus melanopygus is a stout-bodied, mid-sized bumble bee, with pale yellow hair and black bands between wing bases. It also has black hair across the mid-abdomen. Northern populations, seen from Oregon north, have red-orange second and third abdominal segments (black in Mount Diablo specimens). Nectar/ Pollen Plants The Black-tailed Bumble Bee is a flower generalist, but favorites include Ceanothus , lupine, clover and penstemon. Habits Nests in tree cavities, piles of wood, underground in rodent burrows, or even in old bird nests. Season January - July (rarely as early as December)

California Poppy Fairy Bee Perdita interrupta Andrenidae Perdita Describe your image Describe your image Describe your image Describe your image Describe your image Describe your image Description Perdita interrupta is a very small (4-5 mm), deep metallic bluish bee with incomplete ivory bands on the second through fifth tergal segments of the abdomen. The abdomen does have a brown background, but often the abdomen appears to be black and ivory. Base of mandibles, clypeus (lower face), labrum (large plate that folds up under the clypeus) and surrounding area is ivory white. Wing has abruptly-ending marginal cell, 2 submarginal cells and a large stigma. Nectar/ Pollen Plants A specialist on California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica ) as a pollen collector. May visit other flowers, including Cryptantha , for nectar. Habits Ground nesters, but details not known. Season April - June, timed to blooming of California Poppy

Tarantulas Usher in the Fall Season by Abby Cohn Mount Diablo's Warm-Fuzzy Spiders October 1, 1998 Kevin Hintsa Guess what naturalist Ken Lavin got when he organized a hunt for some big, hairy spiders: A crowd! "I've never been on a tarantula hike before," said Nancy Norland of Danville as she joined nearly 40 participants preparing to scour the brown flanks of Mount Diablo for spiders roughly the size of an orchid corsage. Fall is the time of year when male tarantulas normally scuttle around the hills in search of mates hiding in burrows. The spiders are common enough to warrant the posting of tarantula crossing signs at the north and south entrances of the 20,000-acre state park. Tarantulas have "been scaring folks here for ages," Lavin told the group that had assembled at Mitchell Canyon. But he warned, "This is not particularly a good year." Indeed, during a 3 1/2-hour trek up steep dirt trails to Black Point, the group spotted no tarantulas. Lavin, a guide for the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association, came prepared. He treated his audience to an encounter with a pair of mahogany-colored spiders that he had captured earlier in case there were no sightings. The captives -- they were slowly scaling the walls of their plastic containers -- weren't exactly an instant sensation. A nervous ripple of laughter traveled through the crowd when Lavin suggested that "we can pass these around and hold them" before letting them go. Participants seemed to warm up to the eight-legged guests of honor once they heard Lavin's description of the tarantula's life cycle and mostly gentle disposition. "Oh, he's beautiful," said Norland after letting one of them slowly creep across her hand. "He's so light." For 8-year-old Ryan Neil of Danville, the spider's touch was "furry" and not remotely frightening. "It felt like it was just harmless," he said. Ryan's father, Mike, said the promise of a spider hunt was all it took to snare his son and a friend, 8-year-old Miles Dobin, for the Sunday morning trek. "Even if you haven't been an 8-year-old boy, there's a natural appeal, I think," Neil said. That appeal drew about 400 people earlier this month to an annual tarantula festival at Henry W. Coe State Park in Morgan Hill. A chief goal of the festival was educating the public about creatures that seem to hold a horror, movie-like fascination, said ranger Barry Breckling. There was a similar message for the Mount Diablo hikers. Tarantulas, Lavin explained, have acquired a sinister reputation that is largely undeserved. "It turns out the tarantula is just about the most innocuous creature on Mount Diablo," he said. Sightings of the spiders figured prominently in 19th century accounts of trips up the mountain. A team of geologists returned from a surveying expedition in the early 1860s with wild tales of spiders "the size of small birds," he said. About he same time, copper miners gave whiskey the nickname of "tarantula juice" and claimed the drink was an antidote to the spider's feared bite. In reality, most spider encounters are far riskier for tarantulas than humans, Lavin explained. "They're very delicate," he cautioned as he picked up one of the captives and let it wander on a picnic table. "It's very easy to drop them. They lose their legs." Possessing a bite no worse than a bee sting and generally reluctant to attack, tarantulas often fall victim to the underside