Grass Skippers

I have Ehrharta growing in my backyard. It is a very common weed. It was brought to the UC Berkeley campus on the shoes of researchers, and has spread everywhere. Including my yard. The Grass Skippers love it. They lay their eggs on the underside of the leaves. 

The eggs are white and pretty easy to find. The caterpillars sew themselves into a leafy tube. I think the Ehrharta makes this easy to do because the blades are soft and wide. They are not much fun to raise because the caterpillars are generally hiding. But it is not that hard. 

Grass skippers are kind of brownish/orangeish butterflies. People ask me, "Are those butterflies?" Maybe because they are not showy. Yes, they are butterflies. Most day-flying lepidoptera are butterflies. They also ask, "What are those butterflies with four wings?" This really confused me at first. All butterflies have four wings, but given the way they hold them, I guess people think they have two. When skippers land, they look different. They often hold their wings in four separate planes so that you can see them clearly. So, the butterflies "with four wings" are skippers. 

Ehrharta

There are other skippers, like the common checkered skipper. It is gray and white. It doesn't hold its wings in four separate planes. And it lays its eggs on mallows. Completely different from grass skippers. 

Umber Skipper

And there are several different grass skippers in this area. Fiery and Umber are the most common. And they are difficult to tell apart, so I don't even try. I don't understand why the spellings are 

F-I-R-E and F-I-E-R-Y. They are both all about fire. Weird!

Ehrharta

And I don't understand the spelling of Ehrharta either. It sounds more like "air harta." Must not be derived from English. 

Grass Skippers do use other grasses, like Bermuda Grass and St Augustine Grass. And they must use some kind of natives. But I unusually see them on flowers or Erharta. They love Ehrharta! It is a great host plant. If you are planting a butterfly garden, leave some grasses at the edge of a lawn to grow tall and go to seed. This creates habitat for the skippers, and lets them complete their lifecycle on the hostplant. 

Gulf Fritillary and Passion Vine

Gulf Fritillaries are my favorite butterfly to raise. Their eggs are big and orange and easy to see on the green foliage. They have few parasites and diseases. It is easy to keep their host plant (passion vine) fresh. And the adults generally emerge in good time, unlike Anise Swallowtails, which overwinter as chrysalides. 

Passion Vine is also easy to grow. Sometimes too easy. It can take over your whole garden! Gulf Fritillaries like Passiflora caerulea, a rampant grower. But they also like Lavender Lady, which is more delicate and easy to control. Passiflora Berkeley is also a favorite, but harder to find. 

Neither the vine nor the butterfly is a native. The vine (from south of the border) has been planted as an ornamental and the butterfly has followed it north. It has become a resident as far north as Sacramento and Santa Rosa. 

This is one butterfly that you are more likely to see in urban areas. That is where people plant passion vine, and it doesn't seem to escape from gardens. In many cases, the vine flowers profusely, but the fruit is sterile. When I check the fruits of my P. Berkeley, they are empty. 

Passion Vines are highly recommended hostplants for a butterfly garden within the range of the Gulf Fritillary. One of the reasons I love this butterfly is that it hangs around all day, making your garden look like a butterfly garden. Many butterflies, such as Anise Swallowtails, lay a few eggs and fly off. They are beautiful, but they seem to spend most of their time looking for their next fennel plant. 

I appreciate all the butterflies, but the Gulf Frit is a real winner!

Rearing Butterflies

Can you see the tiny caterpillar next to the hole in the leaf? It is only a millimeter or so long. And very well camouflaged! Exactly the same color as the leaf. This is a Cabbage White on Nasturtium. 

I like rearing them because they are easy to find and easy to rear. They can be found across the US wherever cabbages or nasturtiums grow. The larvae (caterpillars) can be hard to find because they are the same color as the leaf. The eggs are easier because they are white.

When rearing, I usually like to start with an egg, because I like to see all the stages. Also, if you have time to sit in the garden waiting for a female to lay eggs, they can be easy to find. At any rate, finding the critter is the hard part, everything after that is easy. 

The caterpillars usually stay on the food plant when young, so a cage isn't really needed until later. The sometimes leave the plant to molt to a larger instar. They usually leave the plant when ready to become a chrysalis. That is called "wandering." So a cage is a good idea when they get big. You can read about homemade cages in my "Caterpillar Cages" blog post. It was my first!

Once you find an egg or caterpillar, decide if you want to rear it inside or outside. If you rear outside, you can put a net sleeve over the plant. Make you you check frequently, because sometimes the critters eat all the foliage inside the sleeve. 

If you want to rear inside, get a vase and fill it water. Then cut the branch of the plant with the critter and put it in water. The leaves provide both food and water, so it must stay fresh. 

Then you can watch it grow. After a few days, the plant will start to fade. For tiny caterpillars, you can use a watercolor brush to transfer them to a new leaf. Older caterpillars you can gently pick up. But don't handle them too much! New research indicates that it is really stressful. 

When they are young, you can just put the vase on a piece of paper on a table. The frass (poop) will fall on the paper, and it is easy to dispose of. When they get older, put them in a cage. A net cage is best. They will pupate on the netting, or on sticks that you provide. 

The length of pupation can vary from a few days to a few years. Crazy, huh!? Some butterflies overwinter as pupae. They may emerge the next spring, or they may wait until another spring. Emergence seems to be better is they experience a real winter, so put them someplace unheated like a garage or basement in December and January. Don't forget them! Put them back in the house in February so that you will notice when they emerge. 

