Rising and setting

  

We've been working lots of very early morning low tides recently, so here's a sunrise/moonset photo from last week.

At the larger end

  

Quick shot of a large By-the-wind Sailor (Velella velella) washed ashore this morning (13 May 2025).  Strong west winds have pushed thousands of Velella onto local beaches recently.  Most have been smaller than this one, but I'm always keeping my eyes on the range of sizes.

Seascape at sunset

  

Didn't have a chance to take photos this week, so here's one from January 2025 — seascape at sunset along the Sonoma Coast.

Satyrs and dragons

  

 Satyr Anglewing (Polygonia satyrus)

 

 

 

Close-up of a California Darner (Rhionaeschna californica)

 

Both photos from Cotati on 4 May 2025

 

The color purple

  

Eric spotted this beautiful Striped Dogwhelk (Nucella ostrina) yesterday (2 May 2025).  This is a common snail in the rocky intertidal zone in northern California, but we can't recall seeing purple variants of Nucella ostrina, so here's a photo for the record.

More often, Striped Dogwhelks are versions of black, brown, gray, or white.  Here are some individuals feeding on barnacles:

 

 

 

Occasionally you'll spot an orange Nucella ostrina —they really stand out! 

 

 

Breeding experiments suggest that color variation in Nucella ostrina likely has a genetic basis (Palmer 1984).

May beauty!

  

Wow!  When Claire started to ask me if I could help with a moth i.d. today (1 May 2025), I had no idea she would be taking me to see this beautiful Ceonothus Silkmoth (Hyalophora euryalus)!

Claire and Emma spotted this amazing moth while they were eating lunch.  It was cool at the coast today and the moth was very still, so we were able to get some nice photos.

Here's a close-up of her very fuzzy body, including the wonderful striped pattern on her abdomen:

 

 

 

Eric captured a nice view of the markings along the wing margins:

 

 

 

 

Zooming in, it just gets better:

 

 

 

 

And here's the apex of the forewing, with pretty rose-pink coloring and the oval spot with its little crescent moon:

 

 

 

 

You can even see the scales making up the oval spot:

 

 

 

Welcome to May!

 

With many thanks to Claire and Emma for spotting this beauty, and to Eric for most of the nice close-ups!