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Wildflower Mount Diablo Small-flowered Fiddleneck Scientific Name: Amsinckia menziesii Family: Boraginaceae (Borage Family) Blooms: Feb - Jun Color: Yellow-Orange Annual herb Native Jump to Blooming Now Blue / Purple Red / Pink White Yellow / Orange Invasive Plants Kevin Hintsa

All Year Acorn Woodpecker Melanerpes formicivorus American Crow Corvus brachyrhynchos American Kestrel Falco sparverius American Robin Turdus migratorius Anna's Hummingbird Calypte anna Band-tailed Pigeon Patagioenas fasciata Barn Owl Tyto alba Bell's Sparrow Artemisiospiza belli Bewick's Wren Thryomanes bewickii Black Phoebe Sayornis nigricans Brewer's Blackbird Euphagus cyanocephalus Brown Creeper Certhia americana Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater Burrowing Owl Athene cunicularia Bushtit Psaltriparus minimus California Quail Callipepla californica California Scrub Jay Aphelocoma californica California Thrasher Toxostoma redivivum California Towhee Melozone crissalis Chestnut-backed Chickadee Poecile rufescens Common Raven Corvus corax Cooper's Hawk Accipiter copperii Dark-eyed Junco Junco hyemalis Downy Woodpecker Dryobates pubescens Eurasian Collared-Dove Streptopelia decaocto European Starling Sturnus vulgaris Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos Great Horned Owl Bubo virginianus Hairy Woodpecker Dryobates villosus Horned Lark Eremophila alpestris House Finch Haemorhous mexicanus House Sparrow Passer domesticus House Wren Troglodytes aedon Hutton's Vireo Vireo huttoni Killdeer Charadrius vociferus Lark Sparrow Chondestes grammacus Lesser Goldfinch Spinus psaltria Loggerhead Shrike Lanius ludovicianus Mallard Anas platyrhynchos Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus Northern Harrier Circus hudsonius Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos Nuttall's Woodpecker Dryobates nuttallii Oak Titmouse Baeolophus inornatus Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus Phainopepla Phainopepla nitens Purple Finch Haemorhous purpureus Red-shouldered Hawk Buteo lineatus Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus Rock Pigeon Columba livia Rock Wren Salpinctes obsoletus Rufous-crowned Sparrow Aimophila ruficeps Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia Spotted Towhee Pipilo maculatus Steller's Jay Cyanocitta stelleri Turkey Vulture Carthartes aura Western Bluebird Sialia mexicana Western Meadowlark Sturnella neglecta

Jeweled Spider Flies by Dan Sandri (aka Small-headed Flies) June 20, 2025 by Dan Sandri One of my favorite insects is quite uncommon (described as rare), but can be found if you know when and where to look for them! Jewelled Spider Flies currently can be seen along Mary Bowerman Fire Interpretive Trail (western and northern side) and at some other locations. They are amazingly-colored, with metallic blue, purple or green colors (hence they are termed jeweled), and have some of the most incredible mouthparts in the insect world! The flies we see in Mount Diablo State Park, in genus Eulonchus , have a super-long proboscis, and there are at least 2 species present. The proboscis is typically longer than the bodies of the flies, and they fold it underneath their body as they fly! These are beautifully metallic flies with a truly fascinating life history. Their antennae are inserted near the middle of the head and their eyes cover much of the head. Flies in the genus Eulonchus attack spiders in the families Euctenizidae (Wafer-lid trapdoor spiders) and Antrodiaetidae(folding trapdoor spiders, a small spider family related to atypical tarantulas). Their larvae are specialized endoparasitoids of spiders (endoparasitoids develop within the body of another animal). The adult female lays eggs, sometimes thousands of them, which then hatch into larvae. First stage Acrocerid larvae are free-living planidia that move similarly to an inchworm. Most fail miserably in finding a host. The lucky ones find one of these relatively rare spiders either by wandering and actively seeking out a spider host or by sitting and waiting for the host to pass by. The larva will attach to a spider, enter into an opening, and attach at or near the book lung of the spider. Over a long period of time, it will feed on the spider from the inside, eventually killing it. Look for these flies now, and in the coming few weeks, flying around Red Ribbons flowers (Clarkia concinna ) and Bunchleaf Penstemon flowers (Penstemon heterophyllus ). I also have seen them on Ithuriel’s Spear flowers (Triteleia laxa ), but in fewer numbers. by Dan Sandri Genus Eulonchus (Family Acroceridae) at Red Ribbons (Clarkia concinna), Mary Bowerman Trail, Mount Diablo State Park by Dan Sandri Genus Eulonchus (Family Acroceridae) approaches Bunchleaf Penstemon (Penstemon heterophyllus), Mary Bowerman Trail, Mount Diablo State Park by Dan Sandri Eulonchus smaragdinus (Family Acroceridae) on Bunchleaf Penstemon (Penstemon heterophyllus), Mary Bowerman Trail, Mount Diablo State Park BACK TO LIST

