Insects of the San Francisco Bay Area

Featuring Insects of Point Molate, Richmond, California

Insect Sciences Museum of California

An εβοοκεβοοκ by Eddie Dunbar

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photo copying, recording, downloading, or by any information storage or retrieval system without written permission from the publisher.

Information requests should be directed via e-mail to [email protected] / www.bugpeople.org Dedication

Mom & Dad, this field guide is dedicated to you. You were faithful in ensuring I had opportunities to pursue my interests. You sat patiently by the roadside, while creeks and molehills got my attention. I could have done nothing without your support, encouragement and love. Acknowledgments

I gratefully acknowledge the help of many, many experts, amateurs and colleagues over the 20 years it has taken to finish this guide, particularly my friends at BugGuide who helped with many insect identifications. Thanks next to ISMC Photographers Mike "troll" Dame, Brad Smith, Ed Oswalt and Rita LeRoy. This guide would be barren without your excellent photography. Thanks to Felix Sperling, Ph.D., Eric Eaton, Ph.D. and Jerry A. Powell, Ph.D., for guide-writing advice over the years. Thanks to my coworkers at the City of Oakland: Brooke A. Levin, Victoria "Tora" Rocha, Jim Ryugo and Stephanie Benavidez. It is great when your employer gets involved in a colleague's passions. Thank you very much to my Oakland Unified School District family: Anthony Cody, Norman Brooks, Dale Koistinen, Janice Lord-Walker, Carol Pancho, Caroline Yee (deceased); and to my friends at Mills College's Leadership Institute for Teaching Elementary Science (LITES): Krishen Laetsch, and to the LITES Crew. The seed money you provided help to keep the vision for this guide alive. University of California folks at Berkeley and Davis: Felix Sperling, Ph.D.; Jerry A. Powell, Ph.D., Don Dahlsten, Ph.D. (deceased); Vernard R. Lewis, Ph.D.; Steven B. Suoja, Ph.D.; Art Slater; John A. Chemsak, Ph.D.; Kip Will, Ph.D.; Peter Oboyski, Ph.D.; Mike Caterino, Ph.D.; Kathy Garvey; Deanne Jackson; and Joyce Gross. Thank you to my friends in Scouting: First to the very special attention of Regina Burke, the Scouting Den Mother who introduced me to the science of entomology; then, to Los Mochos (and later Wente) Ranger Al Robinson, who affirmed through granting me the Insect Study Merit Badge, that "Anybody Can Bug!" Special thanks to Charles Howard-Gibbon who helped me to explore my passion in entomology as a merit badge counselor. Insect Sciences Museum of California

The ISMC was organized in 2008. Founding board members are Eddie Dunbar, Ta-Hina Richards and Geoffrey Mitchell. In 2009 the board added Julie Dunbar and Lauran Cherry. In 2012 the board added May Chen, Victoria “Tora” Rocha and Kirsten Copren, Ph.D. Each shares the vision of using the world of insects to enrich the lives of the people of Oakland and the Greater Bay Area. ISMC Mission - The mission of ISMC is to engage citizen scientists in learning opportunities that further their growth and that of the entomological sciences. Projects - ISMC’s principal project is Exploring California Insects (ECI). ECI has two sub-projects: Lake Merritt and Greater Oakland Insects (LMGOI) and Insects of the San Francisco Bay Area (ISFBA). ECI projects engage clients in the field, through informative displays, through web content and an interactive blog. Accomplishments - Under ECI the eBook “Lake Merritt and Greater Oakland Insects” was updated in 2011 from the 2006 edition. A 2013 edition will be available by the end of 2013. ISFBA will be ECI’s focus through 2015. ECI seeks to engage local residents in observing, collecting, photographing and writing about local insects. The work will be made available as a web-based field guide published on CD-ROM and in print. Methodology - Open Space - ISMC reaches citizen scientists through events in Oakland Parks. ISMC partners with Oakland Parks and other organizations to make use of open space where insects are present. Web Outreach - The Museum has a very large presence online. Interactive collaborations function online to research and answer questions about insects. Publishing: The Museum maintains and continually creates learning materials including printed publications, multimedia presentations, eBooks and displays. Photo Surveys: ISMC hosts photographic forays into park open space to document the fauna that is present. Science Equipment: ISMC also distributes and trains the public in use of entomological equipment and materials, usually free of charge. Foreword

