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Post by rockpickerforever on Sept 25, 2015 12:28:31 GMT -5
Hows 'bout a little beauty to brighten the day. Some pics of (mostly cactus) flowers in my yard, plus a few other things.
These are San Pedro cactus. First the buds - 7/11/15 
Then the blooms 7/31/15 
Night shots 
Closing up, the next day. One-night Wandas! 
At the other end of the yard, an epiphyllum 
I have several of different colors, growing in pots. They seem to thrive on inattention. 
Flowers of a Dragon Fruit, or Pitaya. Will have more fruit this year  
Close up of flower. They smell heavenly! 
Lion's Tail, Leonotis leonurus, a shrub from South Africa. Hummingbirds love it. 
Plumeria. I think this one is called Tahitian Sunset. 
Other things - a wasp yellow jacket nest under the eaves. These have not been a bother, much fewer of them now. I think they don't handle the heat too well. 
And a couple of herps. This found in my garden a few weeks ago at 8 pm. Striped Cal King, 2015 hatchling. Looked like a female. 
Seems the striped (as opposed to banded) are more prevalent in this area. 
These little lizards have been hatching out all over. They mostly stay outside, but some venture into the house. ![]()
Chased a baby alligator lizard out of the kitchen the other day, didn't bother him with a photo.
Hope you enjoyed the pics, thanks for looking.
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Deleted
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Member since January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2015 13:34:22 GMT -5
If that king snake is really 2015 you have more lizards than I could have imagined. Did you mean, perhaps, 2014? Gorgeous snake.
Of course, I love all the vegetative genitalia too! Thanks for the pix!
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Post by captbob on Sept 25, 2015 13:46:38 GMT -5
Beautiful pictures!
Not being one to leave well enough alone, I doubt that that wasp nest would have made it that far were in in my yard.
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Post by Pat on Sept 25, 2015 15:45:12 GMT -5
Beautiful!
We have those little lizards, too. Seem to always be in the cat's mouth, or being chased by cat. I think cat wins most of the time, if not all the time.
Not too fond of snakes. If I knew they were not poisonous, I'd like them, but I cannot tell.
Thanks for the Friday beauty!
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Post by rockpickerforever on Sept 25, 2015 16:46:25 GMT -5
If that king snake is really 2015 you have more lizards than I could have imagined. Did you mean, perhaps, 2014? Gorgeous snake. Of course, I love all the vegetative genitalia too! Thanks for the pix! Thanks, Scott. You're probably right, the snake is likely last years hatch.
Beautiful pictures! Not being one to leave well enough alone, I doubt that that wasp nest would have made it that far were in in my yard. Thanks, captbob. I keep calling them wasps, but I think they are actually yellow jackets. They don't have that "wasp waist" - stick body, and I know they are not hornets or mud daubers. They aren't bothering me, but was worried about the dog, since she likes to snap at bees. They mostly stay up high, where she can't get at them.
Now admit it, Bob, you just like to poke sticks at things... 
Beautiful! We have those little lizards, too. Seem to always be in the cat's mouth, or being chased by cat. I think cat wins most of the time, if not all the time. Not too fond of snakes. If I knew they were not poisonous, I'd like them, but I cannot tell. Thanks for the Friday beauty! Thanks, Pat. Yes, cats seem to like the lizards. When we had cats, they were always catching them, leaving wriggling lizard tails in their wake.
After having raised snakes for many years, they don't bother me one little bit. I have lots of different lizards here, but the only snakes I've found in the yard have been king snakes. The good ones to have. I have seen several rattlesnakes in the neighborhood over the years, but a couple blocks away from our house. Few, I could count the sightings on one hand.
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lilacmoth
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2015
Posts: 160 
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Post by lilacmoth on Sept 25, 2015 17:25:24 GMT -5
A yellow jacket is a wasp though. What's a wasp if not that?
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quartz
Cave Dweller 
breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
Posts: 3,359
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Post by quartz on Sept 25, 2015 23:12:40 GMT -5
Thanks for the pics., very different flowers and critters than here, enjoyed them.
Larry
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ash
spending too much on rocks
Prairieville, Louisiana
Member since July 2012
Posts: 361
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Post by ash on Sept 25, 2015 23:22:54 GMT -5
those blooms on the tall cactus are pretty darn kewl!
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Post by woodman on Sept 26, 2015 21:39:48 GMT -5
If that king snake is really 2015 you have more lizards than I could have imagined. Did you mean, perhaps, 2014? Gorgeous snake. Of course, I love all the vegetative genitalia too! Thanks for the pix! Thanks, Scott. You're probably right, the snake is likely last years hatch.
Beautiful pictures! Not being one to leave well enough alone, I doubt that that wasp nest would have made it that far were in in my yard. Thanks, captbob. I keep calling them wasps, but I think they are actually yellow jackets. They don't have that "wasp waist" - stick body, and I know they are not hornets or mud daubers. They aren't bothering me, but was worried about the dog, since she likes to snap at bees. They mostly stay up high, where she can't get at them.
Now admit it, Bob, you just like to poke sticks at things...
Beautiful! We have those little lizards, too. Seem to always be in the cat's mouth, or being chased by cat. I think cat wins most of the time, if not all the time. Not too fond of snakes. If I knew they were not poisonous, I'd like them, but I cannot tell. Thanks for the Friday beauty! Thanks, Pat. Yes, cats seem to like the lizards. When we had cats, they were always catching them, leaving wriggling lizard tails in their wake.
