- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Umm, does California have a state insect? The Monarch? The Western Tiger Swallowtail? The Red Admiral? Wait, isn't this National Pollinator Week? Should I know what the state insect is?
Yes, it is National Pollinator Week. And yes, it's a good time to appreciate the state's designated insect--not just for "Insect of the Week" or "Insect of the Year" but for what it is--a fascinating but quite obscure butterfly that's rarely spotlighted.
That's why we were delighted to see the California dogface butterfly (Zerene eurydice) get some well-deserved attention when Capital Public Radio (CPR) headed off to Auburn last Friday to see the butterfly's major breeding ground. It's at a well hidden, publicly inaccessible site on Placer Land Trust.
The butterfly is also known as the California doghead butterfly and the flying pansy, referring to the male's black and yellow coloring. The female is mostly solid yellow.
Bohart Museum of Entomology associate Greg Kareofelas, a volunteer tour guide for the Placer Land Trust butterfly site for the past three years, is quoted in Bob Moffitt's CPR piece on "Placer County — A Popular Hideout For Rarely Seen Dogface Butterfly,” published last Sunday. Access http://www.capradio.org/articles/2016/06/19/placer-county-popular-hideout-for-rarely-seen-dogface-butterfly/
The butterfly is there because its larval host plant--false indigo (Amorpha californica)--is there. Justin Wages, land manager of the Placer Land Trust, which owns or manages 8,000 acres, says the plant is difficult to grow outside this habitat.
It was also a surprise to see so many dogface butterflies in the space of two hours last Friday. "It's a very good year when I see three dogface butterflies in a single year," Kareofelas said. "They're elusive and hard to see. Last Friday we saw about 10 females and 50 or 75 males."
Kareofelas knows butterflies and he knows the dogface butterfly. To say he's made major contributions to the understanding of the state insect would be an understatement. At his home in Davis, he's reared--and photographed--a dogface butterfly from egg to adult. He's grown the false indigo. His photographs of the female and male appear on a poster that he and entomologist Fran Keller created at the Bohart Museum. His images also appear in a 35-page children's book, "The Story of the Dogface Butterfly," written by Keller with illustrations by then UC Davis student Laine Bauer. Both the poster and the book are available for sale at the Bohart Museum, located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building on the UC Davis campus. Net proceeds benefit the insect museum's education, outreach and research programs.
The book tells the untold story of the California dogface butterfly, and how schoolchildren became involved in convincing the State Legislature to select the colorful butterfly as the state insect. Bauer's illustrations depict the life cycle of this butterfly. As part of their research, Keller, Kareofelas and Bauer visited the Placer Land Trust habitat of the butterfly. And Kareofelas reared that elusive butterfly.
As for the book, “There are also ecology, life cycle, taxonomy and conservation issues presented that are relevant to grades K-6 that can be used in classroom curriculum,” Keller earlier told us. It also includes a glossary.
The butterfly, so named because of a poodle-like silhouette on the wings of the male, was adopted as the official California insect on July 28, 1972, but entomologists had selected it as the state insect as early as 1929. Their choice appears in the California Blue Book, published by the State Legislature in 1929. (Read more on how the butterfly became the state insect under the Ronald Reagan administration.)
Links:
Capital Public Radio Piece on Dogface Butterfly
Pacific Land Trust website
Bohart Museum of Entomology
![California dogface butterfly poster at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis. California dogface butterfly poster at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis.](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/36959.jpg)
![Egg of California dogface butterfly. (Photo by Greg Kareofelas) Egg of California dogface butterfly. (Photo by Greg Kareofelas)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/36960.jpg)
![Adult California dogface butterly eclosing from chrysalis. (Photo by Greg Kareofelas) Adult California dogface butterly eclosing from chrysalis. (Photo by Greg Kareofelas)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/36961.jpg)
![Newly emerged female California dogface butterfly. (Photo by Greg Kareofelas) Newly emerged female California dogface butterfly. (Photo by Greg Kareofelas)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/36962.jpg)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Hint: It's the state insect.
"What, we have a state insect?" you ask.