of hikers' boots and motorists' tires. They also can be eaten alive if attacked by a nasty parasitic wasp that first paralyzes the spider and then lays eggs on its body. The spider's primary defense: tiny, sharp hairs that it flicks off its abdomen. "I fed these guys," Lavin told his audience. "It took them 15 minutes to kill a cricket. It was kind of embarrassing." He had no explanation for the spider's apparent sparse numbers this fall. Most of the tarantulas roaming around are older males that have molted for the last time and are looking for females buried underground. Perhaps the spider population was reduced by a harsh winter when those males first hatched about seven years ago, Lavin speculated. Male spiders typically 7 to 10 years; females can live to be 20 years old. Dave Matthews, the park's supervising ranger, said he hadn't noticed a particular drop in the tarantula population, but confessed, "I'm not out counting." In hopes of protecting the spiders from being squashed under the tires of passing motorists, rangers last year posted warning signs at two main entrances. "We ask people to watch out for them," said Matthews, who noted that visitors aren't allowed to collect spiders or any other creatures in the park without a special permit like the one Lavin had obtained. While the trek up Mitchell Canyon turned up no tarantulas, the group did spot several burrows. The openings are roughly the size of a nickel and often are covered by a dense netting of web that alerts occupants to the arrival of potential prey -- or suitors. While spiders were the big draw for the morning outing, some hikers acknowledged that they had other reasons for showing up. "I wanted to be out on a Sunday," said Diablo resident Kay Batts, who started the morning playing the organ at a 7:30 Mass. As for the appeal of hunting for tarantulas, she admitted, "I'm more interested in his ladybug hike. " By the end of the trek, a few participants who initially feared spiders thought they'd be a bit more charitable toward tarantulas in the future. "I wouldn't get the broom now," said Carla Riboczi of Concord. "I'd probably let it alone." BACK TO LIST

Tarantula Time by Ken Lavin Fall is Tarantula Time on Mount Diablo October 1, 1998 Ken Lavin Autumn is a delightful time to hike the golden hills of Mount Diablo. But unsuspecting hikers are often startled to find themselves sharing the trails with some rather formidable eight legged walking companions! "What are the critters doing?" "Where are they going?" "Will they hurt me?" These are the common questions park staff and park volunteers must answer this time of year. Fall is tarantula time on Mount Diablo. Mount Diablo's tarantulas (Aphonopelma sp.) have long inspired fear and fascination. One 19th century visitor described our local tarantula as "attaining the size of a small bird, possessing fangs the size of a rattlesnake's, and delivering a bite generally considered fatal!" In reality, the tarantula is one of Mount Diablo’s most innocuous animals—a terror to small insects and not much else! Outside of horror movies, no person has ever been killed by a tarantula. Tarantulas have very small venom glands and the bite of our local tarantula is no more painful that a bee sting. Harmful spider bites generally come from poisonous spiders that are too small to notice. The tarantula, being so conspicuous, gets the blame. For example, in Renaissance Italy, the bite of a tarantula was thought to cause convulsions. The only known treatment was to sweat the poison out by frenetic dancing. This was the origin of the tarantella, the dance named for a spider! In reality, a European black widow, and not the innocent tarantula, was the culprit doing the biting. The tarantula's main weapon against larger creatures is defensive. If a bobcat or fox is harassing it, the spider rises up on its front legs and with its back legs scrapes off a cloud of barbed, porcupine-like hairs from its abdomen into the face of its tormentor. This tactic sometimes gives the tarantula time to escape. It also gives rise to another common visitor query, "Why does that tarantula have a bald butt?" Although most commonly seen wandering the roads and trails in late summer and early fall, tarantulas are on the mountain all year. They are seldom seen at other times because they live in underground burrows and are nocturnal in their habits. Typically, a hunting tarantula waits patiently near the opening to its burrow until an unsuspecting insect (usually a cricket) crawls by. The spider rushes out, bites the prey, and drags its victim back into the burrow. In the dark of night, this activity goes unnoticed (except by the cricket!). This secretive existence ends in late summer, when male tarantulas that have reached about 7 years of age shed their exoskeleton for the last time. They have finished growing. The mature spiders leave their burrows and begin to search for female tarantulas. It is this