Anita363's photostream  

Indian Runner-type feral mallards. Just ran across this shot in the archives. I remember these being pretty common in Calif, but haven't really been seeing them in NJ. Wonder if they prefer the hotter climate, or if I just haven't happened to run across them.

Uploaded in hopes of getting an ID, & loarie on iNaturalist came thru. Still not sure as to species. Possibilities:

A. pycnantha
A. retinodes
A. melanoxylon
A. paradoxa (Wikipedia: well known noxious weed in CA)
A. redolens

Chapparal headland, LA area.

Stumbled across this one in the archives. Chapparal/sandy flats, catchment basin natural area. Thanks to Ken-ichi for the ID.

This was taken in December; must have been a very dry winter.

8.8 mm head to wingtip, 6.5 mm head to tip of abdomen. NJ first on BugGuide; there are 1 record each from PA & MA, both April, & a fall record from DE. We've had very mild winter & unseasonably early spring, with weather during the day into the 70's. Genus ID via the wavy A2 vein (see BugGuide); Chen Young's page (iz.carnegiemnh.org/cranefly/limoniinae.htm#Erioptera_%28S...) says S. cana is "the first species to appear in the spring, when most vegetation has not yet started growing. They are common and abundant in the spring in nearly all wooded habitats and open grasslands."

This one was giving me fits; finally found it by searching BugGuide for Noctuidae records from March in NJ, PA, & NY.