Harbinger?

Just a quick note...

 

Most of the By-the-wind Sailors (Velella velella) we've seen this year have been small (under ~2 cm long).  Today I photographed the largest so far in 2016 at ~6 cm long (above).  Is it a harbinger of things to come?  If the winds shift to the west next week, it'll be interesting to see if larger By-the-wind Sailors are observed washing ashore.

Streaming

Perhaps you've seen this seaweed, either growing on intertidal rocks, or washed up on the beach?

 

Meet Halosaccion glandiforme.  This seaweed is a bit like a water balloon — an inflated oblong sac partially filled with water. 

Halosaccion is streamlined and flexible — designed to withstand currents and waves.  It also has tiny pores near the rounded, distal end (away from where it attaches to the rock).  The tiny pores allow water to flow into the sac when the algae is submerged under water.  Then when exposed to air during low tide, the water inside the sac helps prevents desiccation (drying out), and might also play a role in maintaining a lower temperature.

If you find Halosaccion washed ashore, you can see evidence of the pores for yourself.  Compress one of the sacs between your thumb and finger, and watch powerful jets of water stream out:

 

Some of the information above is from the following paper: Vogel, S. and C. Loudin.  1985.  Fluid mechanics of the thallus of the intertidal red alga, Halosaccion glandiforme.  Biological Bulletin 168: 161-174.

I know what it feels like...

 

On my way back from the post office this afternoon, I stopped to watch a flock of American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) feeding in Bodega Harbor.  One of the pelicans looked a little funny.  Did you notice it, too?

The pelican on the far right had a piece of sea lettuce (Ulva sp.) draped over its head.  It probably just got stuck there while the pelican was fishing.  But it made me laugh because I know what it feels like to have sea lettuce on your face!  While pulling lobster traps when we were young, sometimes my sister and I would have sea lettuce "fights."  It's the perfect seaweed for it, because the thin, transparent sheets mold right to your face.

Sleeping in the sun

 

Juvenile Northern Elephant Seal (Mirounga angustirostris), 30 May 2016

 

Neighbors

After chores today, I went for a short walk around Cotati.  It was nice visiting with some of our neighbors (see below):

 

Western Tiger Swallowtails (Papilio rufutus) — perhaps a male following a female?

 

An accipiter (Cooper's Hawk?) calling and landing in a tall pine.

 

A Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) bringing food into a nest!  (The nest is underneath the peeling eucalyptus bark.)

Busy

I went out this morning to try to photograph wasps, but I was having a hard time.  Then I noticed these wonderful bees:

 

The bees quickly entered burrows, so they were difficult to photograph.  Eventually I found one digging, and caught a glimpse of its beautiful green eyes:

 

And then I spotted a female outside of a burrow:

 

And a male perched on a flower stem (below).  Note his bright yellow face (it made the male easy to follow even when it was flying):

 

I'm pretty sure this is Anthophora californica.  It's the first time I've photographed this bee.  [You might remember that I showed a different species of Anthophora in 2013 — see the post called "Turrets and Tongues".]

Eventually, I also managed to photograph the wasp.  I need to ask for some help with the identification, but I think it might be a "cutworm wasp," perhaps Podalonia (argentifrons?)?  Impressively, the wasp was carrying a large caterpillar (perhaps a cutworm!):

 

And here's one more bonus picture.  I'm not sure about the identity of this pretty little bee, but I'm wondering if it's a species of Andrena?  This bee was so small and so fast, and the pollen on its legs was so dense and so bright, it looked as if a clump of pollen was flying among the vegetation!  UPDATE (30 May 2016): Robbin Thorp has confirmed this as Lasioglossum sp. 

 

A "getaway"?

Many of you know that Eric and I have been monitoring sea stars.  One of the things we're interested in is what they eat. 

 

Ochre Sea Stars (Pisaster ochraceus) often assume a hunched appearance when they're feeding, holding their prey below their bodies.  

In the photo above, at first I thought this sea star might be interested in the Lined Chiton (Tonicella lineata) attached to the rock below the sea star's arm on the upper left. (To find the chiton, look for the pink and white stripes.)

But then I noticed something darker directly underneath the sea star, and wondered if the sea star was eating something else — A mussel?  A limpet?  I couldn't tell for sure, but this image also made me wonder if the chiton could sense the sea star nearby and whether it would try to make a "getaway" while the sea star was preoccupied?

Only the sea star and the chiton know the outcome.

P.S.  If you're curious about the chiton, I posted a picture of a Lined Chiton on 9 November 2012, and a related Loki's Chiton on 17 May 2013.