- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Make that "an early, unexpected guest who was given a warm welcome and an even warmer send-off."
Henry is a Marin County winter monarch butterfly.
Winter monarchs are becoming more and more common in the Bay Area and near the coast, according to butterfly experts Art Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor, and David James, associate professor at Washington State University.
Karen Gideon's front yard in Greenbrae yielded the caterpillar on her milkweed, “Hello Yellow" Asclepias tuberosa, on Dec. 9. The perennial, also known as "the butterfly weed," is native to eastern and southwestern North America.
Karen gifted the caterpillar to her friend, UC Master Gardener Alanna Brady of Ross, who reared him to adulthood from Dec. 9 to March 4, the day he eclosed.
“There were so many caterpillars in different stages/sizes all over the plant they were eating the stems down, too!” Alanna related. "Karen gave me one small and one large ‘cat since I had none. I think Henry was in his second instar stage, but we don't really know. The larger 'cat was gone the next day--never found, but Henry remained to feast on the entire plant! All other caterpillars left and she didn't find any chrysalids."
While Henry was cycling through metamorphosis, Alanna nicknamed him "Slow Poke."
In the monarch world, the life cycle from egg to caterpillar to chrysalis to adult, goes like this:
- The egg usually hatches into a caterpillar in 3 to 4 days
- The caterpillar generally remains in this stage for 10 to 14 days, and then "J's" and forms a chrysalis
- The chrysalis stage usually lasts 10 to 14 days, when the adult monarch ecloses
Henry the Caterpillar took 43 days to "J" and pupate, doing so on Jan. 21. Then he took 42 days to eclose (March 4) from his chrysalis.
”It was an amazing experience,” Alanna said, noting that this is her first year rearing monarchs. She missed the eclosure. "I missed it—literally within 5 minutes he was out! He took a long time pumping up those wings! He hung around Friday morning and took off in the afternoon. I am ready to do this again! So amazing.”
Why did she name him Henry? “After so many weeks of eating here, he needed a name--and "Henry" suited his voracious appetite--and being a monarch! Henry j'd and attached to our (mobile) teak birdhouse so I could move it into the sun in the afternoons. He remained outside the entire time except for one night below 32 degrees in our shed.”
So, on Friday, March 5, Henry the Winter Monarch fluttered away from his Ross home. Perhaps he soon found some nectar, a sunny spot to warm his wings, and a mate. Who knows?
One thing's for sure: "We miss Henry,” Alanna said.
WSU entomologist David James, who studies monarchs and posts his research on the Monarchs of the Pacific Northwest Facebook page, is keeping a close watch on the winter monarchs.
On Dec. 23, he posted:
"As Director of the Washington State University Monarch tagging program, I would like to appeal to all monarch lovers in California who have milkweed and monarchs still active in their backyards, to carefully check all the monarchs they see for a tag! During late summer and fall, we tagged and released about 1200 monarchs in Oregon, Idaho and Washington and to date seven of these have been found in inland areas of CA around milkweed. None have yet been found at overwintering sites. This is very different from previous years when most sightings of our tagged monarchs occur at overwintering sites. We suspect that a far greater proportion of migrant monarchs this year have become reproductive and are staying inland rather than remaining non reproductive and overwintering at coastal sites. So please check that next incoming monarch for a WSU tag, photograph it and report it here or to the email address on the tag, Your observations are important!"
On Jan. 12, he posted a graph "showing the number of observations of monarch larvae/pupae (as recorded on I-Naturalist) in the San Francisco Bay area during November/December for every year since 2015. The graph showed a huge (>5X) increase in observations in 2020 compared to each of the the previous 6 years."
On Jan. 21, he posted:
"Reports continue to come in on monarch breeding activity in the San Francisco Bay area. In fact, there appears to be a flush of new adults and egg laying. This apparent new generation is likely to be the sons and daughters of the migrant generation that eschewed spending winter at the conventional overwintering sites, in favor of reproduction. I believe the well-being and survival of eggs being laid now and over the next few weeks in the Bay area will play a role in determining the size and extent of western monarch populations this summer. With only 1914 monarchs at overwintering sites (50% sex ratio = estimated 950 females), current Bay area breeding populations may well support at least this number of females."
