Mokka mit Schlag » 2009 » July

About a year and half ago when I moved across the country, I started using my MacBook as my main machine. By now, it is way too plugged into external hard drives, external monitors, headphones, KVM switches and other devices to comfortably move around the house. I’d consider replacing it with a PowerMac desktop, but that would likely cost more than a second, cheap laptop that I can use around the house, the library, the university, the park, the coffeeshop, and other places I like to just write. A NetBook might do, but I really want a good sized keyboard. here’s what I’m looking for:
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Glyphodes onychinalis – Hodges#5199.1
Fullerton Arboretum, June 28, 2009

The moth is an Asian species that’s been in Southern California for the last 10 years or so. It was first identified in 2000 down the road in Newport Beach; and I’ve also found it on my balcony in Irvine in the evening. I have not ID’d the spider. I didn’t even notice it in the field.
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Finally got my scope repaired after the Birdathon damage back in April (though it was worth it) so I woke up early and spent an hour at Robert Badham watching the sea before work. The good news is that the scope now works again. I’ve missed it sorely over the last couple of months, especially on the monthly Sea & Sage walks at San Joaquin, where we’ve had to make do with a single scope shared among 20+ people. The bad news is that this was not the best morning for a sea watch. The winds weren’t good, and no pelagic species were evident. However I did pull in 15 near-shore species including a Juvenile Wandering Tattler:
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Lately I’ve been wandering around my apartment complex at night seeing what’s attracted to the lights with some success. Most of the moths I find are fairly small–a centimeter or less–but this is actually a pretty large one, about 3 centimeters:

Aglossa cacamica – Hodges#5514
Irvine, CA, 2009-07-11

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If LIghtroom were open source, there’d be a bug tracker somewhere:

Just when you thought it was safe to go out at night, Moth Monday returns! Today’s moth is a Southern California speciality, Hodges 4891 – Dicymolomia opuntialis. Thanks to Bob Patterson for the ID.

Hodges#4891 Dicymolomia opuntialis
Fullerton Arboretum, Fullerton, California, 2009-6-28

It’s in the family of Crambid Snout Moths, a group of fairly small moths (a centimeter or less) that I’ve been finding more and more of lately, mostly by virtue of using a 1:1 macro lens and going out at night. This, however, I found in the morning at Fullerton Arboretum, perched on a light. It had probably stayed there all night.