horde of love struck males, searching for females with which to mate, that forms the annual "tarantula migration" park visitors witness each year in September and October. Male and female tarantulas are difficult to tell apart until the last molt, when the male spider develops little stirrups on its front legs. Why does the tarantula need these strange appendages? When the male finally locates a female tarantula and entices her out of her burrow, her thoughts are not on love but on dinner. In order to safely mate, the male spider must hook and secure the female’s fangs using the stirrups on his front legs. After mating, the male scurries away, and the female usually allows him to leave. It is a myth that female tarantulas always kill the males after mating. A female will consume the male only if she is famished and needs a meal to be able to lay eggs. Otherwise, she allows her paramour to retreat in safety. Though free to live another day, the roving male spider never returns to his burrow. Rather, he wanders around searching for other females until he finally dies with the onset of cold weather. The stay-at-home mother tarantula, by contrast, may live to the ripe old age of 20 years or more. After mating, the female retreats to her burrow and lays about 100 eggs on top a sheet of silk spun from her spinnerets. Momma spider shapes the silken sheet into a basket and guards the eggs inside until they hatch. Soon after hatching, the tiny spiderlings crawl out and leave the burrow. Of the hundred or so eggs laid, perhaps one or two spiders will survive to adulthood. It's not easy being a tarantula. In fall, pesky yellow jacket wasps are the bane of Mount Diablo picnickers. The picnickers should consider themselves lucky, for the wandering tarantula must contend with a far more formidable flying foe. The spider's antagonist is a large black and orange wasp, known as a tarantula hawk (Pepsis sp.) The female wasp flies around searching for a tarantula. When she locates one, the wasp attacks and stings the spider under a leg. This does not kill the tarantula, but it does paralyze him. The wasp drags the spider off, scraps out a hole, and pushes him in. Before she covers the tarantula, the wasp lays a single egg on the helpless spider. When the egg hatches, the wasp larva dines on fresh tarantula meat! For all their fearsome reputation, Mount Diablo’s tarantulas are really gentle souls that play an important part in the web of life on our island mountain. So the next time you encounter a tarantula on the trail, remember the old adage, "if you wish to live and thrive, let a spider run alive!" BACK TO LIST

Visitor Center Status - Mount Diablo Summit Visitor Center Open 7 days/week Hours: 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM One way foot traffic through the Visitor Center to minimize crowding. Enter at ground level and exit on second level. Lower floor (sales), Second floor (exhibit room) and Observatory deck will be open. Face coverings are required for all indoors regardless of vaccination status. Mitchell Canyon Visitor Center Open for outdoor operations on weekends and some holidays Hours: 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM The interior remains closed. Operations including sales are currently being done outdoors only. Mitchell Canyon Visitor Center BACK TO LIST

Falls Trail Hike Steve Smith, MDIA President Hike of the Month, March 2024 eNewsletter March 1, 2024 Scott Hein It's that time of year again when the Winter rains have had a chance to fill up our mountain springs and creeks. As all of that water cascades down the mountain, one of the best features to explore are our waterfalls. This is a gorgeous hike no matter the time of year but made special by the sights and sounds of the rushing waters above, below and through the Falls Trail. Due to the popularity of this trail on weekends, if you can experience this during the week you will have it all to yourself. There are so many ways to get there, but this is my favorite. Starting from Mitchell Canyon Road make your first left on Oak Road and continue slight right as it becomes Coulter Pine Trail. At its terminus hang a right up Bruce Lee Road and then make a tricky creek crossing. Then head right up Back Creek Trail, another gorgeous site. Make your first left onto Tickwood Trail and enjoy a journey through grassland, woodland, and chaparral before ending at Donner Canyon Road. Take a right and climb up the wide road to its terminus, turning right on Meridian Ridge Road and then a hidden left onto Middle Trail. Hike among the gorgeous chaparral as you search out some lovely wildflowers along the way. At the junction continue straight onto Falls Trail and wind your way up and down some steep grades, pausing to admire rushing streams and the roar of water above. Keep checking your view as the triplet of falls comes into view. Continue around for a mile as you negotiate the rocky terrain and check over