Yes, and it's the California dogface butterfly (Zerene eurydice).
On the monorail, it's an artistic blue and white and it seems to flutter along for the ride. (See what the Monorail Society wrote about it in 1995.) In real life, the male of the species is yellow and black, and the female, predominantly yellow.
Fran Keller, doctoral candidate in entomology at the University of California, Davis, and her colleague, naturalist Greg Kareofelas of Davis, a volunteer at the Bohart Museum of Entomology identified the insect on the monorail right away. Several years ago they teamed to create a California dogface butterfly poster, which graces many a classroom, office, and den. The poster is for sale in the Bohart Museum's gift shop on Crocker Lane, UC Davis, or online.
Keller went on to write a children's book, "The Story of the Dogface Butterfly," with watercolor-and-ink illustrations by Laine Bauer, a 2012 graduate of UC Davis. Kareofelas contributed photographs.
Net proceeds from the sale of the 35-page book, also available at the Bohart Museum or online, benefit the insect museum's education, outreach and research programs.
The book tells the untold story of the California dogface butterfly, and how schoolchildren became involved in convincing the State Legislature to select the colorful butterfly as the state insect.
Bauer’s illustrations depict the life cycle of this butterfly. As part of their research, Keller, Karofelas and Bauer visited a Placer County habitat of the butterfly last year.
As for the book, “There are also ecology, life cycle, taxonomy and conservation issues presented that are relevant to grades K-6 that can be used in classroom curriculum,” Keller said. In addition, the book includes information on the butterfly’s host plant, false indigo (Amorpha californica).
So, score one for the California State Fair. And score two for the Bohart Museum.
![California dogface butterfly is illustrated on the California State Fair monorail. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) California dogface butterfly is illustrated on the California State Fair monorail. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/17216.jpg)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Now there's an opportunity for classrooms all across the nation--and butterfly fans--to learn about it in "The Story of the Dogface Butterfly," written by UC Davis doctoral candidate Fran Keller and illustrated (watercolor and ink) by Laine Bauer, a 2012 graduate of UC Davis.
Net proceeds from the sale of the 35-page book will benefit the education, outreach and research programs of the Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis.
The book tells the untold story of the California dogface butterfly, Keller said, and how schoolchildren became involved in convincing the State Legislature to select the colorful butterfly as the state insect.
Bauer’s illustrations depict the life cycle of this butterfly. Naturalist Greg Kareofelas of Davis, a Bohart volunteer, contributed photos. As part of their research, the trio visited a Placer County habitat of the butterfly last year.
As for the book, “There are also ecology, life cycle, taxonomy and conservation issues presented that are relevant to grades K-6 that can be used in classroom curriculum,” Keller said. In addition, the book includes information on the butterfly’s host plant, false indigo (Amorpha californica).
“A glossary in the back highlights key terms,” Keller said. “And there is a set of photographs of the California dogface and another yellow butterfly to help you determine if you have ever really seen the California state insect.”
Some people confuse it with it the alfalfa butterfly.
You can meet the writer and illustrator at the Bohart Museum's open house on Saturday, Feb. 2 from 1 to 4 p.m. The museum is located at 1124 Academic Surge on Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus.
The book can also be ordered online from the Bohart website.
The museum's gift shop also has t-shirts and posters depicting the state insect.
![Illustrator Laine Bauer (left) and author Fran Keller. Illustrator Laine Bauer (left) and author Fran Keller.](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/14045.jpg)
![Cover of Cover of](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/14049.jpg)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Quick, what's the state insect of South Dakota?
If you answered "the European honey bee," you're right. The honey bee (Apis mellifera) is also the state insect of 16 other states: Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin. (Note that Kentucky has a state agricultural insect, the honey bee, and a state butterfly, the viceroy.)
We call "our" honey bee the European or western honey bee because it's non-native. European colonists brought it to this country in 1622 to what is now Jamestown, Va. Surprisingly, however, Virginia's state insect is not the honey bee, but the tiger swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucus).