California Insects number at around 38,000 species. Insects and the natural resources that depend upon them are distributed throughout the aquatic, riparian, marine, grassland, woodland, forest and other ecosystems of the Bay Area’s nine counties, East Bay Regional Parks District (EBRPD) and California State Parks. Yet, within these commonly understood ecosystems are tens of thousands of microhabitats where insects live out little understood floral and faunal relationships. So it is that the insect presents countless opportunities to discover, study and understand the local ecology. The knowledge gained through the study of insects makes it clear why insects are important in so many diverse disciplines. Mosquitoes, bedbugs and fleas are economically important in human and veterinary medicine. Ants, bees and many kinds of bugs are important in agriculture. Many kinds of insects are important to warehouses and supermarkets. Cockroaches, certainly are important as pests in households or as useful adjuncts. The list goes on. As a consequence, insects also are of importance in conservation, environmental policy and legislation. California - and the Bay Area especially - would benefit by having more environmentally conscious voters, volunteers and legislators, who appreciate the important role that insects play in helping us to understand and better the world we all share. The Insect Sciences Museum of California (ISMC), through its workshops, events and publications, engages the public to photograph what insects are present in the Bay Area and throughout the state. This publication, therefore, is offered as a guide to help point out where and when our more common insects may be observed, recognized and studied. We hope that urban dwellers will begin with the knowledge presented in this guide - and embark with us on this journey - finding and recognizing and appreciating Insects of the San Francisco Bay Area. Insects of Joaquin Miller Park - Oakland, CA

About Joaquin Miller Park Joaquin Miller Park is one of the City of Oakland's largest wildlands. Joaquin Miller passed in 1913 and the City of Oakland purchased 68 acres from his estate, as well as the adjacent redwood groves. Joaquin Miller Park covers more than 500 acres. Many of its trails lead to adjacent Roberts and Redwood Regional Parks, which are part of the East Bay Regional Park System. The parks is subject to many forays by ISMC photographers and annual outreach events through Oakland Parks and Recreation's Great American Backyard Campout. Oakland Parks, Recreation & Youth Development (OPR&YD) In 2014 OPR&YD asked ISMC to increase natural history education in this historic park. ISMC programs in the park fall under the OPR&YD umbrella. ISMC has had programs in the park since 2007. These include insect walks, observations, collection and photography. Artifacts from the park are on display in the park's Ranger Station. Field Guide Findings from this project may become part of an evolving Insects of the San Francisco Bay Area field guide. The Merritt College portion of the guide can be downloaded at the link that follows. Download Guide in PDF

Virtual Field Guide In addition to iNaturalist, the ISFBA Survey requests that photographs be uploaded to the ISFBA Dropbox account. Photos need to be *unedited* original photos that include the photography location in the filename. Photographs uploaded using the link below become a part of this website. Download Virtual Field Guide

iNaturalist iNaturalist is a citizen science app that uses crowdsourcing technology to pull together and serve observations about organisms all over the world. The ISFBA View videos about iNaturalist project uses iNaturalist to organize, view and interact with observations at Merritt - Observe Nature with iNaturalist (By Tony Iwane) College and throughout the Bay Area. Insects of the San Francisco Bay Area - iNaturalist Instructions (By National Park Service) observations are organized into a project that can be queried, downloaded or - How to use iNats Identify page! (By Tony Iwane) formatted into a field guide. Be sure to view the videos. Look under the iNat logo at the left. Visit iNaturalist Project

Photograph Uploads In addition to iNaturalist, the ISFBA Survey requests that photographs be uploaded to the ISFBA Dropbox account. Photos need to be *unedited* original photos that include the photography location in the filename. Photographs uploaded using the link below become a part of this website. Upload photos!

