Publications

I am providing a list of the educational books and movies that I have worked on.





https://www.amazon.com/Butterfly-Papercrafts-Projects-Outdoor-Learning/dp/1508695377

My papercraft book is designed for kids about 6-10 years old. Each craft teaches a bit about butterflies: anatomy, host plants, pollination, etc. And it has many suggestions for outdoor activities so that kids become familiar with real live insects.

https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Lives-of-Monarchs/dp/B00I86UOUY

I was consulting entomologist on two films that I worked on with my brother. The short one is a Monarch lifecycle. It has fabulous detail and amazing photography. Perfect for people of all ages.



http://www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/iwild.html

The long one is all about butterflies.  Predation, conservation, butterfly gardening, etc. Wonderful closeups! Great for all ages. It has chapters, so for younger kids it can be shown a chapter at a time.

If you have any questions about my publications, or about butterflies in general, feel free to contact me.

sal.levinson@gmail.com

Pollination of Aristolochia californica

This flower is not showy. It is sort of greenish. And the maroon parts seem to blend in with the brown parts of the plant. If you are not looking for the flowers, they are easy to miss. So it is not pollinated by bees or butterflies, which usually visit colorful flowers. It is pollinated by fungus gnats. You can see the dead or unconsciousness fungus gnats a the bottom of this flower which has been cut open. They get in through the "mouth" at the upper right. Probably attracted by some mushroomy smell. They fly to the anthers, at the upper left. This part of the flower is light and bright, and they must think that they can get out that way. When they get tired out, they fall to the bottom, where they can see the light through the mouth, and find their way out when they revive. At least that is what I surmise, from looking at the flower, and knowing insect behavior. 

I have read that the insects escape when the flower wilts. However, as you can see from the faded flower below, the shape doesn't change when it wilts. So I don't see how that would work.

You can also see the fruit beginning to develop in the photo above. See the striped portion above the brown flower? That is the fruit when it is still tiny. 

I have read that fungus gnats like moist cool habitats. Which would make sense, because that is where mushrooms grow. I have noticed that pipevine plants that grow in the sun have few fruits, even if they have lots of flowers. Since the fungus gnats don't like that environment, they don't visit much, the flowers don't get pollinated, and the fruits don't develop. 

Some people think that since Pipevine swallowtails visit this plant, that they pollinate it. No, they lay their eggs on it. 

This plant has relationships with at least three different insects. The fungus gnats that pollinate it. The butterflies that lay their eggs on it. And the wasps that eat the seeds. 

And this is a poisonous plant! 

I am sure other plants have interesting relationships with many insects. But I know about this one because of the butterfly.