- Author: Denise Godbout-Avant
As the long, hot days of summer slide into cooler, shorter days of autumn, seasonal changes are occurring in my garden. Not as many plants are blooming, the leaves on deciduous trees and plants are becoming drier and starting to change color. Some plants are producing autumn berries that will sustain many birds as insects, another source of food, begin to disappear.
Quite a few butterflies have been showing up in my garden to take advantage of flowers that are still blooming. Butterflies I have been seeing include painted ladies (Vanessa cardui), common buckeyes (Junonia coenia), fiery skippers (Hylephila phyleus)and cabbage whites (Pieris rapae).
With the advent of winter, butterflies disappear since they cannot tolerate temperatures below 55°F or rainy weather. So, what happens to butterflies in the winter???
Some Butterflies Migrate
Some butterfly adults migrate south, overwintering in warmer climates.
Monarch butterflies are known for their astonishingly long spring and fall migrations. Both the eastern monarchs and western monarchs began their southern migrations in late August or early September from southern Canada/northern USA to their overwintering sites. The eastern variety generally heads to the oyamel fir forests in the mountains of central Mexico, whereas the western Pacific species have a shorter journey to California's coastline. You may see some western monarchs this fall resting or feeding on flowers in your garden as they fly through the Central Valley on their way their overwintering sites in coastal areas such as Santa Cruz, Pacific Grove, Pismo Beach, and San Diego.
Other Winter Strategies
Most butterflies spend winter in the same area they spent summer.
Some lay their eggs in autumn on, or close to, their specific host plants with the eggs hatching the following spring. The common hairstreak (Satyrium californica) eggs are laid attached to twigs of oaks with the caterpillars feeding on newly emerged spring leaves.
Some butterflies weather the cold as pupa within a chrysalis in a sheltered spot. During this time, the pupa will enter diapause (where development stops). An antifreeze chemical in their blood allows them to survive cold temperatures. Once the days lengthen, it will resume its transformation, emerging as an adult just as in time for blooming flowers that provide nectar. The tiger swallowtail's chrysalis (Papilio rutulus) will take refuge in deep shrubbery. The anise swallowtails (Papilio zelicaon) and cabbage whites also generally overwinter as a pupa in their chrysalis. Fiery skippers usually overwinter as pupae buried in leaves, but some adults will migrate to southern California.
Mourning cloaks (Nymphalis antiopa)go into dormancy as an adult. Their blood also contains an anti-freeze. They tuck themselves into cracks and crevices of rocks and trees.
Leaving the Leaves
- Learn which butterflies live in your area and grow native plants for those specific species.
- Offer nectar plants in the fall and spring months for butterflies that are migrating, emerging from overwintering, or getting ready to go into winter dormancy/hibernation.
- Skip raking the leaves in your garden in autumn and leave standing plants alone until midspring, so overwintering butterfly larvae, pupae and adults have a place to hide. If leaving the leaves on your lawn is too messy for you, consider not disturbing the leaves in your planters.
- If you find what looks like a dead chrysalis (many resemble dead leaves) in your yard, garage, shed, do not disturb it. A butterfly may well emerge in the spring.
- Avoid using pesticides as much as possible.
Resources
- Art Shapiro's Butterfly Site: https://butterfly.ucdavis.edu/butterflies
- Butterflies in Your Garden, Publication from UCCE Stanislaus County :https://ucanr.edu/sites/CEStanislausCo/files/345791.pdf
- Xerces Society - Pollinator Plants: Central Valley of California: https://xerces.org/publications/plant-lists/ppbi-california-central-valley
- California Native Plant Society: https://www.cnps.org/
- UC Davis Arboretum – Larval Hosts for Butterflies: https://arboretum.ucdavis.edu/blog/larval-host-plants-butterflies
Denise Godbout-Avant has been a UC Cooperative Extension Master Gardener in Stanislaus County since 2020.
/h3>/h3>/h3>/h3>Date: Saturday, October 15, 2022
Time: 9:00 am – 10:30 am
Where: Stanislaus Agricultural Center, 3800 Cornucopia Way, Harvest Hall Rooms D&E.
Register: http://ucanr.edu/monarchs/2022
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
It definitely wasn't a case of "brotherly love" when a predator--maybe a bird or a praying mantis--grabbed the California Sister in our pollinator garden.
The butterfly, Adelpha bredowii californica, didn't survive.
It's quite common in the area, says Art Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor of evolution and ecology, who has monitored butterfly populations of central California for 50 years.
He writes on his website, Art's Butterfly World:
"A common species of oak woodlands. Glides back and forth along streambeds and roads; males perch on branches and foliage, frequently in oak. Both sexes visit mud puddles. (This is unusual; in most butterflies only males "puddle.") The female is larger than the male, with broader wings and a less pointed forewing apex. There is no variation in color and pattern. This butterfly has been shown to be mildly distasteful to birds and to be mimicked by the more edible Lorquin's Admiral in California. The genus Adelpha is of New World Tropical origin. Although our Sister is usually classified as conspecific (belonging to the same species) with the desert Southwest form, subspecies eulalia, we suspect the two are good biological species."
