Another overcast day, though the rain mostly held off.
Tomorrow is forecast to have even less chance of rain than today, but Wednesday, Thursday, and into Friday is looking more like an early fall event, with wind and a couple inches of rain expected around Sitka.
I spent even less time outside today, but did work on processing and labeling some recent collections. These include a couple of leaf miner collections that I’m hoping to see adult insects emerge from.
I was also a little surprised to see a bunch of larvae (maybe Mycodiplosis) feeding on the violet rust I picked up on Saturday. At the time I did’t notice any, so I suspect there were unhatched eggs, or perhaps the larvae start out so small that I couldn’t see them. I’ve only previously noticed them feeding on the rusts I’ve found on oak ferns (Gymnocarpium spp).
There moths at the porch this morning, including the first Pseudothyatira cymatophoroides and Venusia cambrica that I’ve seen this year.
I had a question sent to me about distinguishing Senecio triangularis and Saussurea americana when they’re not blooming. I’ve mostly only observed them when they’re blooming, but have a couple of ideas about how I might be able to tell them apart. I’m not sure if they’re up enough on Harbor Mountain yet, but I may get up there tomorrow to check them out before the heavier weather hits on Wednesday.
My iNaturalist Observations for Today
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