Youth Education Program

of San Francisco Botanical Garden Society

Web of Life Walk

Animals in SFBG

INVERTEBRATES
Earthworm

Bees Honeybees and

bumblebees

Wasps (Paper Nest)

Yellow Jackets

HOW IT RELATES TO
PLANTS

WHERE & WHEN TO

FIND IN SFBG

Mixes up soil and breaks

into fine pieces. Often
pulls dead leaves into soil
and aids decay. Burrows lets air into soil and helps
water drain.
80% of plants today are
pollinated by bees. Over
60 food crops in CA are
pollinated by honeybees.

Comes to surface at
night to mate like slugs
and snails. Worms are
both male and female
but still have to mate to
lay eggs.
Honeybees: Usually
seasonal behavior late
fall & winter, if cold stay
in hive or nest. Feed
when warm. Breed in
early spring.
Bumblebees: Come out
to feed anytime.
In autumn, queen stops
egg laying so workers go
out to find sweet things.

Queen and workers use

wood or tree. Chew to
paste that dries as paper
for nest materials.
Build nests (open-faced
combs) in debris, hollow
logs, soil cavities.

WHAT EATS IT

WHAT IT EATS

OTHER TIDBITS

Birds.

Eats soil to obtain small

pieces of decaying plant
and animal food. Soil
comes out as worm
casts.

No eyes, ears or nose.

Skin can feel light. Also
can feel vibrations of the
ground.

People. Yellow jackets,

wax moths, vertebrate
raiders prey on
honeybees.

Pollen and nectar.

Special adaptation on
hind legs to collect
pollen. Honey is stored
food for adults and
pollen is for larvae and
young.

Bees first appeared 100

million years ago.
Became major force in
reproduction of plants 65
million years ago.

Wasps die in cold

weather. Queen sleeps
until spring.

Caterpillars, fruit,
flowers.

Wasps were the first

makers of paper.

Colonies become quite

large by late summer and
fall.

Raccoons and skunks

destroy nests and eat
the insects.

Voracious workers
attack everything from
nesting insects to picnic
foods.
Hunt and eat other
insects. Adults can see
40 feet away. Nymphs
eat small animals in
water.

Most abundant and

troublesome wasp in CA.
Vicious defenders of the
nest.
Among oldest insects on
earth. 4,500 species of
dragonflies & close
relative damselflies. Used
to be 3 across before
birds & flowering plants
appeared.
Web is fluid protein
exuded by spinnerets on
lower side of body and
then hardening to silk in

Dragonflies

Plants create habitat.

Most of life spent as
nymphs hiding in mud or
among weeds
underwater.

Dwarf conifer pond.

Nature trail pond.

Nymphs eaten by frogs

and turtles. Birds eat
dragonflies in adult form.

Spider (orb weaver & garden)

Uses plants to prop

webs. Spiders can be in
silk case covered by leaf
in upper corner of web.

Orb weavers spin at

night and wait for flying
insects on warm bright
days. Sept & Oct very

Birds.

Lives entirely on liquid

diet pours enzyme over
insect which dissolves
soft tissues.

Water strider

Lay eggs on trailing water

plants.

Crayfish (most likely the

invasive signal crayfish)

Eat plants

Amphipod (hoppers)

Recycles leaves.

Centipede

Protects plants from

harmful insects.

Millipede
Pillbug (roly-poly) and sowbug

Recycles dead and

decaying plants. Can be
destructive to crops.
Breaks down plant
matter into small bits so
even smaller creatures
can feed.

Slugs (no shell) and snails (with

shells)

Feeds on plant materials.

Destructive to crops.

REPTILES/AMPHIBIANS/FISH
Mosquito fish

Plants provide cover.

large, colorful backs

red to yellowish striped
legs. Can disappear with
winter storms.
Year round more in
spring & summer in any
shallow pond or stream
such as Redwood Forest.