After having raised snakes for many years, they don't bother me one little bit. I have lots of different lizards here, but the only snakes I've found in the yard have been king snakes. The good ones to have. I have seen several rattlesnakes in the neighborhood over the years, but a couple blocks away from our house. Few, I could count the sightings on one hand.
More than likely they are European paper wasps, they look a lot like yellow jackets. Never seen yellow jackts with an open nest like that. Loved all the pictures, thanks for sharing. |
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Post by rockpickerforever on Sept 27, 2015 0:04:45 GMT -5
those blooms on the tall cactus are pretty darn kewl! Thanks, ash. All those blooms sticking out every which way kinda remind me of  woodman, glad you enjoyed the pics. I always thought they were some kind of paper wasp, but I am no entomologist by any stretch. I did look for info online, but ID is still unclear to me. Just know to leave them alone, although these have been pretty mild mannered and calm. They buzz around throughout the yard, picking up plant matter/cellulose for adding to their nest. |
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,611
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Post by jamesp on Sept 27, 2015 2:00:11 GMT -5
European paper wasp? Your flowers smell great Jean. "P. dominula was first discovered near Boston, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, during the late 1970s. Since then, the wasp has been recorded from Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, Michigan and Wisconsin. It has recently been discovered in California, Colorado and Washington." ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/dominulus-or-european-paper-wasp |
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Post by Noosh9057 on Sept 27, 2015 8:24:04 GMT -5
Great pictures absolutely amazing.
Roger
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Post by woodman on Sept 27, 2015 9:16:42 GMT -5
European paper wasp? Your flowers smell great Jean. "P. dominula was first discovered near Boston, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, during the late 1970s. Since then, the wasp has been recorded from Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, Michigan and Wisconsin. It has recently been discovered in California, Colorado and Washington." ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/dominulus-or-european-paper-waspThey are in Oregon also. bugguide.net/node/view/5081/data |
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Post by rockpickerforever on Sept 27, 2015 9:19:52 GMT -5
Thanks for that, woodman . I'm sure that's what they are. Looks like us lucky Californians get them year round except December. Everybody loves California! |
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Post by rockpickerforever on Sept 27, 2015 9:22:00 GMT -5
European paper wasp? Your flowers smell great Jean. "P. dominula was first discovered near Boston, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, during the late 1970s. Since then, the wasp has been recorded from Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, Michigan and Wisconsin. It has recently been discovered in California, Colorado and Washington." ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/dominulus-or-european-paper-waspJames, can you smell them all they way over there? Which do you like best? I think it's a toss up between the night blooming jasmine, and the Pitaya (smells something like honeysuckle).
ETA - Both are night bloomers, so probably depend on the scent to attract pollinators.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,611
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Post by jamesp on Sept 27, 2015 10:12:49 GMT -5
Must be the Pitaya rockpickerforever Jean. However honeysuckle is Kudzu jr over here, could be where the scent came from. By the way, Honeysuckle honey about as sweet as it gets. my buddy is a bee keeper and active in a club. A specialist comes on occasion and tastes the club member's honeys. By taste he can determine what flowers were involved in bee collection and rough percentages of each flower. |
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,611
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Post by jamesp on Sept 27, 2015 10:20:33 GMT -5
Makes sense woodman, they are in Washington, and so in Oregon. Book says they are pugnacious. Pretty sure they are in Georgia, but book did not mention SE US. |
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Post by rockpickerforever on Sept 27, 2015 10:21:48 GMT -5
Mine are mild mannered. Maybe because they do not eat (deer) meat?
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,611
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Post by jamesp on Sept 27, 2015 10:55:43 GMT -5
Mine are mild mannered. Maybe because they do not eat (deer) meat? Come October/Nov. during deer season the Yellow Jackets swarm your kill on warmer days. Big problem for hunters w/allergies. Obviously they are carnivores. Farmers around here have bee hives to germinate their crops. My honey buddy wants to put a couple of hives here to try water lily honey. Lots of blooms from May to Sept. Big honey bee attracters. The most amazing bee experience I had was when mowing a field w/tall weeds w/tractor. Yellow jackets(as usual) had a heck of a nest. I saw a couple buzzing me and looked back. Looked like Old Faithful, a column of them about 10 inches around and 8 feet tall with a nuclear shaped mushroom cloud at top of column. Over the next couple of years the hole for that nest caved in and made what looked like a large stump hole. Must have been 2000-3000 bees in a swarm. Not focused on me thankfully. Yellow Jacket sting about 1/4 as painful as paper wasp, and does not have that long term bruising sensation. Paper hornets about twice as painful as paper wasp. But even longer bruising sensation after sting. Paper wasps will attack quicker than paper hornets. Over short distances. But if the paper hornets do decide to make an attack they are relentless and long reaching. Sending a lot at one time and make focused attacks, that is the worst bee day. Paper hornet nests rarer, often on limbs over rivers. People have made the mistake of cutting a paper hornet nest down in early winter and bringing it in the house. Only to find the hornets were dormant, until the house warms up the nest. |
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Post by rockjunquie on Sept 27, 2015 16:07:31 GMT -5
Thanks for the photos. It's nice to see what's happening on the other side of the continent. I LOVE those Tahitian Sunset. They look airbrushed.... simply beautiful! I love the lizards, too. We had the little geckos in the house in Florida, they stayed in the bay window and ate flies. Fun to watch.
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