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norikonbuchan.bsky.social @norikonbuchan.bsky.social · 1d

Looks like Viola likes the book, too! ❤️

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Entomemeology @entomemeology.bsky.social · 9d

As a child Jane Goodall taught me that the least I could do was speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves. I will always be a voice for the voiceless no matter how small the creature.

Jane Goodall
4/3/1934 - 10/1/2025

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forkinthepath.bsky.social @forkinthepath.bsky.social · 17d

It's chicken of the woods aka COW season in California! This one made an unexpected appearance on this gorgeous work of art.

Hoo made it? NorCal Artist William Thomas, photographed by Sheri Oswald, and shared with her enthusiastic permission here!

#mushroomart #foraging

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norikonbuchan.bsky.social @norikonbuchan.bsky.social · 26d

Until recently @ymilesz.bsky.social taught me, I didn't know anything about the fascinating synbiotic relationship between fig trees and fig wasps. So I've been wanting to see their work in the wild, and found it on the last day of #September2025GallWeek !
www.inaturalist.org/observations...

Common Fig Wasp (Blastophaga psenes)

Common Fig Wasp from Tyler Island, Walnut Grove, CA, US on September 14, 2025 at 11:07 AM by Noriko Ito. On common fig Host observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/313985713 (Last pho...

www.inaturalist.org

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iNaturalist @inaturalist.bsky.social · Sep 10

'Tis the season to search for lumps on plants, aka galls! These growths are created in response to other organisms — often insects, fungi, or bacteria — injecting their chemicals into the plant. 🧵⤵️

Join the gall celebrations: tr.ee/ziMCEH

This gall looks like something you'd imagine a mythical fairy-like creature living in. It's shaped like a mushroom and has a small hole in the front.

The stem of a plant has a couple round growths with small holes in them.

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Ramsey Sullivan @ramzsullivan.bsky.social · Sep 1

Gall Week Sept 2025 is here! Join the event: www.inaturalist.org/projects/gal... and Gall Week Umbrella Project: www.inaturalist.org/projects/gal....

#GallWeek #iNaturalist #Gallsky #botany #entomology #CitizenScience #CommunityScience #plants #galls #BioBlitz #NatureID #PlantPathology #Ecology

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norikonbuchan.bsky.social @norikonbuchan.bsky.social · Sep 1

No, these are not berries. They are galls made by Dryocosmus castanopsidis on Chrysolepis chrysophylla. On today’s hike, it was so nice to see them in such abundance. Many of them are already dropping to the ground and getting ready to overwinter in the leaf litter.

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norikonbuchan.bsky.social @norikonbuchan.bsky.social · Aug 31

Callirhytis glandulus?

norikonbuchan.bsky.social @norikonbuchan.bsky.social · Aug 16

Last week we took a road trip to Shasta/Trinity region in Northern California and got to see a lot of cool stuff. One of the highlights was a rare #oak called #Quercus sadleriana, and its rare #galls Neuroterus sadlerensis.

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norikonbuchan.bsky.social @norikonbuchan.bsky.social · Jul 28

omg super cute!!

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Cole and Marmalade @coleandmarmalade.bsky.social · Jul 16

SIMPLE! 😸😸😸😸

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norikonbuchan.bsky.social @norikonbuchan.bsky.social · Jul 12

Uber Scavengers

www.sfgate.com/local/articl...

San Francisco seagull exhibits never-before-seen behavior, new study shows

"Where the hell did this bird go?"

www.sfgate.com

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norikonbuchan.bsky.social @norikonbuchan.bsky.social · Jul 9

A visiting cat with her favorite toy 😻 I miss having my own cat…

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norikonbuchan.bsky.social @norikonbuchan.bsky.social · Jul 1

Once in a while, I get this all-golden, red-eyed Sycophila (a parasitoid of Cynipini) females from various oak galls 🤩 I hope someday, someone gives them a well-deserved beautiful scientific name (unless they have one already).

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norikonbuchan.bsky.social @norikonbuchan.bsky.social · Jun 9

Thanks for the fun time!

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norikonbuchan.bsky.social @norikonbuchan.bsky.social · Jun 6

I know, static is bad! That’s why I usually stay away from soft-bodied insects. Handling tiny midges and moths are stressful! Wasps are more forgiving for me 😅

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norikonbuchan.bsky.social @norikonbuchan.bsky.social · Jun 6

Thanks for your advice! But don’t worry, I was watching it very carefully and also amazed how quickly that droplet evaporated in front of my eyes. I live in a very dry place.

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norikonbuchan.bsky.social @norikonbuchan.bsky.social · Jun 6

What is it like to be so small that a droplet of water is too much to drink?

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norikonbuchan.bsky.social @norikonbuchan.bsky.social · May 23

Butterfly once thought to be locally extinct emerges in San Francisco neighborhood www.sfgate.com/local/articl...

Butterfly once thought to be locally extinct emerges in SF neighborhood

Prior to urbanization, green hairstreak butterflies dominated Northern California's coastal landscape.

www.sfgate.com

norikonbuchan.bsky.social @norikonbuchan.bsky.social · May 22

I keep finding living things out of seemingly old galls so you never know!

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norikonbuchan.bsky.social @norikonbuchan.bsky.social · May 22

My spring rearing season is pretty much over and I feel like empty nesting… 😝

A sexual generation gall of Amphibolips quercuspomiformis on Quercus wislizeni. The last resident who emerged from this little house was a parasitoid.

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norikonbuchan.bsky.social @norikonbuchan.bsky.social · May 22

Hi Janna! I didn’t know that you were on Bluesky 😀 I’m pretty new to this so thanks for finding me!

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norikonbuchan.bsky.social @norikonbuchan.bsky.social · May 20

Yesterday was our first float trip of this year. A lovely day ☺️

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Alan Rockefeller @alanrockefeller.bsky.social · May 11

DNA verified Sclerotiniaceae sp. ‘CA02’ growing on a tan oak acorn in Sonoma County, California. The third known observation of this apparently rare and likely undescribed species. Sequenced by Mycota Lab.

iNat 229196445 / MO 489006

#fungi #ascomycota #macro #fungifriends

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norikonbuchan.bsky.social @norikonbuchan.bsky.social · May 7

Oh I didn’t think about that, but leafminers are really like naturally mounted slides!

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