UC Davis emeritus professor Hugh Dingle

No, say many scientists, including Hugh Dingle, professor emeritus of entomology, behavior and evolution at UC Davis.

Professor Dingle is an internationally known expert on animal migration. He's researched animal migration for some 50 years. In the last 20 years or so, he has focused on monarch butterflies. He has authored two editions of Migration: The Biology of Life on the Move and some 100 papers. National Geographic featured Professor Dingle in its cover story on “Great Migrations” in November 2010.  LiveScience interviewed him for its November 2010 piece on “Why Do Animals Migrate?” (See news story that includes his biographical information)

Professor Dingle, a resident of Marin County, responded to a recent front-page article in a Marin County paper about the California ban on tropical milkweed. Banning tropical milkweed, A. curassavica, will NOT save the monarch, Dingle emailed the reporter. In fact, he said, the ban will "essentially have zero effect on monarchs" and "no one should rush out and pull out their tropical milkweed as it would be a waste of time and effort. Nurseries should also be able to continue to sell it."

The professor shared this with Bug Squad:

1. "There is not enough tropical milkweed planted to have much influence (see the amount of A. syriaca and A. fascicularis throughout the American West not to mention various other species like A. erosa, cordifolia, californica, etc.) Yes, there are parasites on A. curassavica as there are on ALL milkweeds."
   
   
2. "There are populations of monarchs that are doing just fine feeding exclusively on A. curassavica (e.g. on many Pacific Islands, such as Guam where I have studied them."
   
   
3. "Migration and the diapause that accompanies it in the fall are determined by shortening photoperiod and temperature (warm temps can override short days hence the issue with climate change). There is no significant influence of food plant." 

Tropical milkweed has been in California for more than a century. It's along our roadsides, in our parks, in our gardens. If the California border were moved a bit, it would be a native plant. Yet the California Department of Food and Agriculture, influenced by native plant proponents, has deemed it a "noxious weed."

Professor Dingle is among many scientists who point out that milkWEED (despite the "weed" in its name), is NOT a noxious plant. If you're standing on the California-Mexico border, on one side it's a noxious weed (evil, dangerous, nasty, get-rid-of-it-now, how-dare-you) and inches away, it's a beautiful host plant for monarchs,  and a great nectar source for monarchs and other pollinators, including honey bees, syrphid flies and hummingbirds. 

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife's ban on rearing monarchs (no one can do so without a permit) is unsettling to many. Entomologist Jeff Smith, who curates the Lepidoptera collection at the Bohart Museum of Entomology at UC Davis and is a member of the Lepidopterists' Society,  reared a few monarchs as a child, but laments that today, no one in California can do so without a permit, and it's difficult to get a permit unless you're a researcher.

In the latest edition of the Lepidopterists' Society newsletter, Robert Michael Pyle (founder of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation) and David Wagner wrote a piece, "Keep Nets in the Hands of Kids--and Others!"

An excerpt: "Give a kid a net, and watch her go! Not that the net is the only porthole into our world. For some it could be raising caterpillars or tadpoles, keeping mantises and walking sticks as pets, or examining ants, beetles, and grass- hoppers through a magnifying glass. But the common feature is having hands-on, unfettered exploration of the living world as children. Many life-science professionals, including RMP's cardiologist, ascribe their passion for life and nature to hunting bugs, crawdads, and pollywogs in their youth. This is why the Society instituted the Outernet Project, to get nets into the hands of children—a task made more difficult not only by the umbilical USB connection now present at birth and children's subsequent inseparability from electronica, but also by the loss of BioQuip. Is the coup de grâce for children's face-to-face fascination with small-scale life to be delivered now by well-intended but ill-considered regulation?"

So Very Controversial. Amazing that tropical milkweed issue has become so very controversial. You cannot post an image of a egg, caterpillar, chrysalis or a monarch on A. curassavica--a food and nectar source--without a native plant proponent attacking you and ordering you to remove that tropical plant in your garden immediately. (Never mind that you are growing native milkweed as well.)  One scientist told me: "They just want to control you and bully you." 