"Two to three broods, flying March or April to November at lower elevations. Most abundant in the foothills (Sierra and Coast Range/Bay Area) and lower montane zone. Uncommon or rare, and irregular, on the floor of the Central Valley, but occasionally seen in cities and suburbs. Females are highly dispersive and are most likely to be seen in unusual places. The species is not a permanent resident in our area above 5000' but is seen regularly up to 7000' or higher in late spring-early summer and again in autumn."
"Host plants oaks, especially Live Oaks (Quercus agrifolia, wislizenii and chrysolepis). Adults visit flowers (California Buckeye, Yerba Santa, Dogbane, Giant Hyssop, Goldenrod, Coyotebrush) but also dung, carrion, flowing sap, damaged fruit, etc.--a very tropical lifestyle."
Sisterhood!
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
A sneak peak at a couple of Solano County Fair entries...think insects!
The COVID-19 pandemic derailed fairs and festivals, but now they're back on track.
Take the 73rd annual Solano County Fair, themed "Bales of Fun." Located at 900 Fairgrounds Drive, Vallejo, it opens June Thursday through Sunday, June 16-19, and gate admission is free. Headed by president Lee Williams of Rio Vista, the board of directors includes Valerie Williams of Vacaville, better known as "Mrs. Solano County 4-H." In fact, Valerie has served tirelessly for some 25 years as the Solano County 4-H program representative. The 4-H program is part of the University of California's Agriculture and Natural Resources or UC ANR.
Our favorite part of the fair? The exhibits at McCormack Hall, particularly those that are insect-themed.
One entry, by talented photographer Matthew Agbayani, 17, of the Vaca Valley 4-H Club, Vacaville, shows a syrphid fly and a honey bee sharing a sunflower. It takes a special kind of patience to be able to capture two species on the same flower.
Many folks mistake syrphid flies, aka hover flies or hover flies, for honey bees. They're both pollinators.
Three of the easiest ways to differentiate a fly from a bee:
- A fly has one set of wings. A bee has two sets.
- A fly has short, stubby antennae. A honey bee doesn't.
- A fly has no corbicula or pollen basket. A honey bee (worker bee) does.
Among the other insect-themed displays: Rio Vista resident Richard Laswell's exquisite watercolor depicting three dragonflies that he entered in the amateur art division; and Vallejo resident Ashley Workman's colorful blue butterfly (oils and acrylics) that she entered in open art division.
Art by Iris Mayhew of American Canyon also caught our eye. She drew inspiration from a safari in Kenya. "I love animals," she said. That includes monarchs and Gulf Fritillaries. She'll be depicting them next.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Early in his career, the late heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali (1942-2016) drew international headlines when he uttered that remark before his 1964 fight with then champion Sonny Liston.
It was all over by the seventh round when "The Greatest" emerged victorious. But his comment regarding butterfly and bee behavior lives on.
Would an entomologist say "Float like Lepidoptera, Sting Like Hymenoptera?"
That begs the question--were any bug people ever champion boxers?
Yes, the late James H. Oliver Jr. (1931-2018) was a Golden Gloves champion.
Two years before Oliver died, entomologist Marlin Rice, a past president of the Entomological Society of America, interviewed him for American Entomologist (Volume 62, Issue 4, Winter 2016), pointing out: "James H. Oliver, Jr. is Fuller E. Callaway Professor of Biology Emeritus at Georgia Southern University and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Oliver is widely recognized as an international expert in medical entomology and acarology, especially the biology and cytogenetics of pathogen-transmitting ticks and parasitic mites."
And Oliver was a Golden Gloves state champion.
Rice asked him a series of questions, including:
"Were you a good student?"
Oliver: "No, not very. I was a good school athlete and party guy. [Laughs.]
You went into boxing at the University of Georgia? Were you a good boxer?
Oliver: "Yeah. I won the state championship in my weight—the Golden Gloves."
Did you ever get knocked out boxing?
Oliver: "No."
Did you ever knock out an opponent?
Oliver: Yeah. [Laughs.]
What's the quickest round you ever won?
Oliver: "Probably second or third round. I was so good at it because I was in good physical condition—great physical condition. I had a coach that said the one's that's in the best physical condition and can keep his left jab going all the time and don't try for a knockout—just hammer him [would win]. It was very good advice, because after the second round my opponent would usually get arm weary and I'd block him by keeping my hands up. That's how I won most of my fights, out of pure physical condition, and I was coordinated and fast. So then I found what I wanted to do; I'm not going to be a veterinarian, I'm going to be a boxer—a professional boxer! Well, that wasn't well thought out. [Laughs.] My brother, and he was always a scholar, said, “My god, you can't do that. You're going to have a brain concussion!” “Yeah, but I'm quick.” I was finally talked into not doing that and leaving the University of Georgia. I went to Georgia Southern 'cause it was only 50 miles away from home and I liked teaching as well. So I'll become a high school biology teacher and coach. That was my goal for several years until I decided I don't want to do that." (Read the entire interview here.)
So, yes, at least one entomologist was a boxing champion. Another professional boxer went into pest control following his retirement. Mike "Irish Mike" Jameson fought the likes of Mike Tyson, George Foreman, Evander Holyfield and Randall “Tex” Cobbs before fighting bugs, landing a job as a pest control inspector with Clark Pest Control, Lodi, Calif., according to a feature story on pctonline.com.)
Did they ever say "Float like Lepidoptera, sting like Hymenoptera?"
Well, maybe they said "flutter" instead of "float?"