Yesterday, I led a butterfly walk at the UC Botanical Garden. I brought a couple of hand raised butterflies to release. The Anise Swallowtail flew away immediately, but this Pipevine Swallowtail stuck around for awhile so everyone could have a look, and so Spidermom could take a picture. Thank you Spidermom! (gotta find out more about what they name means...)I explained structural color to everyone as we looked at this beautiful black butterfly with the shiny turquoise hindwings. Most colors are pigments, but the rainbows in the sky are not pigments; the color is created by the way the sunlight reflects off the drops of water. And in similar fashion, the shiny turquoise color is caused by tiny ridges in the structure of the wing that cause the sunlight to reflect only that color. CDs also have tiny ridges that create rainbows. You can tell it is not pigment, because as you move the compact disc, the rainbows move. Pigment does not move.
So, after everyone got a good look at the Pipevine Swallowtail, we walked over to the pipevine to see the caterpillars. There were several, but no large ones. We saw several different species of adults on the walk: Buckeye, Western Tiger Swallowtail, Mylitta Crescent, Skippers, and more I can't remember. People seemed to really enjoy it. I'm glad that people are coming to my butterfly walk.
5 comments:
Hi, I garden in the flats of Berkeley along Strawberry creek. I've long wanted to attract pipevine butterflies to my garden. So I've planted a few native pipe vines along the creek in addition to the couple of more exotic ones I've long grown here. Do you think they might find me on their own?
-Mark
It is thought that the eastern pipevine swallowtail expanded its range greatly to the west (many hundreds of miles) upon the opportunity afforded by cultivation of pipevines. So the hope is always they might find it on their own.
Well if you ever want to stock some more in Berkeley you're more than welcome to seed my garden with them. Otherwise I'll continue to plant pipe vine and hope for the best. Are there any sources for purchasing butterfly eggs that you know of? I'm guessing it isn't legal.
Pipevine swallowtails do occur in flatland Berkeley. I have seen them on campus and have heard reports of them in more western parts in the residential area. It is legal to sell live insects. Permits are needed to transport them across state lines. As far as I know B philenor is not endangered and no special requirements would have to be met to sell or ship them. However, I know of no sources.
Thank you very much for your informative reply. If any one out there has a source for pipevine butterfly eggs or larvae please take my money. Meanwhile I'll keep the vines coming and my fingers crossed.
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