Insect Photo Survey Date(s):

1998-2017

Insects of Point Molate, Richmond (Insects of the San Francisco Bay Area) Page 1 of 11 Butterflies and Moths Order Lepidoptera Twirler Moths (Family Gelechiidae )

Coyote Brush Stem Gall Moth Gnorimoschema baccharisella (Busck 1903)

Description: Wings: Forewing - male 6.2-8.5 mm long; female 6.5-9 mm. Forewing pattern - A pale peach-colored basal patch which is variably tinged with rust, the remainder of the wing is pale to dark grey. There is also a subtle, longitudinal streak of rust on the fold in the cell and there are usually two additional rust spots in the middle and at the end of the cell. Wingspan: Wingspan: Males: 6.2-8.5 mm. Female: 6.5-9 mm. Development: Larvae feed on Baccharis pilularis, causing hard stem galls. Pupation takes place on the ground. Active Period: Adults are on wing from mid-July to late November. Flight Period: Mid-July to late November. Food: Host plant: Baccharis pilularis. Host: Coyote Brush (Baccharis pilularis). Range: It is found in North America, where it has been recorded from California..

Point Molate Beach Park, Richmond Eddie Dunbar. June 15, 2019

Insects of Point Molate, Richmond (Insects of the San Francisco Bay Area) Page 2 of 11 Butterflies and Moths Order Lepidoptera Geometrid Moths (Family Geometridae )

Geometer Moth Geometridae (Leach 1815)

Description: Adult - usually have slender bodies and relatively large, broad forewings, often crossed by thin wavy lines; females of some species are wingless or have flightless atrophied wings. When at rest, many geometrid moths hold their wings away from the body and flat against the substrate (in contrast to most noctuid moths, which tend to fold their wings over their abdomen); some species/genera hold their wings in a characteristic position such as: flat & at right-angles to the body, or inclined 45 degrees above horizontal, or vertically over their back like a butterfly. Forewing cubitus vein appears 3-branched; hindwing subcostal vein bends abruptly downward at base. Larva - generally have only two pairs of prolegs (at the hind end) rather than the usual five pairs in most lepidoptera; the lack of prolegs in the middle of the body necessitates the peculiar method of locomtion, drawing the hind end up to the thoracic legs to form a loop, and then extending the body forward. Adults small to medium-sized. Wingspan: 15-50 mm. Habitat: Larvae found on host plants in various vegetated habitats. Adults usually nearby, but most are nocturnal and attracted to light; a number of species are day-flying. Food: Most larvae feed on the leaves of woody plants (coniferous and deciduous trees, shrubs); some species eat herbaceous plants. Many species are economically important pests of fruit trees, forest trees, and berry crops.. Point Molate Beach Park, Richmond Range: Throughout North America and the world.. Eddie Dunbar. June 15, 2019 Diversity: More than 1,400 species in 6 subfamilies in North America. About 35,000 species worldwide.

Insects of Point Molate, Richmond (Insects of the San Francisco Bay Area) Page 3 of 11 Butterflies and Moths Order Lepidoptera Swallowtails and Parnassians (Family Papilionidae )

California Pipevine Swallowtail Battus philenor hirsuta (Skinner 1908)

Description: Iridescent blue/black pattern on upper surface is distinctive when fresh. The Pipevine flutters its wings incessantly while nectaring .. Male has very iridescent upper surfaces of hindwings. Female has less striking iridescence. Underside has a single median row of orange spots which do not touch each other. Caterpillar is .. dark brownish black (occasionally smoky red) with soft fleshy tentacle- like projections, usually red-orange dorsal warts over abdomen. Tentacles on T1 twice as long as those on following segments. Chrysalis brown or green, similar to Battus polydamas. Wingspan: 70- 130 mm. Importance: This butterfly is considered quite beautiful, but disappeared from most of North America in the last ice age. There are several projects in the San Francisco Bay Area to expand its range. The California Pipevine Project distribute the host plant, plants, maintains and reports back on the status of the host plant and the butterfly. More info: https://tinyurl.com/ismc-pipevine-inat Flight Period: February-March, October, occasionally November, but is much more numerous before the 4th of July than later. Food: Adults visit many flowers, including wild radish, California buckeye, blue dicks, ithuriels spear, and yerba santa. In summer they regularly nectar at yellow star thistle when there are no native plants in bloom.. Host: California Pipevine (Aristolochia californica) is the only host Point Molate Beach Park, Richmond plant.. Northern and central California. Eddie Dunbar. June 15, 2019

Insects of Point Molate, Richmond (Insects of the San Francisco Bay Area) Page 4 of 11 Butterflies and Moths Order Lepidoptera Pyralid Moths (Family Pyralidae )

Snout Moth Pyralidae (Latreille 1802) Body Length: 9-37 mm. Range: Cosmopolitan.. Diversity: 682 Species in America north of Mexico.