In our pollinator garden in Vacaville, monarchs prefer tropical milkweed over the non-natives.  Tropical is more toxic.

Mona Miller, who administers the popular Facebook page, Creating Habitat For Butterflies, Moths, & Pollinators, related:  "Monarch are resilient insects, they have so many strategies to increase their population, but they do have their limits. We must stop pulling out tropical milkweed and cutting it back. Washing off all milkweed should suffice to clean off the OE spores. I emailed several scientists, no one could tell me that OE (Ophryocystis elektroscirrha is a protozoan parasite) has any way to attach to milkweed leaves other than getting caught in the hairs. Tropical milkweed has smooth leaves. Tropical milkweed has been in California since 1909, that is over 100 years. Totally eradicating tropical milkweed, just like totally eradicating all the eucalyptus trees (non-natives), would have a detrimental effect on the monarch population--perhaps it already has." 

Indeed, folks should pay more attention to habitat loss and pesticide use, the real culprits of the monarch population decline.  

Bohart Museum Open House. At any rate, be sure to attend the Bohart Museum of Entomology's open house on monarchs from 1 to 4 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 4 in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, UC Davis. It's free and family friendly. A number of scientists will be there to answer your questions. 

Scheduled to participate are:

• UC Davis distinguished professor emeritus Art Shapiro of the Department of Evolution and Ecology, who has studied butterfly populations in central California since 1972 and maintains a research website, Art's Butterfly World.
  
  
• UC Davis emeritus professor Hugh Dingle, a worldwide authority on animal migration, including monarchs.  He is the author of Migration: The Biology of Life on the Move (Oxford University Press), a sequel to the first edition published in 1996. See news story on the UC Davis Entomology and Nematology website.
  
  
• UC Davis professor Louie Yang, who does research on monarchs. Due to parental duties, he may be able to attend only the last part of the open house. See news story about his work.
  
  
• UC Davis professor Elizabeth Crone of the Department of Evolution and Ecology, formerly of Tufts University, who researches monarchs. See news story about the declining monarch population on the UC Davis Entomology and Nematology website.

The Bohart Museum houses a global collection of eight million insect specimens, plus a living insect petting zoo (Madagascar hissing cockroaches and stick insects, among others), and a insect-themed gift shop. UC Davis distinguished professor Lynn Kimsey has directed the Bohart Museum, founded in 1946, since 1990. 

Xena the Warrior Princess and her butterfly marking. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

We haven't had a cat since our 16-year-old tuxedo, Xena the Warrior Princess crossed the Rainbow Bridge in March of 2016. She sported a butterflylike marking on her left leg.

Monarch butterflies fascinated her. They brought out "the princess" instead of "the warrior" in her.

If you don't have a cat or a feline pollinator partner, plant milkweed and you'll get another kind of 'cat, the larvae of monarch butterflies, Danaus plexippus. 

Today we have several 'cats on our tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica, in our Vacaville garden. None this year on our narrowleafed milkweed, A. fascicularis; showy milkweed, A. speciosa; or butterfly weed, A. tuberosa.

If you want to learn more about monarchs, their life cycle,  milkweed and other related topics, attend the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house on Saturday, Nov. 4 from 1 to 4 p.m. in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, UC Davis. The theme is "Monarchs" and scientists will be there to answer your questions.

The event is free and family friendly and a great opportunity to learn more about D. plexippus.

The scientists will include:

• UC Davis distinguished professor emeritus Art Shapiro of the Department of Evolution and Ecology, who has studied butterfly populations in central California since 1972 and maintains a research website, Art's Butterfly World.
  
  
• UC Davis emeritus professor Hugh Dingle, a worldwide authority on animal migration, including monarchs.  He is the author of Migration: The Biology of Life on the Move (Oxford University Press), a sequel to the first edition published in 1996. See news story on the UC Davis Entomology and Nematology website.
  
