Fringed

  

Okay, I haven't posted a mystery close-up photo in a while, so here you go!

 This one might be a challenge, or maybe not.

 Can you guess what it is?

I'll share more info about it tomorrow night.

What a fly!

  

Wow, what a fly!  I had to do some work in the dunes today.  As I was walking back I noticed this fly landing on the sand.  Even from a distance the colors looked interesting, so I bent down for a closer look.  Such beautiful metallic purple and copper coloration!  [You can click on the image for a larger version.]

I think this is a type of bee fly (Bombyliidae), but I'm not sure which species.  If you have any bee fly contacts that could help with an identification, let me know. 

Mellow yellow

 

 

Another unusual color form — this time of a California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica).  Note the very pale yellow coloration, rather than the intense orange more typical of this species or the bi-colored petals (yellow petals with orange bases) of coastal California Poppies (for an example, see the post called "Cup of gold"). 

I read one article that describes how this pale coloration in California Poppies has a genetic basis, i.e., a genetic mutation that impacts the production of carotenoids (responsible for orange pigments).

Photographed in northern Sonoma County on 24 April 2022.

The Elusive Pimpernel?

 

 

Ah ha!  This little flower has been eluding me for quite a few years...until Eric spotted it yesterday (24 April 2022).

 

It might be puzzling at first, but this is the blue form of a common wildflower, Scarlet Pimpernel (Lysimachia arvensis, formerly Anagallis arvensis). 

Here's a close-up of the more typical flower on the left — salmon-colored petals with red bases — and the blue form on the right — blue petals with fuschia bases:

 

 

 

We looked carefully and discovered that even though they were side-by-side, the blue flowers were separate plants.  Have you seen this blue form of Scarlet Pimpernel before?

 

 

 

Whirling and basking

  

We had to do some work in northern Sonoma County today (24 April 2022).  While walking the trail we noticed several Western Pine Elfin butterflies (Callophrys eryphon) whirling around near a few pine trees.  Eric captured this beautiful view of an elfin basking in the sun.

A night for rainbows

  

Wow!  There were rainbows everywhere we looked on the way home from work tonight.  And I think this is one of the brightest I've ever seen.  Photographed from Stony Point Road on 21 April 2022.

Before the rain

  

Early morning light on 20 April 2022