Point Molate Beach Park, Richmond Emil Petrinic. June 15, 2019

Insects of Point Molate, Richmond (Insects of the San Francisco Bay Area) Page 5 of 11 Grasshoppers, Crickets and Katydids Order Orthoptera Short-horned Grasshoppers (Family Acrididae )

Short-horned Grasshopper Acrididae (MacLeay 1819)

Description: Variable coloring with some brightly colored species. Wings: Usually well-developed, but may be short or absent in some groups. Wing length is variable, even within a single species. Pronotum: Does not extend beyond the base of the wings. Antennae: Short, typically about one-half the body length, and with less than 30 segments. Tympana: When present, are on the sides of the first abdominal segment. Legs: Hind femora are greatly enlarged for jumping, typically about as long as hind wings. Tarsi are all 3- segmented. Ovipositor: Short and stout. Body Length: 9-80 mm, with most 15-30 mm. Importance: Members of this family are historical devastators of crops in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Development: Some species have fairly elaborate courtship, and mating may take up to an hour. Males may stay atop females for more than a day in a behavior known as "mate guarding." Females oviposit in loose soil (typically), among plant roots, in rotting wood, and even in dung. Clutches contain 10-60 eggs, and up to 25 clutches may be laid over several weeks. Oviposition typically occurs in late summer, and eggs hatch in Spring. Life cycle is typically one year. A few species overwinter as juveniles. Active Period: Spring to fall in temperate areas. Some species are present all year in southern California. Habitat: Vegetated areas or open space, including on asphalt-covered Point Molate Beach Park, Richmond parking lots or similar areas. Most species occur in grasslands, but Emil Petrinic. June 15, 2019 some in forests, tundra and aquatic vegetation. Food: Typically phytophagous, feeding on the foliage of forbs and grasses. Some feed on a variety of plants, while others are restricted to a few species of closely related plants. Dry plant matter from the ground is not fed upon. Some will scavenge dead or dying grasshoppers when plant food is scarce.. Range: All of North America.. Diversity: North America: 5 Subfamilies with 117 genera and about 620 species. 239 Species are in the genus Melanoplus. Worldwide: About 8,000 species. Similar Taxa: Lubber Grasshoppers (Romaleidae); Pygmy Grasshoppers (Tetrigidae) Insects of Point Molate, Richmond (Insects of the San Francisco Bay Area) Page 6 of 11 Twisted-winged Insects Order Strepsiptera Stylopid Twisted-winged Insect (Family Stylopidae )

Stylopinid Twisted-winged Insect Stylopidinae (Kirby 1813)

Description: Males: Legs - Tarsi are 4-segmented. Antennae: 4- or 6- segmented antennae. Aedeagus present. Females: Cephalothorax flattened. Genital apertures: numbering 2-5. Adult females are larviform with no external characters typical of other adults insects, such as eyes, antennae, mouthparts, legs, wings and external genitalia. Biology: Males of the Strepsiptera have wings, legs, eyes, and antennae, though their mouthparts cannot be used for feeding. Many have mouthparts modified into sensory structures. To the uninitiated the males superficially look like flies. Adult males are very short-lived, usually surviving less than five hours. Importance: Many pest insects, including leafhoppers and cockroaches, have species-specific Strepsipteran endoparasites which are used ton control pest populations. Development: Eggs hatch inside the female, and the parasitic larvae move freely within a cavity. This behavior is unique to the insects. Larvae exit the female body through the brood canal and search very actively for a host. Larvae that find a host latch on and secrete enzymes that soften the host cuticle, usually in the abdominal region. Some species are reported to enter the eggs of hosts. Inside the host the larvae lose legs. Growth and development continue inside a bag- like structure created from the tissues of the host. Larvae undergo four more instars. In each molt the older cuticle separates but is not Point Molate Beach Park, Richmond discarded. So, multiple layers form around the larvae. Male larvae Emil Petrinic. June 15, 2019 pupate after the last molt and emerge later. Females remain inside, continuing to grow and occupying up to 90% of the abdominal volume of the hosts. The color and shape of the host abdomen may be affected and the host usually becomes sterile. Host: Entoparasites of the Anthophila (bees). Worldwide. Diversity: America, north of Mexico: 5 Genera, with 44 species.