  
• UC Davis professor Louie Yang, who does research on monarchs. Due to parental duties, he may be able to attend only the last part of the open house. See news story about his work.
  
  
• UC Davis professor Elizabeth Crone of the Department of Evolution and Ecology, formerly of Tufts University, who researches monarchs. See news story about the declining monarch population on the UC Davis Entomology and Nematology website.

The Bohart Museum houses a global collection of eight million insect specimens, plus a living insect petting zoo (Madagascar hissing cockroaches and stick insects, among others), and a insect-themed gift shop. UC Davis distinguished professor Lynn Kimsey has directed the Bohart Museum, founded in 1946, since 1990. 

It's Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 1 and a female monarch butterfly flutters into our Vacaville pollinator garden.

Me: "Welcome Ms. Monarch! Aren't you a little late for the migration?"

Ms. Monarch: "No, I'm just a late bloomer,. so to speak. I'm heading to Santa Cruz to join my buddies for the winter and then we'll return in February. Right now, I need some nectar, a little flight fuel, to make it to Santa Cruz, if you don't mind." 

Me: "Help yourself, Ms. Monarch. Right now we have several plants blooming, including Mexican sunflower, tropical milkweed, zinnias, blanketflower, catmint, roses, foxgloves, and evening primrose. One of your sisters passed through here Oct. 21 and she laid eggs on the tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica. She ignored the native milkweed, Asclepias fascicularis, and the other natives we planted."

Ms. Monarch: "Thank you for giving us a choice."

Me: "You're welcome. But watch out for the spiders and praying mantises."

Ms. Monarch: "Hope they won't catch me!"

Me: "I'll check to see where they are. No, don't see them, but that doesn't mean they're not there." 

Ms. Monarch, sipping nectar on the tropical milkweed: "This is delicious. You don't mind if I stay 'n sip, sip 'n stay, or awhile?"

Me: "We planted it for you and your brothers and sisters. Well, for other insects, too, like honey bees and syrphid flies, but mainly for you. There's talk, you know, about being endangered."

Ms. Monarch: "Will my sister's eggs survive?

Me: "Well, between the spiders, ants, wasps, lady beetles and milkweed bugs, we can't promise.  Hey, even monarch caterpillars will eat the eggs. But we do know this: only 5 percent of the eggs make it to adulthood. So, the odds aren't good. Oops, gotta go. 'Bye for now."

Bohart Museum Open House on Saturday, Nov. 4

Want to talk to a scientist about monarch butterflies? Then you'll want to attend the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house on Saturday, Nov. 4 from 1 to 4 p.m. in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane. Scientists will be there to answer your questions.

The event is free and family friendly and a great opportunity to learn more about Danaus plexippus.

The scientists will include:

• UC Davis distinguished professor emeritus Art Shapiro of the Department of Evolution and Ecology, who has studied butterfly populations in central California since 1972 and maintains a research website, Art's Butterfly World.
  
  
• UC Davis emeritus professor Hugh Dingle, a worldwide authority on animal migration, including monarchs.  He is the author of Migration: The Biology of Life on the Move (Oxford University Press), a sequel to the first edition published in 1996. See news story on the UC Davis Entomology and Nematology website.
  
  
• UC Davis professor Louie Yang, who does research on monarchs. Due to parental duties, he may be able to attend only the last part of the open house. See news story about his work.
  
  
• UC Davis professor Elizabeth Crone of the Department of Evolution and Ecology, formerly of Tufts University, who researches monarchs. See news story about the declining monarch population on the UC Davis Entomology and Nematology website.
  
  
• UC Davis postdoctoral fellow Aramee Diethelm of the Elizabeth Crone lab. She holds a doctorate from the University of Nevada, Reno.  Both her Ph.D. and postdoctoral work are on monarch butterflies.  

The Bohart Museum houses a global collection of eight million insect specimens, plus a living insect petting zoo (Madagascar hissing cockroaches and stick insects, among others), and a insect-themed gift shop. UC Davis distinguished professor Lynn Kimsey has directed the Bohart Museum, founded in 1946, since 1990. 

