- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Have you seen any Checkered White butterflies lately?
They're quite common in the southern United States and northern Mexico (they're known as the Southern cabbage butterfly), but one CW fluttered through our pollinator garden in Vacaville, Solano County, Calif., on June 23.
It's in the same family, Pieridae, as the cabbage white butterfly, Pieris rapae.
This one, a female Pontia protodice, as identified by butterfly guru Art Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor of evolution and ecology, seemed to like our lavender.
"There was one laying eggs at Gates Canyon (Vacaville) two weeks ago," Shapiro noted. "This is an immigrant, which occasionally overwinters here--not very recently, though. It lives in the desert, both in SoCal and in Nevada. I don't know which direction these are coming from."
He reported two recently at Lang Crossing (Nevada County) on the Sierran West slope at 5000 feet. "This is probably a significant incursion."
He saw "scads of them" on June 30 in Rancho Cordova (Sacramento County)--clearly breeding there!"
The Checkered Whites "tend to fly in a straighter line than rapae, like it's late for an important date," he quipped. The females have more extensive markings than the males.
On his website, Art's Butterfly World, he points out that:
"In the 1970s this species was often abundant at low elevation along the transect, overwintering only locally and sporadically-mostly on dredge tailings along the American River. It has since become much rarer and in most years is seen only in September and October. At Sierra Valley it overwinters unpredictably but colonizes each year from the desert in May or June, and usually becomes common by late summer. It has been recorded at all sites but is not a permanent resident at any of them at this time!"
"A highly vagile species, the Checkered White breeds on a great variety of Brassicaceous plants, preferring smaller and unsucculent species such as Peppergrasses (Lepidium, but L. latifolium is unpreferred), Tumble Mustard (Sisymbrium altissimum), and the short-lived perennial Hirschfeldia incana (formerly called Brassica geniculata). The eggs are orange, laid conspicuously near the top of the plant, and the larvae, which are striped lengthwise in whitish yellow and greenish gray, feed primarily on buds, flowers and fruit. However, eggs are also often laid on small rosettes, especially if the larger plants in the area are senescent. This is overwhelmingly a species of grassland and steppe and occurs in wooded areas only along roadsides."
Shapiro, who has been monitoring the butterfly population of central California since 1972, says the Checkered White adults visit mustards, composites, legumes "and almost anything else; they are often abundant in irrigated alfalfa and visit its flowers freely. Males patrol in host-plant areas and often mate with teneral females."
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
"Weeping Rocks" will showcase the 50-year research of butterfly guru Art Shapiro, a UC Davis distinguished professor with the Department of Evolution and Ecology, College of Biological Sciences.
The full-length documentary will be produced by 2010 UC Davis alumna Jackii Chun.
As you may know, Shapiro has been studying the butterfly populations at 10 sites in Central California since 1972 and is drawing global attention. He maintains a research website, Art Shapiro's Butterfly Site, aka Art's Butterfly World, where you'll find his work on scores of butterflies, from those majestic monarchs, Danaus plexippus, to those not-so-majestic cabbage white butterflies, Pieris rapae, (larvae of the cabbage whites are pests of cucurbits).
Anderson relates that Weeping Rocks is in production and funds are being raised on Kickstarter. It could be released as soon as 2023.
"The documentary looks at climate change through scientific research of those who study insects," Anderson writes, adding that he "has been counting butterflies for 50 years. His long-term data points to disturbing decreases in butterfly abundance across California. The name of the film comes from a site in Nevada County that drips water constantly, producing a lush, tropical effect — and attracting butterflies."
The film's director, Karlis Bergs (his previous film, Threshold, focused on bees) told Anderson: "We use his research as the backbone of the story about insects and people who work with them. His story is [interspersed] with shorter segments on other researchers. It creates a bigger picture.”
Bergs, who met Shapiro in 2019 when he was a student at the California Institute of the Arts, remembers reading an article about him, got in touch with him, and began filming him on his sites. “He's an amazing man who is eager to share his knowledge with anyone who asks,” Bergs told Anderson.
