- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
If Cinderella were a butterfly, she'd probably be a white cabbage butterfly, Pieris rapae.
The butterfly--in its larval stage it's a pest of cucurbits--is stunning as an adult. Just think of a flowing white gown, exquisite pirouettes, and a flutter like no other.
If you've ever tried to photograph a white cabbage butterfly, it's not all that easy. They are fast and fleeting. One minute they're on the lavender and the next minute they're not. One minute they're on the catmint and then...
Where did they go?
With a fast...
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Don't expect to see UC Davis distinguished professor emeritus Art Shapiro monitoring butterflies on the 4th of July.
There's a good reason why.
Shapiro has monitored the butterfly populations of central California since 1972 and maintains a research site at https://butterfly.ucdavis.edu. "I began doing the 4th of July butterfly count in 1978 and have done it every year since--always on the actual Fourth," he emailed his "posse" today.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Drum roll….
We have a winner in the annual Beer-for-a-Butterfly Contest, in which the first person to collect the first cabbage white butterfly of the year in the three-county area of Yolo, Sacramento and Solano, wins a beer.
The 2024 winner of the "Suds for a Bug" contest?
The repeat winner, UC Davis distinguished professor emeritus Art Shapiro. He has sponsored the annual contest since 1972 as part of his scientific research involving long-term studies of butterfly life cycles and climate change. He also participates in his own contest.
In its larval stage, the cabbage white butterfly, Pieris rapae, is a
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
A beer for a butterfly? Suds for a bug?
It's almost time for the Art Shapiro's annual "Beer-for-a-Butterfly" contest that he's sponsored since 1972. The person who finds the first-of-the-year cabbage white butterfly, Pieris rapae, in the three-county area of Yolo, Sacramento and Solano, wins a beer--or its equivalent.
And bragging rights!
Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor emeritus, Department of Evolution and Ecology, is retired, but not from his research and not from sponsoring the annual “Beer-for-a-Butterfly”...
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Butterfly guru Art Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor emeritus, Department of Evolution and Ecology, is retired, but not from his research and not from sponsoring the annual “Beer-for-a-Butterfly” contest, in which the person who collects the first live cabbage white butterfly of the year in the three-county area of Yolo, Sacramento and Solano, wins a beer.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2024, Shapiro will be collaborating with the Bohart Museum of Entomology, the "dropping off point," for the Pieris rapae entries. Bohart curator...