Endangered Species?
Note that the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in a Dec. 15, 2020 press release, agreed that the monarch butterfly should be listed under the Endangered Species Act, but said that other priorities preclude that for now.
"After a thorough assessment of the monarch butterfly's status, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has found that adding the monarch butterfly to the list of threatened and endangered species is warranted but precluded by work on higher-priority listing actions," the press release indicated. "With this decision, the monarch becomes a candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and its status will be reviewed each year until it is no longer a candidate."
Meanwhile, Henry the Winter Monarch is not alone out there!
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
"Honey bees contribute nearly $20 billion to the value of U.S. crop production," according to the American Beekeeping Federation's Pollination Facts. "This contribution, made by managed honey bees, comes in the form of increased yields and superior quality crops for growers and American consumers. A healthy beekeeping industry is invaluable to a healthy U.S. agricultural economy. As honey bees gather pollen and nectar for their survival, they pollinate crops such as apples, cranberries, melons and broccoli. Some crops, including blueberries and cherries, are 90-percent dependent on honey bee pollination. One crop, almonds, depends entirely on the honey bee for pollination at bloom time."
Thank the bees and thank the folks who donated $17,233 to the UC Davis-based California Master Beekeeper Program (CAMPF) during February's UC Davis Crowdfunding effort.
CAMPF, launched and directed by Extension apiculturist Elina Lastro Niño of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, sought to raise funds for its science-based Beekeeper's Apprentice course, described as "educational, engaging and entertaining for all ages." (The month-long crowdfunding is over but you can still donate to CAMPF here.)
As CAMBP says on its website: "The California Master Beekeeper Program is a continuous train-the-trainer effort. The CAMBP's vision is to train 2500 Apprentice beekeepers over the next 5 years so they can effectively communicate the importance of honey bees and other pollinators within their communities, serve as mentors for other beekeepers, and become the informational conduit between the beekeeping communities throughout the state and UCCE (UC Cooperative Extension) staff."
"Participants have the opportunity to receive an outstanding California-centric science-based education, and are current on the latest studies on honey bees and beekeeping, which are constantly evolving. Researched-based apiculture training helps to minimize potentially disastrous consequences, such as increased pest and pathogen transfer, or the spread of overly defense honey bees, which are considered a public-health risk. Our mission is to use science-based information to educate stewards and ambassadors for honey bees and beekeeping."
Like to enroll in a Master Beekeeper course? Check out the website for more information. You can also contact CAMPF at camasterbee@gmail.com; Niño at elnino@ucdavis.edu or program manager Wendy Mather at wmather@ucdavis.edu or other team members at https://cambp.ucdavis.edu/people.
Meanwhile, even honey bees can "high five."
/span>- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
You should also think about "pollination journeys."
On Wednesday, March 10, community ecologist Romina Rader from the University of New England's School of Environmental and Rural Science will speak on "The Journey to Effective Pollination" at the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology's virtual seminar.
Professor and pollination ecologist Neal Williams is the host. Click here to register to attend the 4:10 p.m. seminar. This is the last of the winter seminars.
Rader, an associate professor, says she is broadly interested in pollination ecology, landscape ecology and plant–animal interactions in natural and human-modified landscapes. She is currently working on projects that investigate the ways in which plant and animal biodiversity respond to global change and the performance of wild and managed insect pollinators in horticultural crops.
She writes on her website: "I am a community ecologist and my research focuses on plant–animal interactions in natural and human-modified landscapes. I am interested generally in the ecology of plants and animals in different types of habitats and landscapes and how they respond to differing management practices and global change. My current projects relate to wild and managed insect pollinators, their efficiency at pollinating horticultural crops and finding ways to improve fruit yield and quality by understanding their life history needs."