That he is. We remember following Shapiro, huffing and puffing at times, up Gates Canyon in Vacaville on Jan. 25, 2014. It's one of his fixed routes at ten sites that range from the Sacramento River delta, through the Sacramento Valley and Sierra Nevada mountains, and to the high desert of the western Great Basin. "The sites," Shapiro says, "represent the great biological, geological, and climatological diversity of central California."
The North American Butterfly Monitoring Network (NABA) website praises his work: "Art Shapiro began monitoring 10 transects in 1972 and has been conducting bi-weekly monitoring of those sites ever since. He also monitors an additional site as part of NABA's Seasonal Count Program! Art's program is the longest continually running butterfly monitoring project in the world, predating even the British Butterfly Monitoring Scheme."
Coming soon....Weeping Rocks, "revealing the urgency to save insect species through long-term scientific research."
It can't happen soon enough.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's not "officially" spring until we see--and photograph--the spectacular Western tiger swallowtail, Papilio rutulus.
That's what I posted April 2, 2021 on Bug Squad after seeing one land March 30 on a white lilac bush in a Vacaville park. It lingered long enough for a few photos and then fluttered away.
This butterfly's wings are a brilliant yellow with black stripes. Blue and orange spots accent the "tails" on its hindwings.
Fast forward to today: The Entomological Society of America (ESA) has before its members, a proposal to add the common name, "Western Tiger Swallowtail,” to the scientific name, Papilio rutulus.
Most of us have not called it anything else. Oh, wait, there was "That Big Yellow Gorgeous Butterfly" and "Ol' Yeller" and "Sunshine Butterfly."
The ESA-approved name, if the members agree, would be "Western tiger swallowtail." Yes!
Presently there are 10 species within the family Papilionidae that have common names established by ESA. None describe species that are primarily found west of the Mississippi.
"Western" reflects its broad distribution over the western United States, as ESA says. "It is the most abundant of the 'tiger swallowtails' in this part of the U.S., paralleling the distribution of Papilio glaucus (tiger swallowtail/'eastern tiger swallowtail') which is the most abundant species in the eastern United States."
Also up for discussion and approval are these proposals for common names:
- "Two-tailed swallowtail" for Papilio multicaudata
- "Eastern tiger swallowtail" for Papilio glaucus
- "Pale swallowtail" for Papilio eurymedon
See the ESA database of common names, which includes more than 2,000 common names of insects and is searchable by common name, scientific name, author, order, family, genus, and species.
Butterfly guru Art Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor of evolution and ecology who maintains a research site, Art's Butterfly World," monitoring the butterfly populations in Central California since 1972, has always called Papilio rutulus by the common name of Western tiger swallowtail. But mostly he calls it Papilio rutulus. He writes on his website:
"The Western Tiger Swallowtail is basically a species of riparian forest, where it glides majestically back and forth along the watercourse. It has expanded into older urban neighborhoods where several of its host genera are grown as shade trees, and behaves as if the street were a watercourse. In the high country and on the Sierran east slope its usual host is Aspen."
"One brood (June-July) at higher elevations; one and a partial second at Washington; 2-3 at lower elevations with a long flight season (late February or March-September or October). An avid puddler. Visits Yerba Santa, California Buckeye, Milkweed, Dogbane, Lilies, Coyotemint, etc., etc. and in gardens frequent at Lilac and Buddleia. Spring individuals are smaller and usually paler than summer. Low-elevation hosts include Sycamore (Platanus), Ash (Fraxinus), Cherry and other stone fruits (Prunus), Willow (Salix), Privet (Ligustrum), Lilac (Syringa) and (in Sacramento County) Sweet Gum (Liquidambar)."
Have you seen any Papilio rutulus this year? Or the Western tiger swallowtail? Or "That Big Yellow Gorgeous Butterfly?"
