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Recently Asked
“Hi- I live in Carp and always collect sea glass - the other day I came upon an object that has me curious if it is an old piece of pottery. It seems like old clay -- very smooth on one side with a sli...”
Amy, Carpinteria - December 5, 2022
“Hi there,
I recently found 2 shells near the capitola beach. I assumed that they were the same species, but I don't know which. I also don't know how old they are, if they are fossilized, and if they...”
Ani, Fremont, Ca - December 3, 2022
“Hello there,
This afternoon, I noticed this large spider outside on the bench on my porch.
I live in Lompoc, and I have seen quite a few different species of spiders in my garden, but I have never...”
Sara, Northern Lompoc - November 11, 2022
“Thank you very much again for the recent help with the fungus ID. I now have another request, an entomological one this time. These little ones have been hanging out in the bathroom lately. I though...”
Daryl, Santa Barbara - October 5, 2022
“What type of moth do you think this might be? It was the length of maybe a pinky finger.”
Kevin, Santa Barbara County - September 22, 2022
“I wondered if you think this could belong to a Mud Dauber Wasp. It's about 3-4 inches at the widest point. It seemed to get constructed very quickly, but I did not see the insect that built it. As wel...”
Kevin, Santa Barbara - August 24, 2022
“Hello,
I need a little direction as where to go to get some fossil shells identified and dated. The shells are from Platform Heritage (offshore from Gaviota) and 3-4 thousand feet deep in the formati...”
Robert, Gaviota Coast - July 23, 2022
“Hello Dr. Gimmel, I found this bug on the kitchen counter this morning. It's about 3/16" long. I took this picture with a basic digital microscope.
I've been looking online and trying to identify i...”
Gary, Santa Barbara - July 23, 2022
“Can you identify this organism found on Butterfly Beach?”
Julie, Montecito, CA - July 6, 2022
“I wonder if I might trouble you for an insect ID. Is this a Northern Walkingstick?
This individual was on the wall of my office building (here at UCSB). You never know what you'll see on the wall of...”
Kevin, UCSB - July 1, 2022
“Trying to find out what this is...
Thank you”
Layton, Santa Barbara - June 28, 2022
“Hello,
I have been unable to identify this caterpillar I found on the underside of a jade plant. Can you please tell me what it is?
Thanks!
Leslie”
Leslie, Riviera - June 27, 2022
“I saw a weird bug with 8 legs and two of them were really big. It was about 2 inches long.”
Flora, Nipomo, CA - May 30, 2022
“Hi!My daughter saw an interesting beetle at school (in Temecula, California), and she asked me if I knew what type of beetle it was. She took a photo of it with her phone (please see the attached imag...”
Scott, Murrieta, California - May 20, 2022
“Saw this on my front door today, is there an arachnologist you know who can identify it? It was a bigger spider than I typically see around here roughly the size of the largest wolf spiders I see here...”
Hans, Newbury Park, CA - May 6, 2022
“just read the answer you gave in 2020 regarding the interaction between the monarch caterpillars and the tachinid flies. We do not raise monarchs but have milkweed in an area of the garden, butterf...”
juliet, Malibu, CA - April 19, 2022
“When it is low tide at "my" tidepool (Rincon Point) I see such a wonderful variety of creatures, with and without shells. Can you point me to a web site or app that would help me identify who I am see...”
Sue, Carpinteria - February 4, 2022
“Hello- Would you know what type of shells these are? More importantly, I found them buried about 12 to 15 inches in a pit we dug for a fence post. I've also found many other smaller shards at various...”
Phil, Goleta, CA - January 10, 2022
“Hello, this funny little bug crawled up onto my phone a few days ago and we have no idea what it is. I’ve asked around and nobody has been able to figure it out. I was hoping you could pass the pictur...”
Domanique, Santa Barbara - December 8, 2021
“Do you know what these are? There are several clusters on one of our tomato plants.”
Jane, Santa Barbara - November 23, 2021