Web of Life
Animals in SFBG
air. Hummingbirds &
bushtits use webs as nest
materials.
Dragonflies eat larvae of
water striders.

Feed on mosquito larvae

& other small insects.
Beak to pierce prey, suck
up juices. Enzyme
secretion from straw-like
stylets out of beak.

Though they live in the

water, they are more
often seen when they
cross wet lawn areas.
Primarily summer and
fall, under logs and in
leaf duff.
Live in damp places,
under logs, stones, bark
and heaps of dead
leaves.
In damp places, under
logs, stones, bark & dead
leaves.
Under logs, leaves in
spring, summer & fall.
Winter (cold) crawls into
sheltering cracks and
remains quiet until
spring.
In high moisture
conditions and humidity,
hides during the day in
soil cracks.

Humans, egrets,
snapping turtles,
raccoons, possums

Omnivore and
scavenger, eats plant
material, snails, small
fish
Leaves, decaying plant
material-can digest
cellulose.
Harmful insects and their
larvae.

Small ponds Dwarf

Conifer and Nature Trail.

Wild jumping is defense

against predators.
Birds.

Body covered with tiny

hairs. Front short legs for
grasping. Middle legs
very long, serve as oars
with only tips touching
water. Hind legs steer.
True bug.
Relatives of lobsters,
crabs and shrimp.

Terrestrial crustaceans
related to sand fleas.
Two legs on each
segment more than 14
legs. Can have painful
bite.
Four legs on each
segment. Curl into tight
spiral in self-defense.
Land crustacean, close
relative of lobster &
shrimp. 14 legs.
Sometimes turn blue due
to viral infection.

Raccoons

Dead & decaying plants

sometimes crop plants.

Spiders, birds. Pillbug has

hard coat of armor, soft
underside so rolls up for
protection. Sowbug
cannot roll up.

Dead plants.

Raccoons, lizards,
spiders. People.

Fruits and vegetables;

leaves.

Similar to clams &

mussels; produce large
amounts of protective
mucous.

Raccoons, egret/heron.

Feed on mosquitoes, etc.

at surface.

Minnow family (incl.

carp, goldfish, chub).
Young born alive. Males

Turtle (red-eared slider,

western pond turtle)

Snapping turtle

Frog (red-legged)

BIRDS
Mallard Duck

American Widgeon

Bufflehead

Cold-blooded. Soak up
sun on rocks, mats of
dead tule, logs, pond
banks. Use water to cool
down.
Omnivorous, eats plant
material.

Ponds, especially
Wildfowl Pond. During
winter, they dig
themselves into holes in
soft pond bottoms.
One large individual
rarely spotted basking on
rocks in the Wildfowl
Pond.

People, egrets (eat

young), raccoons (eat
eggs)

Plants create habitat and

provide cover.

Near water Noble Pond;

CA Native Plants Pond,
next to nursery chain link
fence; the Nature Trail.
Nocturnal and diurnal.

Raccoons, owls, giant

salamanders,
carnivorous bull frogs,
people.

Insects, beetles,
caterpillars and isopods.
Feeds when it detects
movement.

Most food is vegetative

matter. Nests in gardens
near ponds. Female
dull mottled brown. Male
green head, blue
speculum.
Dabbler that walks on
land legs placed
forward and no lobe on
back toe. Widgeon
makes room for new
growth by eating plants.
Droppings act as
fertilizer.
Diver duck that is seldom
seen on land legs set
farther back. Flap on toe
helps to swim. Must get
running start to fly. Lay
eggs in tree holes.

Year round. Near Dwarf

Conifer Pond, Asian
Pond, Nature Trail Pond
and Wildfowl Pond.

People. Raccoons,
skunks eat eggs,
snapping turtle, coyotes
and foxes take young.

Seeds and sedges. Likes

rice crops, grain, corn
and other agricultural
crops.

Strong, fast flyers can

dive even though
dabblers. Mallards are
ancestors of domestic
ducks.

Big Pond.

