Milk thistle (Silybum marianum) is an aggressive invasive species not native to California. In Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve (formerly Ahmanson Ranch) it seems to be increasingly abundant, particularly in the aftermath of the Topanga Fire. Last year, in some areas of Upper Las Virgenes Canyon, it grew thick as corn and more than head high.
Like the Star Lily, Large Flowered Phacelia (Phacelia grandiflora) appears to be a “fire follower,” blooming in the Simi Hills in the aftermath of the Topanga Fire.
Tarantula Hawks are among the largest of wasps, and are said to have one of the most painful stings of any insect. As chilling as any science fiction, female tarantula hawks hunt, attack and paralyze a tarantula, and then use the spider’s inert — but still living — body as a host for the wasp’s egg and developing larva.
Males have straight antennae, and females curled antennae. This may be because the long, showy antennae of the male would be a serious liability when battling a tarantula. The title photo is of a male on a narrow-leaf milkweed (Asclepias fascicularis) at the start of the Chumash Trail in Simi Valley. Here’s another photo, taken in Las Llajas canyon by runner Lynn Longan, in which a female tarantula hawk has just attacked and paralyzed a tarantula.
Several good runs start at the Chumash trailhead, and many variations are possible. It’s 2.6 miles up the trail to Rocky Peak Rd, and from there you can do out and backs north or south along the fire road, or loops via Las Llajas canyon, the Hummingbird Trail, or the Lower Stagecoach Trail. (Photo from a run on September 14, 2005.)
Related post: Sting of the Tarantula Hawk, Chumash Trail Training
Star Lily (Zigadenus fremontii) at Sage Ranch. This species appears to be a “fire follower.” In recent weeks it has been very common in some parts of the Topanga Fire area.
Snow highlights skeletal fingers of burned chaparral along the Chumash Trail in eastern Simi Valley. The chaparral was burned in the 2003 Simi Fire. More info and a couple of additional photos can be found in my Coyote Oak Journal entry Chaparral Snow.
Related post: Chumash Trail Rocks & Snow (December 2008)
Snapshot of deer at Malibu Creek State Park. This group was in about the same location on consecutive weekends. Malibu Creek State Park is about 30 minutes from downtown Los Angeles.