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'Waucoba GJVews Sponsored by The Bishop Museum & Historical Society. Bishop, Ca. 9351L, VOLUME "lFounded and Edited by Enid A. larson, Box 265, 81g Pine, Ca. 93513 No. mSubscrIptIon: Four 9" Ion 5 allped 5el f-addressed envelopes 4 issues per yearBWAl)COBA: A Paiute word for ' 'plne tree"; also nlgnest peak In Inyo Mts., 11,027 ft .

A DEFOLIATED BRANCH OF THEJEFFREY PINE

Mono County, California

Photo by D. Giuliani June 15, 1979

Near Crestview, Mono County, California, a spectacular natural history event tookplace this spring. On June 15, 1979, from the summit of Lookout Mt. east of Highway 395,I could see a corridor, stretching about 8 miles in an east-west direction and approximately miles in width, in which most of the Jeffrey Pine trees had been severely orcompletely defoliated by the action of the larvae of the Pandora MothJ Coloradia pandora.This defoliated area l ies between Mammoth Junction and DeadmauSummit immediately northof Dry Creek aud is bisected by the Highway. Caterpillars were of two sizes: most 3-4inches in length, some only 1 inch long. Most were in the trees, many moving about overthe ground. Lodgepole Pines, though not defoliated, often contained large numbet_ oflarvae,some of which were observed eating the leaves.The larvae of this moth have had a long history of use by the Paiute Indiafts ofInyo and Mono counties as a food source. According to th e Paiutes here in Big Pine,both the caterpillar and the prepared dish made from them are known as lip aug g h . ~ " ' _ , In July 1978 John Derby, Inyo National Forest Ranger, stationed at M a m m o t h ~ reportedlarge numbers of adult moths clinging to a lighted outside wall of a building at Crestview. The moth has a wing span of about 4 inches.Five caterpillars I picked up from the ground on June 15, 1979 pupated in _terrarium without soil on June 25. Jack Edell, Bishop, reported that larvae went intothe soil in his terrarium the day af te rne col1.ectedthem. Jack made many obserVations

on their movements and behavior. > \ '."""-Essig in INSECTS OF WESTERN NORTH AMERICA states that 2 years are required to C ~ ~ -plete the full l i fe cycle. Eggs are laid on Jeffrey Pine bark in May-June-July; theeggs hatch in August, and the young larvae overwinter in the tops of the trees. In the ,Spring they feed voracl.ously on the leaves, enter the ground and pupate in June and July. "'.."According to Paiutes and other residents of the area, the numbers were the greatest '.,.ever seen by them. --D. Giuliani

Editor's Note: As this issue goes to press in late July, observers have reported thatsome of the pines are already regrowing leaves so that the trees no longer looks asdevastated.

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SOME NATURE NOTES FROM ALABAMA HILLS Feb. 14, 1979 - 2 Swainson's Hawks Buteoswainsoni observed in Alabama Hills nearLone Pine.Mar 13 - A Swainson's Hawk seen in Ala Hills.Mar 20 - A Swainson's Hawk noted 1 mi E of LonePine. A gull , probably California, Laruscalifornicus, soaring mi S of Lone Pine.Mar 21 - 2 Swainson's Hawks soaring in AlaHills. 4 Turkey Vultures Cathartes aurasoared north over Lone Pine.Mar 23 - Black-throated Sparrow Amphispizabilineata in Ala Hills.Mar 31 - A Turkey Vulture soaring over AlaHills.Apr 1 - 2 Turkey Vultures soaring over AlaHills. C a ~ y o n Wren Catherpes mexicanus singingalong Tuttle Creek in Ala Hills.Apr 5 - Black-chinned Hummingbird Archilochusalexandri in Ala Hills.Apr 7 - Bullock's Oriole Icterus bulloc1diseen in Lone Pine.Apr 12 - Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Polioptilacaerulea in Ala Hills.Apr 14 - American Goldfinches Spinus tr ls tusand Orange-crowned Warbler Vermivora celatain Ala Hills.Apr 17 - 16 gulls, probably California,soaring S of Bishop.Apr 18 - 20 Bonaparte's Gulls Larus phil-adelphia rafting on Diaz Lake S of Lone Pine.Apr 20 - Empidonax sp.and Chipping SparrowSpizella passerina in Ala Hills.Apr 23 - An hour's visi t to Diaz Lake produced the following observations:2 male, 1 female Western Tanagers PirangaludovicianaMany Western Kingbirds Tyrannus vert ical is.2 MacGillivray's Warblers Oporonis tolmei.Many Wilson's Warblers wilsonia pusil la.A Myrtle Warbler Dendroica coronata.2 Great Horned Owls Bubo virginianus,f i rs t seen Feb. 24, Female s t i l l on the nest,male roosting in large cottonwood nearby.3 Ash-throated Flycatchers Hyiarchuscinerascens.1 male, e female Black-headed GrosbeaksPheucticus melanocephalus. Apr 24 - Sma},l' flock of Pinyon Jays Gymno- rhinus c y a n o c ~ p h a l u s flying N over Ala Hills. Turkey V u l t u r , ~ soaring 5 mi N of Independence. A Sphinx Moth" ? Celerio sp. in Ala. Hills hovering around Lycium Cooperi and feeding by iD&erting long tongue into blossoms. Apr 30 - 3 flocks of Pinyon Jays (100+) flying N through Ala Hills. Mourning Dove Zenaidura macroura in Ala Hills. May 1 - Flock. of 17 Pinyon Jays flying N through Ala Halls. May 3 - 6 f 1 ~ 1 t s (335+, 1 flock over 200) Pinyon Jays flying N through Ala Hills. Townsend's ~ a r b 1 e r Dendroica townsendi and Warbling Vireo Vireo gilvus in Ala Hills. May 4 - 7 floc1ts (330+, 1 flock over 100) of Pinyon Jays flying N through Ala Hills. May 5 - 4 Turkey Vultures circling over Lone Pine. May 11 - 5 flocks (115+) of Pinyon Jays flying N through Ala Hills. Yellow Warbler Dendroica petechia noted at' Diaz Lake. May 12 - A flock of 10+ Pinyon Jays flying N over Lone Pine. May 16 - 2 Pinyon Jays flying N over Lone Pine.