Insects of Point Molate, Richmond (Insects of the San Francisco Bay Area) Page 7 of 11 Mites & Ticks (Family )

Mites & Ticks Acari

Description: (Mites): Form: Somewhat spider-like (having 2 main body sections: cephalothorax and abdomen), but generally globose, very tiny and without apparent segmentation. Legs: Adults have 8 legs; ; larvae have 6-8 legs. Mites are quite varied, with many morphological adaptations to the species lifestyles. Body Length: 0.08-20 mm; most under 1 mm. Wingspan: Wingless Importance: Some mites and ticks are agricultural pests, or very serious medical pests. Ticks in the genera Ixodes and Dermacentor, (which vector Lyme disease on the west and east coasts, respectively), Rocky Mountain spotted fever and other diseases which affect humans and other animals. In the Bay Area, tropical rate mite (Ornithonyssus bacoti) feeds on humans and pets. Animal mange (called ?scabies? in humans, ?chiggers? (mites in the family Trombiculidae) have members that feed on the skin of humans and some other animals and Varroa sp. (a destructive parasite in hives of honey bees) are all examples. There are also mites associated with allergies and which transmit other diseases. On plants, mites cause damage by sucking cell contents from leaves. High populations can damage plants, especially herbaceous ones. Some predatory mites are important for biological control in agricultue. Development: (Mites): Acarine larvae typically have 6 legs rather than 8. Legs can be lost or gained in life stages. Leg number does not follow a taxonomic pattern, but is based on life-stage ecology. Point Molate Beach Park, Richmond Host: (Mites): Many mites have complex symbiotic relationships with Eddie Dunbar. June 15, 2019 the host. The group includes species that are parasites, plant pests, predators, soil decomposers and gall makers.. Diversity: Worldwide: Around 50,000 described species, with many times more still undescribed. All mites may have not descended from a common host.

Insects of Point Molate, Richmond (Insects of the San Francisco Bay Area) Page 8 of 11 Spiders Order Araneae Crab Spiders (Family Thomisidae )

Crab Spider Thomisidae (Sundevall 1833)

Description: Sexual dimorphism is recorded in some species. Color is one form. The most striking is size difference. For example, in Misumena vatia females may be 60 times the size of male counterparts. Biology: Thomisidae do not build webs to trap prey, though all produce silk drop lines and webbing for reproductive purposes. Some are wandering hunters or ambush predators, where individuals sit atop or alongside flowers and capture visiting insects. Some species, such as Misumena vatia, are able to change to match flower color. Some perch amongst leaves or bark and await prey. Some bird dropping mimics sit in the open. In each case, crab spiders use powerful front legs to grab prey while delivering a venomous, paralyzing bite. Food: Spiders with very small (if strong) jaws (such as crab spiders and cobweb weavers) make small holes in the prey and vomit their digestive fluid into the prey's body, the end result being a hollow shell with some or most of the muscles and internal organs digested and sucked out.. Diversity: America, north of Mexico: 130 Species in 9 genera. Worldwide: 175 genera and more than 2,100 species.

