I'm Famous!

Well maybe not famous, but as a result of the interview Andy and I did with the journalism students, I was mentioned in an Examiner article by John Curley: http://www.examiner.com/x-366-SF-Photo-Examiner~y2008m6d16-In-the-garden?comments=true
It is about the controversy over weeds and it includes a link to the UC Botanical Garden and to my movie, In the Company of Wild Butterflies. It is nice to get the exposure. And it is nice having someone help me in trying to educate people about weeds.

Raking and Mulching

In a normal garden, people rake up the old dead leaves and put down mulch to discourage weeds from growing. In a butterfly garden, this is not the best approach. Check out the pics. The green chrysalis on the nasturtium leaf is a cabbage white. The brown chrysalis on the dead mallow leaf is a lycenid. Although some caterpillars prefer to pupate on some kind of structure, like under a porch or on a fencepost, some like those in the photos, prefer the leaf litter underneath plants. Raking and mulching makes life difficult or impossible for these butterflies. It also ruins the habitat for many of our native bees which nest in the ground. So although the humans prefer a tidy garden, the insects want a wilder environment. If you can't entirely give up these normal gardening practices, at least try to leave a part of your garden au naturale to give the tiny animals a chance.

Interview and Film Showing

Yesterday, a bunch of journalism students interviewed me. They had all worked in the field for years, but were taking a one weekend intensive class to learn about new technology. Here they are in the shade on a hot day at the UC Botanical Garden getting started on the project. That is me in the pink shirt, getting interviewed. Intense! So many questions so fast! But I think I did alright. After the interview, documented in audio, video and stills, we went for a walk in the garden. Not that many butterflies were out, and since it was hot, they were flying fast. But I did find some caterpillars, and after all, that is what it is all about. Here I am with a pipevine swallowtail caterpillar, talking about it in another interview. Andy showed them his beautiful specimen jars, which they thoroughly enjoyed. I think that they learned a lot and really enjoyed the day. I hope the web page they do is flattering! After the interview, we had a short break, then we did a film showing. Before the film, Andy showed his specimens to the film-goers, and again, they were greatly enjoyed. The audience was great. They enjoyed the film and asked me to clarify some of the info afterward. It was a great day and now I get to relax.

Milkweed

This is one of the most beautiful flowers I saw in Texas, but it took me awhile to figure it out. I noticed a low-growing plant with green flowers as we were driving along, but I was so dazzled by bright yellow and incredible purple flowers that I ignored it until we got to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin. When I saw it up close I was just wowed! It is one of those flowers that is just so perfect it looks fake. Then I realized it was a milkweed. No wonder there were so many Monarchs flying around! Maybe we will plant it on our Papillon Ranch outside of Junction.

Giant Swallowtail

I'm just back from Texas, where I saw many beautiful flowers and butterflies. This is a picture of the Giant Swallowtail in the "Butterfly Haus" at Wildseed Farm outside of Fredericksburg. This butterfly hous was great because it had only Texas butterflies and there were hostplants in the enclosure so that the butterflies could mate and lay eggs. Classical music was playing as we walked around, it was very lovely . These butterflies lay their eggs on citrus, prickly ash, and other plants. I saw one at the Tucson Botanical Garden fluttering around a grapefruit tree, but it wouldn't stay in one place long enough for a photo, and I never saw it lay eggs.

Box Elder Bug

This is a box elder bug. They generally feed on box elder trees, but I found this one under a maple. The tree has not yet leafed out, but the bugs have become active. I think they are lovely: black with thin red lines. Many people think they are pests, even though they do little damage to trees. They can become numerous and invade dwellings when they are looking for shelter in the fall. If they are a problem for you, make sure your home is tight: caulk openings and put in weatherstripping to keep them out. Once they are inside, vacuuming is the best way to deal with them. I saw only adults, so I think they are looking for love right now. Later on they will lay eggs that will develop into nymphs.

To most people, any small crawly thing is a bug. A fly is a bug, a centipede is a bug, even an earthworm is a bug. But to an entomologist, only something in the order hemiptera is called a bug. The box elder bug is a true bug, and you can tell because of the v-shape on its back. "Hemiptera" means half-wing, and the V marks the wing where it changes from hard to membranous. Stink bugs are also true bugs.

February is always spring in Berkeley, as evidenced by the activity of the insect and plants. The cabbage whites are flying, the birds are singing, and so many things are in bloom: manzanitas, acacias, daphne, oxalis, and on and on. We had our rain in January, so Feburary is a time to enjoy all the flowers that result.

Weeds

This is the herb garden that I gave to my daughter on December 25th. All those lovely pots AND the ladder came from Urban Ore; it was a great deal! One of the herbs was parsley, which Anise Swallowtail butterfly caterpillars like to eat. But there is so little parsley in the city, we would see hardly any Anise Swallowtails if they depended on this herb. There would also be very few of this butterfly if they depended on their original host, yampah. When the Europeans moved in, they destroyed most of this native plant. But they also brought with them that common weed, fennel, which the butterflies learned to use. Anise Swallowtails are one of those butterflies that has learned to live in cities because it thrives on weeds. Many other butterflies have made this switch; West Coast Ladies, Red Admirals, and Common Buckeyes, to name a few. So, be thankful for the weeds; their tenacity means that there is plenty of food for the caterpillars.