Raccoons eat eggs.

Aquatic plants wild

celery, eat grass, roots,
food from humans.

Males have brown

bodies, grayish head,
white crown and green
face patch.

Year-round in Big Pond.

People.

Dive constantly to feed

on small fish and other
small animals.

Quite tame in wild.

Breeding male white,
shiny black back, large
white patch on head.
Female white oval
below and behind eye.

People.

Scavengers of the pond

community. Pond weed
stems, algae, small fish,
tadpoles, earthworms,
soft insects.
Voracious omnivore and
scavenger, eats plants
and invertebrates, fish,
other turtles, birds,
mammals.

Web of Life
Animals in SFBG
smaller than females.
Sliders pet turtles let go
by people who wont
care for them. Western
Pond native and must
be submerged to eat.
This large turtle is often
mistaken for a rock when
basking. Powerful beak
used for defense since it
cannot retract into its
shell.
Rana Aurora. CA native,
2-5 inches in length can
jump 3 feet. Tadpole is 3
in total length.

Web of Life
Animals in SFBG
Mew is smaller than
Western. Adult has
grayish back, white front,
red dot on lower
mandible of yellow bill,
pink feet.
Ponds, but sometimes
found hunting gophers
on the lawn
Feathers in hats. DDT
endangered - comeback
since DDT banned in
1972. Snowy Egret
small black bill, yellow
legs. Great Egret has
yellow bill, dark legs.
Average life-span is about
a year and three months;
has around 3,000
feathers
Male jet black with
purplish sheen on head,
yellow eye, pointed bill;
female dull brown.
Annas two-part buzz
song. Iridescent red
forehead and throat.
Allens Buzz call. Green
cap, red throat.

Gull (Western and Mew)

Nets in grass or seaweed.

Anytime, primarily at the

Big Pond.

Sea lions, sharks.

Basic diet of fish, steal

food from & eat young
birds. Omnivorous can
eat garbage. Visitors
feed.

Great blue heron

Nest in trees using plant

material.

Occasional visitor at all

ponds and waterworks.

Raccoons eat eggs. High

on food chain.

Small fish, frogs and

other aquatic animals.

Egrets (Snowy and greater)

Nest in trees using plant

material.

Egrets year round. All

ponds and waterworks.

Raccoons eat eggs. High

on food chain.

Small fish, frogs and

other aquatic animals.

Robin

Disperses seeds/new
plants.

Most areas.

Feral cats.

Brewers Blackbird

Nests in trees.

Year round everywhere

especially around main
pond in flocks.

Raccoons eat eggs.

Eats worms in breeding

season; otherwise eats
worms and fruits, holly
elderberry.
Primarily insects, also
seeds.

Hummingbirds (Annas and

Allens)

Great pollinators of red

and yellow flowers. Tiny,
tightly woven nest cup
on sheltered branch of
pine, redwood. Uses
lichen and spider webs as
nest material.
Nests in scrub using moss
and other material.
Buries seeds then
forgets.

Annas year-round,
especially succulent
garden.
Allens Summer
resident, winters in W.
Mexico.

Hawks, feral cats.

Nectar from agave, aloe,

eucalyptus flowers,
many others. Insects for
protein.

Year-round resident
anywhere in the Garden.
Several around
Fragrance, Demo and CA
Native Gardens.

Hawks.

Seeds and nuts, other

bird eggs. May eat
peanuts out of human
hands.

Rounded, crestless head

sets it apart; 20 different
call types

Nests in grass or shrubs

using plant material.
Uses low brush area for

Year-round resident of
the Garden. CA Native
garden, W. Australia and

Hawks, feral cats.

Acorns, seeds,
sometimes insects.

The Garden is home to

the last breeding group in
Golden Gate Park. Flock

Scrub Jay

Quail

cover.

Song sparrow

Nests in shrubs around

marshes, using plant
material.

Downy woodpecker

Nests in tree holes, agave

stalks. Can control pests.