Point Molate Beach Park, Richmond Emil Petrinic. June 15, 2019

Insects of Point Molate, Richmond (Insects of the San Francisco Bay Area) Page 9 of 11 Harvestmen Order Opiliones (Family )

Harvestman Opiliones

Description: Easily separated from spiders by the broad fusion of the two body segments, so that the body appears to be composed of a singular segment. Also, as they do not possess silk glands, harvestmen can't form webs. Uniquely among the arachnids fertilization is direct: males possess a penis (also referred to in the literature as pene, aedagus or intromittent organ). Body Length: Variable; body sizes range from a few millimeters to a few centimeters. Legs are several times the size of the body in the more familiar daddy-long-legs forms of the Phalangioidea. Biology: In some cases, in dry climates, they gather in large numbers during the day, probably to avoid dessication, and wander about in search of food after the sun goes down. Development: Egg, juvenile, adult. Some reproduce sexually (direct fertilization, males possess a penis); others, parthenogenetically (i.e., without males). Active Period: Season: Not likely to be found in winter months in northern/montane regions, except as overwintering populations in refugia (e.g., caves). Habitat: All habitats (except possibly deserts) in Canada & the US: forests, grasslands, wetlands, mountains, caves, chaparral, and anthropogenic habitats. Range: Global, except Antarctica. Diversity: More than, 6,500 species worldwide arranged into 46 Point Molate Beach Park, Richmond families of 4 suborders (of which Laniatores is by far the largest, with Emil Petrinic. June 15, 2019 more than 4,100 species. Similar Taxa: Although often mistaken for spiders, these arachnids are more closely related to scorpions

Insects of Point Molate, Richmond (Insects of the San Francisco Bay Area) Page 10 of 11 Insects of Point Molate, Richmond (Insects of the San Francisco Bay Area) Page 11 of 11 About the Author

Dunbar is Founder and President of the Insect Sciences Museum of California (ISMC), which leads an effort to catalog insects in the San Francisco Bay Area. Dunbar also headed BugPeople, Oakland Schools’ Exploring California Insects Prooram and CityBugs, an entomology outreach program from the University of California, Berkeley. Dunbar’s flair for putting bugs in your face got the attention of Vernard Lewis, Ph.D., University of California Cooperative Extension, and in 1994 he was hired onto the University's Insect Hotline. In 1996 Dunbar was asked to write a proposal to the University's Interactive University. Felix Sperling, Vernard R. Lewis, Jerry Powell and the late Donald L. Dahlsten, became Dunbar’s faculty advisory committee. The project was nicknamed “CityBugs,” and Dunbar led the effort to recruit students from McClymonds High School in Oakland to apply to the University. Dunbar still heads ISMC. By day he is a Business Analyst for the City of Oakland’s Public Works Department. Dunbar holds a BS in Business Management and MBA with emphasis in Technology Management from the University of Phoenix. He has been photographing Oakland insects since 1997.

Eddie Dunbar pinning an insect. Photo by Mike Dame. About Insects of the San Francisco Bay Area

This guide is part of a 20-year effort to catalog and photograph San Francisco Bay Area insects. This effort began in 1997 at the University of California, Berkeley through a project called CityBugs. The goal of CityBugs was to bridge the digital divide between students at McClymonds High School in Oakland and faculty at the University of California. The technological centerpiece was a web-based field guide. Students at McClymonds High School students were trained in the technology used to create webpages. The focus of the website was Bay Area insects. Under ISMC the goal, now, is to foster inclusiveness in an exploration of the entomological sciences. ISMC provides training, events and social media opportunities for amateurs to get credit for their work. The contributions by amateurs to the entomological sciences are phenomenal. ISMC recognizes the contributions of amateurs and provides opportunities for these contributions to be exercised, celebrated and published. Insects of the San Francisco is an effort to publish a field guide. More importantly, it is an effort to train up contributors who might otherwise not live out their dreams of participating in such an incredible science. The insects of the San Francisco Bay Area and not well known and support for their discovery, study and appreciation are the goal of the ISFBA project. ISMC is calling upon scientists, naturalists, photographers and other urban dwellers to collaborate in "Insects of the San Francisco Bay Area" (ISFBA), an entomology outreach program that will train Bay Area residents to observe, recognize, collect, mount and photograph insects. Collaborators will post results onto a social networking website and in regionally specific learning aids. Workshops and field events began in parks and other Bay Area open space in April 2012. Work on the first edition of this field guide will conclude in 2017.