After the adult butterfly emerges from the chrysalis, It is best to give it 2-24 hours to expand its wings. Then release it outside on a sunny afternoon. Butterflies make the best pets because you never see them die. You just watch them fly away into a beautiful blue sky!  

Common Checkered Skipper and Mallows

Common Checkered Skippers have many hostplants, all mallows. The one pictured here is a common weed Malva parviflora. They also use Malva neglecta and hollyhocks. They are very cagey about how they use the plant. Whereas Ladies create a web encrusted in frass on the surface of the leaf ( which makes them obvious but unappetizing) the Checkered Skipper folds back a section of the leaf and sews the fold closed. You would never notice the section was missing! They are completely hidden! Clever!

Anise Swallowtail and Fennel

I have raised too many Anise Swallowtails to count. They are easy to find and easy to raise. The problem is the overwintering. They overwinter as a chrysalis. And sometimes for more than one winter. I had one that finally emerged 7 years later. Wow! Supposedly it is so they spread out their emergence, so at least some of them become adults when there is plenty of rain and plenty of host plant.

Their most common hostplant in urban environments is fennel. It was imported by the missionaries as a food plant, and it is edible. Before they showed up, Anise Swallowtails used Perideridia and Lomation. Also poison hemlock and cow parsnip. But their native host plants were eliminated, and they learned to use fennel. Clever!

Nasturtiums and Cabbage Whites

Nasturtiums are one of the host plants for Cabbage Whites. Of course, Cabbage Whites also use cabbages and other plants in the cabbage family. But nasturtiums are everywhere and commonly used.

Cabbage Whites are not the charismatic butterfly. They are so plain in coloration, that people think they are moths. But, like most day-flying lepidoptera, they are butterflies. And they are not native. They were brought to this country from Europe, probably as eggs and larvae on cabbages.

However, I love them. Partly because they are so easy to rear. And partly because they are common across the USA. You can attract them almost anywhere. Put a pot of nasturtiums on your balcony in the middle of a big city, and you will probably get cabbage whites. The caterpillars are so well camouflaged, it is almost impossible to find them on leaves. I find it easier to look for the eggs, since the white eggs contrast nicely with the green leaves.

So even if Cabbage Whites are not the most beautiful or the most loved, they do have their positive qualities.

Holly-Leaf Cherry and Pale Swallowtails

Pale Swallowtails lay eggs on several different plants, including ash trees and coffee berry. But holly-leaf cherry is an especial favorite of mine, partly because I have actually gotten eggs on my small tree, and was able to raise them. And partly because it is simple a great plant.

There are two very closely related species, Prunus illicifolia and Prunus lyonii. Or maybe one is a subspecies of the other. One has redder fruits, and the other blacker fruits. And I think it makes little difference. The butterflies like them both, and they have similar habits. They both make fabulous evergreen hedges or small trees. In fact, I think they are great substitutes for a Eugenia hedge, which tends to get bubbly leaves from psyllids. Eugenia gets to be about 20' high, and Prunus about 30', but they can both be kept lower.

Pale Swallowtails are not the most common swallowtail around. Perhaps that is because their host plants are not planted that frequently. Perhaps if if you plant Prunus, they will come.

Ceanothus and California Tortoiseshell

The California Tortoiseshell lays its eggs on Ceanothus. But only special kinds of Ceanothus. It likes the varieties with large leaves, like the one pictured here. I guess the smaller leaves don't offer enough foliage to eat. 

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The California Tortoiseshell has an interesting migration pattern. It likes to lay eggs on blooming Ceanothus. So, I see the adults in Berkeley in about March. But by the time the next generation emerges as adults, the ceanothus in Berkeley is generally done blooming, so the butterflies migrate east or north, looking for fresh blooms. The generations continue to higher elevations and higher latitudes, but return to Berkeley for the Ceanothus that blooms in the subsequent March.

Ceanothus is also the host plant for the Ceanothus Silk Moth, a large and beautiful moth. Although it is called the Ceanothus Silk Moth, it lays its eggs on a wide range of plants, including willow, ribes, and manzanita. It is largely a west coast species, ranging from Baja Mexico to California, Oregon, Washington, and into Canada. The adults do not feeds. I guess they put all their energy into reproduction.

White Clover

White Clover (aka Trifolium repens) is a common lawn weed in the San Francisco Bay Area. Some people don't like it in their lawn because it can attract bees. Then, if you walk barefoot in the lawn, you can get stung. However, it is hardy, doesn't seem to need much mowing, and adds nitrogen to the soil. So, as with any plant, there are pros and cons.

However, I think it is a great plant to have because it is a host plant for Orange Sulphur butterflies. I rarely see them in flatlands Berkeley, but they are in the area, so I do recommend adding white clover to your lawn or butterfly meadow.

Kenilworth Ivy

People are always concerned when I talk about Kenilworth Ivy. They think it will overtake their garden, like ivy. But it really isn't like ivy at all. Kenilworth ivy is small, delicate, and likes shade. It is also a host plant for Buckeye butterflies. It loves growing in the cracks of steps and walls. And it is absolutely charming!

The Latin name is Cymbalaria muralis. I guess the leaves are supposed to look like cymbals. Must be some kind of cymbal that I have never seen!