Rader holds a bachelor of environmental science (1998) from the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. She obtained both her master's degree (2005) and doctorate (2011) from James Cook University, Cairns, Australia. Her master's thesis: "Vertical Distribution, Resource and Space Use in a Tropical Rainforest Small Mammal Community." For her doctorate: "The Provision of Pollination Ecosystem Services to Agro-Ecosystems by a Diverse Assemblage of Wild, Unmanaged Insect Taxa." She won a 2017- 2020 Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award.
Among her most recent journal publications:
- S.A.E.C. Wijesinghe, L.J. Evans, L. Kirkland & R. Rader 2020, ‘A global review of watermelon pollination biology and ecology: The increasing importance of seedless cultivars,' Scientia Horticulturae, vol. 271, pp. 109493,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2020.109493 - Heidi Kolkert, Rhiannon Smith, Romina Rader & Nick Reid 2020, ‘Insectivorous bats foraging in cotton crop interiors is driven by moon illumination and insect abundance, but diversity benefits from woody vegetation cover,' Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, vol. 302, pp. 107068,
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167880920302541 - Jamie R. Stavert, Charlie Bailey, Lindsey Kirkland & Romina Rader 2020, ‘Pollen tube growth from multiple pollinator visits more accurately quantifies pollinator performance and plant reproduction,' Scientific Reports, vol. 10, no. 1,
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-73637-5 - Liam K. Kendall, Vesna Gagic, Lisa J. Evans, Brian T. Cutting & Jessica Scalzo, Romina Rader. 2020, ‘Self-compatible blueberry cultivars require fewer floral visits to maximize fruit production than a partially self-incompatible cultivar,' Journal of Applied Ecology,
https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1365-2664.13751 - Vesna Gagic, Lindsey Kirkland, Liam K. Kendall, Jeremy Jones & Jeffrey Kirkland Romina Rader 2020, ‘Understanding pollinator foraging behaviour and transition rates between flowers is important to maximize seed set in hybrid crops,' Apidologie,
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13592-020-00800-2
Agricultural Extension specialist Ian Grettenberger coordinates the seminars. For technical issues, contact him at imgrettenberger@ucdavis.edu.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
A seven-member team from UC Davis will challenge a seven-member team from Cardiff on questions related to biochemistry and COVID-19. The public is invited register for the Zoom event at https://tinyurl.com/dmnftsuj
UC Davis Chancellor Gary May will deliver the welcoming address.
“We will focus on a theme of protein structures, emphasizing two proteins of public interest--specifically, hemoglobin, the carrier of oxygen from the lungs to the tissues,” said organizer-moderator Walter Leal, UC Davis distinguished professor of molecular and cellular biology and a former chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.
“As I said in class, this protein makes FedEx envious. It carries oxygen from the lungs to the muscles and other cells, drops the load at the destinations, and picks up carbon dioxide and protons to take back to the lungs. It is a multitasking protein. It is never idle unless a person gets COVID-19.”
The March 10th event will actually include three games. Prior to The Big Game will be two preliminary games that will determine the composition of the seven-member UC Davis team that challenges Cardiff.
Ironic Bonds: Catherine Rodriguez, Kelly Brandt, Jiaying Liu, Aly Lodigiani, and Efrain Vasquez Santos
Gibbs Team: Kathryn Vallejo, Yasamin (Yasi) Parsa, Tina Luu, Brandon Matsumoto, and Esha Urs
Game 2 will pit the two champion teams that played off-tube or off-camera.
Alpha Helices: Mary Aina, Daniel Colon, Eva Pak, Stephanie Matsumoto, and Joseph Morrison.
Beta Strand: Shiwani KC, Brycen Carter, Beatrice Ark-Majiyagbe, Samantha Levy, and Erica Arsaga.
The Big Game: “For the UC Davis team that will challenge Cardiff, we will have five players from the winner of Game 1, plus one player from Alpha Helices and one player from Beta Strand,” Leal explained.
While the teams work on the questions, Dr. Dean Blumberg, an epidemiologist and chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, UC Davis Children's Hospital, will answer questions about vaccines and vaccinations.