your shoulder often for the quintessential view of all three falls. Once at the end, turn right on Cardinet Oaks briefly then a left and down Wasserman Trail for a journey through chaparral, pine forests, oak woodlands and eventually riparian habitats as you near Donner Creek. At the junction turn left on Donner Trail and head down to the creek, you may be ankle-deep crossing it. At the next junction turn right on Hetherington until crossing the creek again. At the main trail turn right onto Donner Canyon Road. Continue to a left on Murchio Road across the meadows, sure to be loaded with flowers. At its terminus turn right on Watertower Road, then left on Bruce Lee Trail, a small single track down the hillside. Re-enter the parking lot (you're now in the lower lot) and head back to your vehicle. This adventure takes you 7.3 miles and 1500 feet of climbing and is guaranteed to wow you. Map of Falls Trail Hike.jpg Falls Trail Hikers by Steve Smith Wasserman Trail by Steve Smith Moist Landscape by Steve Smith Coulter Pine Trail by Steve Smith BACK TO LIST

Black Point Trail by J. Frank Valle-Riestra Reproduced from Mountain News, Summer 2012 June 1, 2012 Leslie Contreras Ticks are found almost everywhere on Bay Area trails. With reasonable precautions, they do not pose an appreciable hazard to hikers, just a bit of a nuisance. We mention ticks here because a portion of the loop to be described passes through some fine stands of native bunch grasses, and bunch grasses are a favorite host plant to ticks. So, let us face it, at some periods during the year (which are unpredictable), you will pick up ticks on your clothing. Wear light colors to make the ticks easier to spot or to pick off or rather scrape off; it is amazing how the little critters can flatten out and hang on for dear life to resist casual efforts to brush them off. The portion of the loop in question is the Black Point Trail, not long ago cleaned up and cleared by the park’s maintenance personnel and volunteers, and now in excellent shape. The work did clear away bothersome poison oak, but could not clear away the seasonal black flies around the Black Point summit or eliminate a few very steep stretches with somewhat slippery footing on the south-facing slopes. You may well wonder - ticks? Black flies? Slippery slopes? This is a favorite trail? Rest assured that there are compensating features - the Black Point Trail is one of the park’s top attractions, best appreciated during the spring months. Your exploration starts at the Mitchell Canyon Road trailhead, at the end of the paved Mitchell Canyon Road on the outskirts of the little town of Clayton. A modest parking fee is charged. On weekends and holidays, drop in at the Visitor Center to get the latest information on trail conditions. And before starting your trek, be sure to visit the native plant garden behind the Center, an amazing display created almost singlehandedly by Dave Caniglia, a park volunteer. Now follow the road along Mitchell Canyon for just 1/2 mile, to the first posted trail on your right. This is the beginning of the Black Point Trail, and the first part is a gently ascending road with a packed sandy soil base. In the middle of spring, the road base is transformed into delightful carpets of bright, ground-hugging wildflowers - in particular, Bird’s Eye Gilia (Gilia tricolor ), Baby Blue Eyes (Nemophila menziesii ), Goldfields (Lasthenia californica ), and many others. More flower species, some blooming right into the warm summer months, favor the narrow zone between the road and the surrounding chaparral, in particular, Blue Witch (Solanum umbelliferum ), Indian Paint Brush (Castilleja spp. ), and Deer Weed (Lotus scoparius). If you enjoy flower identification, this is the trail for you, although other attractions will vie for your attention - such as the ever-changing views of Mitchell Rock across Mitchell Canyon. Soon you reach the end of the road, and a single-track trail beckons you to plunge into the cool, mixed-green woodland of Black Point’s north-facing slopes. The forest here is typical of Mount Diablo - a mix of Bay Laurel (Umbellularia californica ), Madrone (Arbutus menziesii ), Gray Pine (Pinus sabiniana ), and oak species. The flowers are not as noticeable, but the eye is gladdened by a profusion of bunch grasses which at one time covered the mountain, to be displaced by introduced Mediterranean grasses. The well-engineered trail is a pleasure to follow, zig-zagging its way moderately to ascend the flanks of Black Point. All too soon, and quite suddenly, the trail leaves the forest and starts its way through “hard” chaparral. This portion of the trail, right up to the summit at 1,790 feet, can be quite warm in summer, but is quite tolerable during the rest of the year. The dominant chaparral shrub is Chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum ) in springtime it displays myriad showy cream-colored flowers, and in the fall