Wildflower Mount Diablo Broad-leaf Aster, Roughleaf Aster Scientific Name: Eurybia radulina Family: Asteraceae (Sunflower Family) Blooms: Apr - Aug Color: White Perennial herb Native Jump to Blooming Now Blue / Purple Red / Pink White Yellow / Orange Invasive Plants Joyce Chin

Pacific Digger Bee Anthophora pacifica Apidae Anthophora Describe your image Describe your image Describe your image Describe your image Describe your image Describe your image Description Anthophora pacifica female bees are all dark in color, with dark hairs, except they have white scopal hairs on the hind legs (a nice contrast). Their abdomens are dark and often have a bluish tinge (much like Anthophora edwardsii ) and the abdomen lacks distinct white banding. A distinguishing feature in male bees is the presence of long fringes of white hair on the middle tarsi (mid-leg - see photo above-left), and on the abdomen they have white hairs on tergum 1 and tergum 2, and black hairs on tergum 3 and tergum 4. Males have yellow patches on the face (clypeus and labrum), while females do not. Photos shown here are of males (still searching for female). Nectar/ Pollen Plants This bee is a nectar and pollen generalist. It has been seen on Mount Diablo on manzanita flowers. Habits These digger bees are ground nesters and they can nest in large clusters. This bee overwinters as an adult in its nest cell (unlike most bees, which overwinter as prepupae). Season February and March - not common.

Wildflower Mount Diablo Woolly Morning Glory, Sierra False Bindweed Scientific Name: Calystegia malacophylla Family: Convolvulaceae (Bindweed Family) Blooms: May - Jun Color: White Perennial herb Native, endemic to California Jump to Blooming Now Blue / Purple Red / Pink White Yellow / Orange Invasive Plants Daniel Fitzgerald Daniel Fitzgerald Daniel Fitzgerald Daniel Fitzgerald

Lasioglossum Lasioglossum Halictidae Lasioglossum Describe your image Describe your image Describe your image Describe your image Describe your image Describe your image Description Lasioglossum is species-rich and variable in size and coloration. Many are shiny, with a metallic sheen. Sized from very small to medium (2-8 mm). Wings have an arched basal vein and weak-veined submarginal cells. There may be 2 or 3 submarginal cells in the wings. Lasioglossum often have bands of hair at the base of each segment (different from Halictus ), but some have none. Can be difficult to ID to species. Nectar/ Pollen Plants Generalists, as they can have numerous generations each year (using different flowers). Habits Ground nesters. Species have a range of social behaviors. For example, some Lasioglossum in subgenus Dialictus are eusocial, while other Lasioglossum are solitary. Season Early Spring – Fall

Osmia Mason Bee Osmia Megachilidae Osmia Describe your image Describe your image Describe your image Describe your image Describe your image Describe your image Description Osmia are bees with a metallic sheen, often blue, purple, green, or black. Female bees carry pollen in abdominal scopa (see above, left). Osmia tend to have compact bodies, and have an arolium pad between their front leg tarsal claws, unlike Megachile . Their forewings have 2 submarginal cells, a big stigma and a long prestigma. Nectar/ Pollen Plants Osmia are generalists, and include pollen collection from oaks, Rosaceae plants (such as berries, apples) and many others. Some are important agricultural pollinators, visiting many flowers per trip. Osmia ribifloris biedermannii Habits Solitary, they nest in hollowed out stems, tubes, wall crevices. Use mud in nest-building to create partitions, hence “mason.” Eggs that become female bees are laid deeper in the tube, and hatch last. Season Primarily April - June, but Osmia ribifloris biedermannii appears from January.

Wildflower Mount Diablo Slender Woolly Marbles Scientific Name: Psilocarphus tenellus Family: Asteraceae (Sunflower Family) Blooms: April Color: White Annual herb Native Jump to Blooming Now Blue / Purple Red / Pink White Yellow / Orange Invasive Plants Steven Beatty

Wildflower Mount Diablo Serpentine Columbine, Stream Columbine Scientific Name: Aquilegia eximia Family: Ranunculaceae (Buttercup Family) Blooms: Jun - Jul Color: Red-Pink Perennial herb Native, endemic to California Jump to Blooming Now Blue / Purple Red / Pink White Yellow / Orange Invasive Plants Kevin Hintsa

Wildflower Mount Diablo Bellardia, Mediterranean Linseed Invasive Scientific Name: Bellardia trixago Family: Orobanchaceae (Broomrape Family) Blooms: Apr - Jun Color: White Annual herb Introduced Jump to Blooming Now Blue / Purple Red / Pink White Yellow / Orange Invasive Plants Mike Woodring

Wildflower Mount Diablo Woolly Clover Scientific Name: Trifolium tomentosum Family: Fabaceae (Legume Family) Blooms: Apr-Jun Color: White Annual herb Introduced Jump to Blooming Now Blue / Purple Red / Pink White Yellow / Orange Invasive Plants Daniel Fitzgerald Daniel Fitzgerald