May 17 - A flock of 10 gulls, probablyCalifornia, flying N a ~ i 1 e E of Lone Pine.A pair of Lazuli Buntings Passerina amoenaand Phainopep1as Phainopepla nitens, and.asmall flock of Cedar Waxwings Bombycillacedrorum 1 mi N of Lone Pine.May 19 - A Scott 's Oriole Icterus pari-sorum among Joshua Trees Yucca brevifolia2 mi NW of Darwin.May 20 - 2 Turkey Vultures soaring N ofIndependence.May 25 - Bullock's Oriole road kil l examined in Independence. Barn Owl Tyto albaroad ki l l examined 6 mi N of Lone Pine.May 28 - Blue Grosbeak Guiraca caeruleain Ala Hills.May 29 - Swainson's Hawk soaring in Ala Hills.May 30 - Turkey Vulture soaring in Ala Hills.Jun 1 - Turkey Vulture soaring in Ala Hills.June 12 - Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensisnest high up a cl i ff in Ala Hills. The pairwere quite disturbed by my presence nearbybelow the nest. Turkey Vulture in Ala Hills.Jun 14 - Lesser Nighthawk Chordeiles acuti-pennis in Ala Hills.

Vincent Yoder, Lone PineE. GANN, Bishop: Reported that he located andobserved 6 nests of the Long-eared Owlduring early Spring, 1979

i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i iRECOMMENDED READINGA report from the ongoing research of Shermanand Morton gives an introduction to the natural history of the Belding Ground Squirrel.See: Am . Mus. Nat. Hist. MagaztneJUQe/Ju1y1979, vo1.88, no. 6. This magazine is available in county libraries. Sherman and Mortonbased this account on their 10 years of fieldobservations of colonies of ground squirrelsnear Tioga Pass. The Belding lives in thehigh subalpine meadows of the Sierra and i tsindividuals are commonly seen standing as

"picket pins" or darting into their undergroundburrows. The photographs of this squirrel whichaccompany the article are excellent. A bibliography of the published papers by these authorshas been included; their scientific papers maybe consulted by requesting the publishingjournal on interlibrary loan.Among the interesting findings of these fieldworkers reported in FOUR MONTHS OF THE GROUNDSQUIRREL:Females spend their l ives near their female kilBelding females recognize their close kinFood is not cached; energy stored as bodyfat carries them through long hibernationCooperation is a part of their way of l i fe .--Reviewed by Enid A. Larson

i i i iU i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i iWAUCOBA NEWS is prepared and printed at the expense of the editor as a PUBLIC SERVICE andas a contribution to the NATURAL HISTORY ofthe eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada.Donations allow for the photos.The Bishop Museum and Historical Society aidsby distributing copies to i ts paid members:

$5.00 annual dues.Envelopes, stamped and self-addressed, 9 x 4inches, which you send to Big Pine reach theaddressee direct from the editor.