its rust-colored fruits turn whole hillsides a rich, vibrant brown, worthy of a Flemish painting, and a joy to behold. Quite a few other species proliferate among the Chamise: the aromatic California Sagebrush (Artemisia californica ), Black Sage (Salvia mellifera ) with its attractive spikes of springtime flowers, Big-berry Manzanita (Arctostaphylos glauca ) blooming late in winter. But two species, blooming spectacularly in good years, will monopolize your attention. One is Pitcher Sage (Lepechinia calycina ), an unexpectedly lush-looking small plant along all those tough drought survivors. It has felt-like leaves and beautiful pale purple flowers enclosed in an urn of sepals - the “pitchers.” The other spectacular bloomer is the Bush Monkey Flower (Mimulus aurantiacus ) unlike the rarer Pitcher Sage, it proliferates. It prefers the narrow zone between the chaparral and trail’s edge, and on occasion one walks along corridors with walls of bloom, in colors of peach, salmon and rose wine. These blooms often last into the warm months of summer. The trail reaches its highest point in a saddle below the summit of Black Point. A short spur trail of about 100 yards leads to the summit proper, which is pretty overgrown; better views are obtained by continuing on the Black Point Trail as it rounds the western flank of the mountain. Far below you, you will spot gently rolling, grassy foothills, the grazing spread of John Ginocchio’s cattle ranch, and an effective and welcome barrier to the flood of development reaching toward the park’s wilderness. Here the plant world benefits from a little more moisture even in summer, moisture brought in by morning mists. The chaparral is “softer,” with shrubs, such as Squawbush (Rhus trilobata ), that are characterized by more pliable, “softer” leaves. As you head south, the chaparral again becomes “harder,” and Black Point Trail descends, sharply at times, into the depths of White Canyon. The trail ends at its junction with Red Road, and here you turn left to meet Mitchell Canyon Road, after a gentle descent of about one mile. A metal bench at this junction offers a welcome rest in a shady nook. Rather than returning to the trailhead entirely along Mitchell Canyon Road, we suggest that you backtrack a few yards along Red Road to the beginning of the Globe Lily Trail. This is another of the park’s “secret” trails with any number of visual surprises. It is a showplace of wildflowers, and in the middle of spring you are likely to spot beauties such as the Mount Diablo Globe Tulip (Calochortus pulchellus ) and the Checker Lily (Fritillaria lanceolata ). The trail’s end closes your loop trip at the Black Point Trail where you started, and you retrace your steps back to the Mitchell Canyon Road trailhead. The total distance traversed is about 4-3/4 miles, and you climb some 1,200 feet. A gentle pace with rest stops will require 3-1/2 to 4 hours. Check out more Spring Wildflower Hikes: Springtime in North Peak Globe Lily Trail Mary Bowerman Hike Black Point Trail Map Black Point Trail Elevation BACK TO LIST

Journaling for Young Naturalists Take a Walk in the Woods... Steve Smith Conversation Starters to Use with your Child on the Park Trail For younger nature enthusiasts, ages 2 to 4 who are developing language skills and are not ready to use a written journal, here are some questions you could ask to help your child appreciate the park during your walk and have a great chat together. LOOK : What do you see? What color is the tree? The flower? The bug? What shapes do you see? Circle? Triangle? Square? Oval? LISTEN : What noises do you hear? What do you think is making that sound? A bird? A bug? The wind? SMELL : Tell me what the flower smells like? What does it remind you of? ENOY : What surprised you? What was your favorite thing you saw today? Elementary students can draw a picture to describe something they have seen in the park and write a story or poem or a song to talk about their visit. GRADES K-2 What animals and plants did we see in the park? What do you think they eat and need? Why do you think they choose to live in this park? Why do you think there many kinds of trees in the park and how are they different? Did you find an interesting rock? What did you wonder about ? GRADES 3-5 How do you think Mt. Diablo came to be? How many kinds of rocks are in the park? How do you think the plants and animals help each other to survive in the park? Who were the original people who lived in the park?Journaling in nature is a fun way to explore the world around you! TEENS Bring a notebook and a pencil (silence your phone). Find a cozy spot outside, like under a tree or by a stream. Look around and notice the plants, animals, and sounds. You can write about what you see, draw pictures, or even describe how the fresh air feels. Remember, there are no rules—just let your imagination flow! Download this page Download a sample journal entry Mount Diablo from Shell Ridge by Terese Dixon Red-tailed Hawk by Dan Sandri Andrena Miner Bee on Buttercup by Dan Sandri Lupine and poppies by Steve Smith BACK TO LIST