Fox sparrow

Uses brush for cover.

Nests in shrubs using
plant material.

Succulent Garden inclu.

Salt Bush hedge.
Year-round near water.
Big Pond, and especially
Nature Trail Pond.

Web of Life
Animals in SFBG
or covey, up to 10-20.
Feral cat; blue jay eats
eggs.

Insects, seeds.

Succulent Garden. Trees

throughout the Garden,
especially pines around
Nature Trail.
Fall, winter resident.
Found on ground in
thickets, especially
around Nature trail.

Raccoons eat eggs. Feral

cats.

Eats insects, often leans

back to look for food.

Feral cat.

Seed eater scratches

ground in distinctive
manner using both feet.

Furlined pouches or
pockets inside cheeks for
carrying plants to
underground storage.
Aerates and helps
improve soil, mixing in
organic matter.

All over year round,

especially main lawn
look for fan-shaped hill
with plug. Most active in
spring due to abundant
plant material.

It is eaten by feral cats,

garter snakes, weasels,
and foxes. It is flea
infested.

It eats grass, roots, nuts,

buds, bulbs, tubers and
farm vegetables.

Mole (Broad-footed)

Pushes way through soil

aerates. Damages
plants by exposing or
breaking up roots &
lifting them up.

Signs of moles are ridgelike tunnels which are

used only once. Earth is
pushed to surface in
symmetrical mounds.

It is eaten by feral cats

and foxes.

It eats insects and their

larvae, earthworms, and
occasionally bulbs.

Squirrel (Eastern Gray)

Eastern Gray displaced

Western Gray native
which cannot tolerate
crowding. Extensive
damage to plants. Bark
and stick nests high in
trees. Bury nuts and
forgets them.

Where people eat lunch

and/or feed them; demo
garden, Asian and Main
Ponds most active on
warm days.

Owls, foxes, dogs, feral

cats, hawks, raccoons,
weasels, pests and
parasites. Automobiles.

Acorns. People feed

them peanuts, popcorn.

MAMMALS
Gopher (Bottas Pocket)

Heavy brown streaking

on white under parts
prominent central breast
spot in adults. Pumps
long, round tail in flight.
Small year-round
resident white back,
small red patch on males
back of neck.
Looks like dull song
sparrow. Lower bill
yellow, dark upper.

It is vicious when
cornered. Gopher
comes from the French
word gaufre meaning
honeycomb. This
solitary creature makes
honeycombs
underground.
Adapted to subterranean
life, eyes are vestigial.
Senses through long
bristles of snout. Fur lies
flat either direction so
can run
forward/backwards.
Introduced in 1930s.
Tails helps with balance,
act as parachute, provide
warmth. Brownish coat in
summer.

Raccoon

Red fox

Coyote

Dens in tree hollows,

climbs for protection.
Digs up fresh sod and
bulb plants looking for
grubs.
Dig dens under roots of
trees.

All over, anytime.

Crotches of trees, paths
of the Garden. Adapted
to daylight, feels safe.

Dogs, foxes, wolves.

Woodlands, farms;
Native garden and John
Muir Trail at the Garden.

Wolves, coyotes, eagles,

bear.

Dig dens under roots of

trees.

Adapt to habitats; West

end of the Garden.

Wolves, mountain lions,

bears, humans.

Frogs, crayfish, grubs,

slugs, berries, seeds, bird
eggs, small animals,
garbage Dangerous to
approach to feed.
Rabbits, rodents,
beetles, fruit, insects and
worms.

Omnivores that vary diet

with the seasons from
flowers and insects to
cactus fruit and lizards,
birds and snakes.

Web of Life
Animals in SFBG
Have opposable thumbs,
40 teeth and do not
hibernate, but sleep for
weeks at a time.
Non-native with
incredible sense of
hearing. Hunt alone or in
small packs. Bushy, blacktipped tail.
Weigh between 15-25
lbs. and live an average
of 12 years.