California, too, has a non-bee state insect, even though this little agricultural worker arrived here in 1853. The Golden State's choice? The beautiful California dogface butterfly (Zerene eurydice), a native. California is one of 27 states heralding the butterfly as its state insect. (Not all states have state insects, and some states have more than one. See Wikipedia.)
If you visit the Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis campus, at its pre-Halloween open house from 1 to 4 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 27, you'll see a wall map of the United States with a colorful image of each state insect.
The museum, home of more than seven million insect specimens, is located in 1124 Academic Surge on Crocker Lane (formerly California Drive).
Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum and professor of entomology at UC Davis, encourages all to wear Halloween costumes. Last year many wore bee and ladybug costumes. Some painted their faces with a butterfly motif.
There will be plenty to see and do. There's even a live "petting zoo" (think Madagascar hissing cockroaches, walking sticks and a rose-haired tarantula).
If you're unable to attend the open house Saturday, be aware that you can visit the Bohart Museum from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday. It's closed to the public on Fridays and on major holidays. Admission? Free.??
The gift shop holds assorted treasures, including t-shirts, jewelry, insect-themed candy, and posters of the California dogface butterfly and dragonflies.
![A golden honey bee nectaring lavender. Seventeen states list the honey bee as their state insect. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) A golden honey bee nectaring lavender. Seventeen states list the honey bee as their state insect. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/13125.jpg)
![Honey bee decorates the map of South Dakota, signifying it's the state insect. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) Honey bee decorates the map of South Dakota, signifying it's the state insect. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/13126.jpg)
![U.S. map at the Bohart Museum shows the states with state insects. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) U.S. map at the Bohart Museum shows the states with state insects. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/13127.jpg)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
But this Sunday, June 3, something even more special "may" occur.
That's "may" because a California dogface butterfly "may" emerge from its chrysalis during the Bohart open house, set from 1 to 4 p.m. in 1124 Academic Surge on California Drive.
Naturalist-photographer Greg Kareofelas of Davis, a volunteer at the Bohart, will be showcasing some live California dogface butterflies--and a chrysalis.
Kareofelas is rearing several dogface butterflies (Zerene eurydice). The first adult emerged from its chrysalis on May 28. He’s hoping one will emerge during the open house.
Even if it doesn't, Kareofelas will be presenting a slide show of the butterfly's life cycle. (By the way, Sunday marks the last Bohart open house of the 2011-2012 academic year, and yes, it's free and open to the public.)
Several years ago Kareofelas and entomology doctoral candidate Fran Keller teamed to create a California dogface butterfly poster, which is available for sale in the museum's gift shop.
What about the state insect? What do we know about it?
The high-flying butterfly, found only in California, is rarely seen in the wild. Its main host plant is False indigo (Amorpha californica), a riparian shrub that grows among poison oak and willows and along stream banks, often in steep and isolated canyons. The male has markings on its wings resembling a silhouette of a dog's head. The female is usually solid yellow with a black spot on each upper wing.
The California State Legislature designated the California dogface butterfly as the state insect in 1972. An entomology society in Southern California first proposed this butterfly as the state insect in 1929, but nothing came of it until 1972 when a fourth grade class in Fresno petitioned their state representative, said Tabatha Yang, the Bohart Museum's education and outreach coordinator.
The California dogface butterfly display will be one of the two main attractions at the Bohart's open house, which is themed “Bug Light, Bug Bright, First Bug I See Tonight!” The other key attractions will be bugs that glow under ultraviolet light, according to museum director Lynn Kimsey, professor of entomology at UC Davis.
Think scorpions. And don't forget that species of millipede found on Alcatraz Island. They glow, too!
![Egg of a California dogface butterfly. (Photo by Greg Kareofelas) Egg of a California dogface butterfly. (Photo by Greg Kareofelas)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/11565.jpg)
![California dogface butterfly emerging from chrysalis. (Photo by Greg Kareofelas) California dogface butterfly emerging from chrysalis. (Photo by Greg Kareofelas)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/11566.jpg)
![Newly emerged California dogface butterfly. (Photo by Greg Kareofelas) Newly emerged California dogface butterfly. (Photo by Greg Kareofelas)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/11567.jpg)