Oak Woodlands Excerpted from MDIA's book Plants of the East Bay Parks, by Glenn Keator, Ph. D. Plant Communities of Mount Diablo State Park January 1, 1999 Coast Live Oak | Glenn Keator Probably no more characteristic treelands occur in our part of California than oak woodlands, for they typify large areas of low foothills in both the Coast Ranges and Sierra Nevada. From a distance oak and foothill woodlands look similar; relative dense groupings of trees. Where these same trees are widely spaced apart, they're referred to as savannah. In both, oaks grow as broad, round umbrellas; only on closer inspection is it obvious that they are of several different species. In what is often called foothill woodland, where the terrain is steeper or higher in elevation gray pines and California buckeyes often join ranks with the oaks. In contrast to chaparral, oak and foothill woodlands most often occupy gently sloping terrain. When the occur on steep slopes, they do so on north- or east-facing hillsides, where the hot summer sun does not linger all day. Chaparral prefers sun-drenched south- and west-facing slopes. Oaks have developed two equally effective water-conserving strategies for the hot, dry summers they must endure: live oaks bear long-lived, leather, evergreen leaves that resist wilting and are covered with a waxy layer to prevent drying out; deciduous oaks -- called robles -- produce thin deciduous leaves that are shed when water supplies dwindle but are renewed during the peak of the wet-winder spring rains. Both kinds grow side by side, blue oaks with interior live oaks, valley oaks with coast live oaks, and canyon live oaks with California black oaks. Some, such as valley and coast live oaks, prefer canyon bottoms with a higher summer water table; others, such as blue and interior live oaks, live perched high on hilltops or along sides of rolling slopes. Because of their sometimes prolific production of acorns -- with their attendant rich stores food -- oaks are the intermediaries of their ecosystems, creating abundant food for insect larvae, rodents and, not so long ago, Native Americans. Various midges and minute wasps also find oaks to their liking, as nurseries for their young; they lay eggs in various tissues of the oak and these grow into the multifarious galls we see commonly on oak trees. And even the parasitic mistletoes favor oak trees as places to grow and prosper; they bring with them birds that depend on their berries for food. Woven into this web of life are the several shrubs and numerous grasses, wildflowers, and bulbs that benefit from the shaded protection of oak branches or the increased soil stability and water-holding properties of oak roots. In the more open oak woodlands, the wildflower displays can vie with those of our best grasslands. Buckeyes and gray pines help fill out the personalities of these woodlands; while the rounded canopies of buckeyes mimic those of oak trees (but in miniature), the uneven and often double barreled spires of gray pine punctuate and contrast with these umbrella shapes. Gray pine is the picture of a conifer well-adapted to dry, drought summers; its sparse, gray needles reflect away summer sun and its stout trunks hold water reserves needed to complete the production of the oversized seed cones. Among the heaviest of all seed cones in the world, gray pine's also are armed with stout spine-tipped scales, but the offer up nutritious food. The large pine "nuts" are similar to those of the desert- and drought-adapted pinyon pines, and they are important to local animal life as yet another source of food. So too, doubtless, are the poison-laced chestnut-shaped seeds of the buckeye, for the poisons are not harmful to some animals. These seeds are also adapted for rolling, being perfectly round, and allow buckeyes to disperse their seeds downhill to the protection of shaded canyon bottoms. The rich food reserve in the dormant trees -- oaks, buckeyes, and gray pines -- not only encourage animal dispersal of the seeds but give the seeds a head start when they germinate. Should they land in the shade of competing trees, the extra stored food allows the resulting saplings the chance to grow vigorously toward light. While seed dispersal in oak and foothill woodlands therefore differs markedly from that in trees of riparian woodlands, pollination is another matter. All oaks and pines rely on wind to carry their pollen, just as with most riparian trees. Pollination occurs during late winter and early spring, just when winds are likely to be most reliable. The buckeye, however, uses another strategy. Its colorful candles of white flowers attract large numbers of pollinators, though the poisons in the nectar favor butterflies (which are immune to the poisons) over bees and other insects). BACK TO LIST