Introduction

Most of the following material directly relates to the study of the various groups of organisms found mostly within the city limits of Glendora. This includes the South Hills Wilderness Area (220 acres) in the south-eastern portion of the city, plus the Big Dalton Canyon Wilderness Park, formerly called the Glendora Wilderness Park (690 acres). Many insect specimens have been collected at the West Campus of Azusa Pacific University in Azusa. The location is approximately 0.4 miles west of the Glendora boundary. The Mercury vapor flood lights here offer great opportunities for collecting.

The ultimate goal is to include all the material found on this site in one published volume, when it is completed. Most major groups of organisms are being studied and will eventually be included here, including fungi (Basidiomycetes), algae, lichens, mosses, etc. Bacteria, viruses, ricketsia and nematodes will be omitted. My only available publication is the Glendora Foothill Plant Checklist. This will eventually be completely revised in a different format and included in The Natural History of Glendora. A currant update to the plant checklist is included here.

The heavy use of abbreviations has been necessary to make the length manageable. A complete list of the general abbreviations used throughout, is included in the treatment of the birds located in the beginning section. The specific title is: Selected Bird Sightings. Abbreviations related only to specific areas will be presented there.

The elevations found within the study area range from 635 to 2,800 ft. The area has four primary plant communities: Chaparral, Coastal Sage Scrub, Southern Oak Woodland and the Freshwater Marsh. In addition, there are a number of riparian woodlands that run through the first three Communities listed above. Disturbed areas, which may be caused by a number of reasons, are dispersed throughout the general study area. Many organisms are confined to the residential neighborhoods, whereas others are strictly limited to very specialized habitats in the wilderness areas. Examples of specialized organisms include the following: aquatic organisms, parasites, saprohytes (feeding on dead or decaying organisms - many saprophytes of dead animals further specialize by feeding on either the flesh or the skin & hair, and may further be restricted to skin that is of a definite age after death of the animal), dung feeders (many specialize on the dung of only one species of animal), arthropods that live only in the highest leaves of trees, tunnel dwellers, burrowers in loose sand or in mud under the water or at the waters edge and arthropods that live in colonies of other species but do not harm them.

Most animals have a preference to the time of day they are active. Crepuscular animals include several of our snake species, some spiders, several bats and a number of insects. These are organisms that are most active at twilight hours - early morning and early evening and often are inactive in between. At least one of our bats has two roosting times with a different location for each. The absence of photographic attachments in the following will be a handicap for many users but hopefully the material presented will be useful in some way to all. Regardless of how thorough a study is carried out or how long the observations have been made, there is always room for further study and there will always be new organisms to add to the list. The following are merely intended to provide a foundation for further study and observations.