Naturalist Training - Leaf Miners, Galls, and Other Creatures on Plants During our 3rd Naturalist Training presentation, we will explore some of the fascinating and little-known creatures that live on plants. Galls are small structures induced by insects (usually) on many plant species, they may look like pink stars, fussy hairs, or apples. Leaf miners are tiny fly or moth larva that live between the two layers of the leaf. And there are many others, if you just look closely! This is part 3 of an ongoing series. Part 1 - Community Science and Introduction to iNaturalist can be found at https://youtu.be/ty2Fu7Trz8o Part 2 - A Deeper Dive into Inaturalist can be found at https://youtu.be/_7kJBpDutpg Co-hosts are Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful and BioBlitz Club Recording date 9/27/23 == RESOURCE LIST - Merav Vonshak merav.von@gmail.com - Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/bioblitz.club/ - Website https://www.bioblitz.club/, including a short discussion about useful gadgets here. - iNaturalist website: https://www.inaturalist.org == BOOKS - Secrets of the Oak Woodlands: Plants and Animals among California's Oaks, Kate Marianchild 2013 - Leafminers of North America – 2nd Edition – 2022 Charley Eiseman - http://charleyeiseman.com/leafminers/. - Plant Galls of the Western United States, Russo 2021 - Tracks & Sign of Insects and Other Invertebrates: A Guide to North American Species, Eiseman & Charney, 2010 - Nature's Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard, Douglas Tallamy, 2020 == WEBSITES - Homegrown National Park @ https://homegrownnationalpark.org/ by Douglas Tallamy, including a native plant finder and other resources - California Native Plant Society @ https://calscape.org/: find the perfect native plant to support life in your yard - The Xerces Society @ https://www.xerces.org/ == PODCASTS - Jumpstart Nature podcast @ https://jumpstartnature.com/category/podcast-episodes/ : The 1st episode will be released on 10/2, and it’s about the yard of the future. - Nature’s Archive podcast @ https://podcast.naturesarchive.com: Episode 79 is about Pollinator Friendly Yards @ https://podcast.naturesarchive.com/2023/09/11/pollinatorfriendlyyards/ - Science Friday: A recent segment about native bees and their relationship with native bees @ https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/local-native-bees/ == iNATURALIST PROJECTS Most of these are manual projects. To contribute observations, please join the project, and then manually select it from the project list. - The wonderful diversity of life on Coast Live Oak: @ https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/the-wonderful-diversity-of-life-on-coast-live-oak -- Our new project, created as an outcome of the presentation @ https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/local-native-bees/ - South Bay BioBlitzes A project including all 108 BioBlitz Club events! @ https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/south-bay-bioblitz-events - Galls of North America: For the entire continent @ https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/galls-of-north-america - Galls of California: California galls only @ https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/galls-of-california - Gall Week Umbrella Project A seasonal event documenting galls from around the world @ https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/gall-week-umbrella-project - Leafminers of North America iNaturalist project @ https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/leafminers-of-north-America == UPCMOMING EVENTS - Fall BioBlitz at the Palo Alto Baylands, Saturday, 10/14, from 9-11 am We’ll document the fall migration together, as well as Baylands plants, insects, and so much more! This event is with Environmental Volunteers. Info & RSVP @ https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fall-baylands-bioblitz-with-environmental-volunteers-tickets-686128568017 - BioBlitz at Coyote Creek Trail near McCarthy Rd, Sunday, 10/22, from 9:00-11:30 am This is a favorite fall event location, with migrating birds, beautiful spiders ready for Halloween, and more. This event is with KCCB. Info & RSVP @ https://www.eventbrite.com/e/coyote-creek-trail-bioblitz-registration-717040025017?aff=bb - North Coyote Valley Conservation Area (Laguna Seca), Sunday, 11/5, from 9-12 This event is with SCVAS. Info & RSVP @ https://www.bioblitz.club/event-info/north-coyote-valley-conservation-area-laguna-seca-november-bioblitz - Hellyer Park Fall BioBlitz, Saturday, 11/11, from 9-11:30 This event is with KCCB. More info and link will be available later on BioBlitz.club

This webinar was recorded during the Lorquin Entomological August 2023 meeting. Galls are intriguing plant structures induced by insects (usually), creating a sheltered home for the larval stages of the inducing organism. Galls have diverse and sometimes incredible shapes and colors, and their natural history is equally fascinating, with complex life cycles, tiny opportunistic parasitoids, and more! Dr. Merav Vonshak (Ecologist and Founder of BioBlitz Club) and Michael Hawk (Founder, Jumpstart Nature and host of Nature's Archive podcast) talk about gall biology, common host plants and gall inducers. They discuss how you can find and identify galls, with numerous examples including gall look-alikes.

Naturalist Training - A Deeper Dive into iNaturalist During the second presentation we will discuss how to make better observations, add them into projects, and how to add fields, tags, and annotations. All these features will help your observations stand out, and will make it easier for experts (and you!) to find it and use it. We will also demonstrate how to efficiently search and filter observations. All these features will not only improve the "quality" of your observations, but also your ability to learn from the process. This is Part 2 of a new series of naturalist presentations. Part 1 can be found at https://youtu.be/ty2Fu7Trz8o Co-hosts are Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful and BioBlitz Club Recording date 8/23/23 Resource List from Merav Vonshak - Merav Vonshak merav.von@gmail.com - Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/bioblitz.club/ - Website https://www.bioblitz.club/, including a short discussion about useful gadgets here. Some local organizations with great community science programs: - Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful – https://www.keepcoyotecreekbeautiful.... - Sequoia Audubon Society – https://www.sequoia-audubon.org/ - California Academy of Sciences – https://www.calacademy.org/citizen-sc... - Wholly H2O – https://whollyh2o.org/