Multivoltine Butterflies

I found a Gulf Fritillary in my garden today, eating Passiflora 'Berkeley.' Seems like I see adults and caterpillars almost all year around. However, I read something different in the North American Butterfly Association's publication, American Butterflies. In the Spring 2011 issue is an article titled, "Food for Thought: Butterfly Hostplants and Ranges." In the article, authored by Jeffrey Glassberg, is a map indicating that Gulf Fritillaries have two brood per year in most of California. I don't think so. Seems like it must be five or more, given how long it takes them to go through a generation and how much of the year they fly. I am going to have to start documenting their life cycles. So this photo is the first data point. Large caterpillar eating on August 31. Gulf Fritillaries are tropical butterflies that just don't seem to understand seasons.

Monkey Hand Tree

I first posted this pic in my blog in June 2010.

http://berkeleybutterflyblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/when-i-first-saw-this-specimen-ground.html

Then in May of this year, someone who claimed to be from Natural History Magazine contacted me and said that they wanted to use my photo in the May issue. I was suspicious. After all, it was already May, and she was using a gmail account.

I contacted the magazine, and they said that it was legit. So I gave permission, and asked for money.

And this month, I got the "May" issue of the magazine, with my photo. And credit! No money as yet, though. I guess the message is that everybody like to take pictures of pretty flowers. But it can be hard to find pics of of seeds and seed pods.

The article, titled, "Curse of the Monkey Hand Tree" is a story about the search for Chiranthodendron pentadactylon  in habitat in Mexico. A nice piece, if you like reading about intrepid botanists, which I do.

It was just a snapshot taken at the UC Botanical Garden. And now I am famous! ;-)

Satyr Anglewing in Flatlands Berkeley

A Satyr Anglewing showed up in my backyard today. They are unusual around here, so I was surprised and excited. They lay their eggs on nettle. I don't have nettle. And no nectar in the backyard. So I don't know why it liked it there, but it kept coming back.I guess my neighbors must have some nettle.

Cabbage White Chrysalis

The caterpillar became a chrysalis. Can you tell which part is the chrysalis and which part is the leaf? Again, really great camouflage! The white is the wing, as seen through the pupal case. When it is that easy to see, it means the butterfly is about to emerge. It will probably be a butterfly tomorrow.

Cabbage White Caterpillar

Cabbage White caterpillars are so well camouflaged! I love the way that they lay themselves right down along a vein, as if pretending to be a part of the leaf. When I want to find live specimens, I have discovered that it is easier to find eggs than caterpillars. Even thought the eggs are much smaller, they are white and stand out against the green leaves.

Cabbage White caterpillars eat nasturtiums, as pictured here, but they also eat cabbages and other plants in the cabbage family like kale and cauliflower. They can be quite a pest in the veggie garden. But I love them because they are easy to find and have a long season. Cabbage Whites are some of the first butterflies I see in the spring.

Anise Swallowtail

There was an anise swallowtail in my yard today, sunning and nectaring. I have a big red coat on the line drying, and it was faked out over and over again, thinking that it was a flower. It flew over, checked it out, and departed over and over in the twenty minutes that I was watching. I guess it looks like a flower from far away, but not close up.

My butterfly walks started at the UC Botanical Garden on Tuesday. I had a crowd of people. So many things were in bloom, I talked about the flowers more than the butterflies. We did see a ringlet. And the pipevine swallowtails put on a show for us. We found no eggs or caterpillars, though.

Not an Earwig Insect Encounter

I know that is a really lousy pic. You can blame my camera. Anyway, it is a moth. I had to go to the doctor to get it removed from my ear. Who gets a moth in their ear anyway?

So, I think it was Monday night, I was falling asleep, when this flutter noise IN MY EAR woke me up. I tried to shake it out. It fluttered more. Then stopped. I shined a light in their. It fluttered more, then stopped.

Other people said that wax rolling around in our year sometimes seems fluttery. I really thought that it was not wax.

I don't know why it wanted to fly out. It had six legs. Couldn't it just walk out? Maybe there was not enough room to turn around and it couldn't back out... Maybe moths never use their legs, like dragonflies; I have never seen a dragonfly walk anyplace. They just use their legs for perching or catching insects. Meanwhile, it fluttered less and less, then finally quit.

Why did I have to make an appointment with the doctor and wait two days to figure out what it was? Luckily, the doctor had come across this problem before and didn't think I was crazy. I really wanted to know what it was. And now I know.