Forensic entomologist Bob Kimsey wore his traditional ghillie suit to the Bohart Museum party. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The predators and their prey were all in costumes, of course:

• The queen bee: UC Davis distinguished professor Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum
• The praying mantis: Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator of the Bohart Museum
• The green darner dragonfly: Christofer Brothers, a UC Davis doctoral candidate researching dragonflies
• The monarch: Barbara Heinsch, a Bohart Museum volunteer, who arrived with her entomologist-husband, Mike Pitcairn, retired  senior environmental scientist, supervisor, California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). He wore his CDFA lab coat and swung an insect net.

And the guy in the ghillie suit serving beverages (that would be forensic entomologist Robert "Bob" Kimsey of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology) is keenly interested in flies, but he didn't net the fly. 

UC Davis entomology alumna Ivana Li, a biology lab manager at UC Davis, catered the event and arrived with her dog, Juniper, dressed as a taco. Lynn Kimsey cut a carrot cake,  decorated with tiny carrots and large googly eyes. 

Some attendees, including Joanna Chiu, professor and chair of the Department of Entomology and Nematology; UC Davis doctoral alumna Fran Keller, professor at Folsom Lake College; Bohart Museum associate Greg Karofelas; UC Davis doctoral alumnus Dick Meyer (who studied with the late Richard Bohart); and entomology student Kaitai Liu, arrived as themselves, sans Halloween costumes. 

The Bohart Museum, located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, houses a global collection of eight million insect specimens, plus a live insect petting zoo and a gift shop. Founded in 1946 by the late UC Davis professor Richard Bohart, it has been directed by Kimsey, his former doctoral student, since 1990.  (See more Halloween images on the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology website)

Next Open House on Monarchs. The Bohart's next open open house, set from 1 to 4 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 4, is on monarchs. 

The event, free and family friendly, will be held in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, Crocker Lane. This is an opportunity for attendees to ask questions about monarchs (Danaus plexippus) and native vs. non-native milkweed, among other topics.

The scientists will include:

• UC Davis distinguished professor emeritus Art Shapiroof the Department of Evolution and Ecology, who has studied butterfly populations in central California since 1972 and maintains a research website, Art's Butterfly World.
  
  
• UC Davis emeritus professor Hugh Dingle, a worldwide authority on animal migration, including monarchs.  He is the author of Migration: The Biology of Life on the Move (Oxford University Press), a sequel to the first edition published in 1996. See news story on the UC Davis Entomology and Nematology website.
  
  
• UC Davis professor Louie Yang, who does research on monarchs. Due to parental duties, he may be able to attend only the last part of the open house. See news story about his work.
  
  
• UC Davis professor Elizabeth Crone of the Department of Evolution and Ecology, formerly of Tufts University, who researches monarchs. See news story about the declining monarch population on the UC Davis Entomology and Nematology website.
  
  
• UC Davis postdoctoral fellow Aramee Diethelm of the Elizabeth Crone lab. She holds a doctorate from the University of Nevada, Reno.  Both her Ph.D. and postdoctoral work are on monarch butterflies.  As a doctoral student, she investigated the phytochemical landscape of milkweed (Asclepias) species across northern Nevada and the effects of this variation on western monarch (Danaus plexippus) butterfly performance. See her research posted on Google Scholar, and her blog on "Drought Influences Monarch Host Plant Selection."

Shapiro points out that the monarch "is NOT a focal species in my research and I am NOT a monarch expert. On the other hand, I have a unique breeding-season census data set starting in 1999. The only other census data are for the overwintering roosts on the coast. It has become apparent that the two data sets do not always agree." Shapiro said he'd talk briefly about this at the open house. 

The Bohart Museum, founded in 1946, houses a global collection of eight million insect specimens; a live insect petting zoo; and a gift shop. It is located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane. For more information, access the website or email bmuseum@ucdavis.edu.