Tiny Termite Swarmers from Groveland
Specimens collected by Ryles Richards, 26 May 2020, on Breckenridge ion PML, Groveland, in the house. The customer said the termites appeared to be coming up from between the carpet and the flooring.
Swarmers, who have dropped their wings.
We are still trying to get an ID on these.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S030504919700237X#!
is an article suggesting a new species is out there. We are on the lookout for a colony.
Oak groundling moth larvae from inside a common eumenid wasp nest
Ryles Richards took these photos of the contents of a common eumenid wasp nest he treated in Groveland, California.
The green worms are the oak groundling moth larvae. They were blown out of the nest by an aerosol treatment.
12 May 2020.
Tiny Subterranean Termite Swarmers
From Toyon Ct, Tuolumne City. Early May, 2020.
These specimens are about 3 mm long.
Thanks to Dr. Vernard Lewis for the ID. Dr. Lewis points out that these might represent specimens of an undescribed species, as proposed by Haverty and Nelson in 1997.
We contacted Dr. Lori Nelsom, one of the authors of the 1997 paper, Cuticular Hydrocarbons of Reticulitermes (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) from Northern California Indicate Undescribed Species.
She said it is possible that these tiny termites are indeed one of undescribed species. I called the customer and asked for more details. He said the termites had come from a beam near the roof and that there were winged termites on the roof. So maybe these are drywood termites?
Mouse tries to make off with almond from trap
Ryles Richards took these photos of a deer mouse he caught in a trap baited with an almond. The mouse manged to get the almond off the bait pedal of a Victor mouse snap trap. But he wasn’t fast enough. The almond can be seen in the mouse’s mouth.
Groveland, Ca, 6 May 2020.
