Thursday, November 28, 2013

I Can't Believe They're Still Here!

 The scene, a California Black Oak by my driveway that has been essentially leafless for a month.  I walked to this spot to take one last look at the mushrooms growing in the shade a few yards into the forest.  On a whim, I checked a few low-hanging branches, and was shocked to find some clusters of Oak Treehoppers still hanging on.  The temperature in mid-afternoon was barely above freezing, and it went several degrees below for several nights previously. 
 Here we have adults of both color patterns, the olive drab with yellow spots on the left and a couple with longitudinal red and white stripes on top of the branch.  The ones with horizontal black, red and white stripes are juveniles.
 A lone adult, pointing toward the ground.  I wonder if she'll jump.
A nice group of adults hanging beneath the branch.  They were too cold to try to hide behind the branch.  That made the photography easier.  This was an exciting interval before I took off for a tour of American Valley to see what might need to be photographed, and also to stop to feed my friend's cat.

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