The Eric Conn Biochemistry Quizzes, memorializing a noted plant biochemist known for his research and teaching, drew fundamental biochemistry questions. (See event on YouTube at https://youtu.be/Y9T9ayRXyYE)
"Remote learning is causing ZOOM fatigue and impairing student's ability to focus," Leal writes on the registration page. " We hope that this educational activity will promote physically distant, socially close interactions between undergraduate students and further our institutions' ties."
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
But climate change, aka global warming, may be an equal, if not more, of a factor.
So indicates a 10-member team of scientists, including UC Davis distinguished professor Art Shapiro, Department of Evolution and Ecology, in the March 4th Science journal.
The research article, "Fewer Butterflies Seen by Community Scientists Across the Warming and Drying Landscapes of the American West," sounds a crucial alarm, alerting us to try to find new ways of protecting our fluttering friends.
The abstract:
"Uncertainty remains regarding the role of anthropogenic climate change in declining insect populations, partly because our understanding of biotic response to climate is often complicated by habitat loss and degradation among other compounding stressors. We addressed this challenge by integrating expert and community scientist datasets that include decades of monitoring across more than 70 locations spanning the western United States. We found a 1.6% annual reduction in the number of individual butterflies observed over the past four decades, associated in particular with warming during fall months. The pervasive declines that we report advance our understanding of climate change impacts and suggest that a new approach is needed for butterfly conservation in the region, focused on suites of species with shared habitat or host associations."
Lead author is UC Davis alumnus Matthew "Matt" Forister, the Trevor J. McMinn Endowed Professor in Biology, and Foundation Professor, Department of Biology, University of Nevada. Forister received his doctorate in ecology from UC Davis in 2004.
As Pennisi points out, "butterflies are at risk in open spaces, too." She writes: "Art Shapiro, an insect ecologist at the University of California, Davis, and colleagues have shown that over the past 35 years, butterflies are disappearing even in pristine protected areas such as the Sierra Nevada mountain range in the western United States."
"To see whether that finding held up elsewhere, Shapiro and Matthew Forister, an insect ecologist at the University of Nevada, Reno, gathered data from the North American Butterfly Association, which has coordinated community scientist butterfly counts across the United States for more than 42 years. The duo also incorporated 15 years of data from iNaturalist, a web portal that collects sightings of plants and animals, including butterflies. In all, the researchers tracked the fates of 450 butterfly species from 70 locations in the western United States."
The research indicates that the butterfly population in the Western United States has decreased an average of 1.6% per year between 1977 and 2018. "Fifty species declined in at least two of the data sets used, including the Edith's checkerspot (Euphydryas editha), the rural skipper (Ochlodes agricola), and the great copper (Lycaena xanthoides)," Pennisi wrote.
The researchers warn that some species may completely disappear from parts of their ranges in the coming decades, as fall temperatures continue to align with or exceed summer temperatures, impacting breeding cycles and plant dependence.
Back in February, 2019, Shapiro told the Environmental Defense Fund's UC Davis meeting on "Recovering the Western Monarch Butterfly Population: Identifying Opportunities for Scaling Monarch Habitat in California's Central Valley," that it's not just monarchs in trouble.
"Monarchs are in trouble in California--but they're hardly alone," Shapiro told the attendees. "If we act as if this is a 'Monarch problem,' we're in danger of missing the real causes of Monarch decline--factors acting at a much broader scale. We've been monitoring entire butterfly faunas--over 150 species--along a transect across California since 1972. Our monitoring sites are matched with climatological data, allowing us to examine statistical relations between climate and butterfly trends. Based on this data set, our group was the first to document and publish evidence of monarch decline here. That's the only reason I'm here."
"At low elevations—below 1000'—entire butterfly faunas have been in long-term decline. We published several papers showing that these declines were about equally correlated with land-use changes and pesticide (especially neonicotinoid) use, with climate change a significant factor but much less important. Remember, these are correlations, not necessarily demonstrations of causation—but they are strongly suggestive. Monarchs were just one of many species going downhill; three once-common species (the Large Marble, Field Crescent and “Common” Sooty-wing) had already gone regionally extinct or nearly so, with others threatening to follow suit."
See more of Shapiro's comments on the March 4, 2019 Bug Squad blog. Read the Science article here.