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
That's the day we're encouraged to "to look for a blur of color as butterflies begin migrating across the country. Each year the celebration brings with it an awareness of the varieties of butterflies and their importance to our survival. Spring and summer are just right around the corner, so it is an excellent time to take a few minutes and learn something new about butterflies and appreciate their beauty."--National Learn About Butterflies Day.
Enter butterfly guru Art Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor of evolution and ecology, who has monitored butterfly populations of central California since 1972 and maintains a one-of-a-kind research website, Art's Butterfly World.
He's often interviewed on "Learn About Butterflies Day." Yesterday he granted an interview to a Sacramento television station. And back in 2020, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife interviewed him. The Los Angeles Times spotlighted him in November 2019.
The North American Butterfly Monitoring Network (NABA) website praises his work: "Art Shapiro began monitoring 10 transects in 1972 and has been conducting bi-weekly monitoring of those sites ever since. He also monitors an additional site as part of NABA's Seasonal Count Program! Art's program is the longest continually running butterfly monitoring project in the world, predating even the British Butterfly Monitoring Scheme."
Shapiro's fixed routes at ten sites range from the Sacramento River delta, through the Sacramento Valley and Sierra Nevada mountains, and to the high desert of the western Great Basin. "The sites," he says, "represent the great biological, geological, and climatological diversity of central California."
Latest statistics on his website indicate that by the end of 2006, he had logged 5476 site-visits and tallied approximately 83,000 individual records of 159 butterfly species and subspecies. Note that Shapiro does not drive a vehicle. His main mode of transportation is walking. For instance, he buses from Davis to Vacaville, and walks from the bus station up Gates Canyon Road to his monitoring site and back.
How many total miles has he walked since 1972?
Shapiro replied: "Since 1988, when all ten sites were firmly established, if an average site visit is 4 miles and I do an average of 225 site visits a year, that's 225 x 4 x 33 years=29,700 miles. Of course, if you add in the years 1972-1987, it would be substantially higher. No wonder my feet are made of leather!"
The UC Davis professor estimates he wears out three to four pairs of shoes a year. "Cheapie sneakers, though," he says.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Chrobak, a freelance writer and editor based in Colorado, begins:
"For more than 40 years, Arthur Shapiro, a distinguished professor of evolution and ecology at UC Davis, has counted butterflies at the same 10 spots in California. His sites span an elevation range from sea level to tree line, starting at the Suisun Marsh and crossing the Central Valley, the Sierra foothills and ending on the Eastern Sierra slope."
"At each stop, he always walks the same route, jotting down every butterfly he finds. Those hikes have revealed a disturbing trend. At most of Shapiro's sites, the number of butterflies is going down. In a 2020 paper, he and other researchers reported that butterfly abundance has been dropping by 1.6 percent annually over the past four decades across 70 locations in the western U.S."
"Increasingly, researchers are finding that humanity's footprint can crush even the small organisms we tend to take for granted, including insects. And that can be a problem for us, because humans rely on these inconspicuous fauna in many ways, including to pollinate a large portion of our fruits and veggies and nuts. UC Davis scientists are monitoring these pollinators to find out what's behind their worrisome decline."
Chrobak goes on to write about such pollinators as honey bees, native bees, and hummingbirds. In addition to Shapiro, she quotes:
- Hymenoptera expert Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology and a UC Davis distinguished professor of entomology. She hosts the annual Robbin Thorp Memorial Bumble Bee Contest contest to determine who can find the first bumble bee of the year in Yolo, Solano and Sacramento counties.
- Honey bee expert Elina Lastro Niño, Extension apiculturist with the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology; director of the California Master Beekeepers' Program; and faculty director of the UC Davis Bee Haven. Pests, pathogens, pesticides and poor nutrition all threaten honey bee colonies, she points out.
- Avian veterinarian and hummingbird expert Lisa Tell, a UC Davis professor of veterinary medicine and author of a newly published children's poetry book, "If Hummingbirds Could Hum," that relates how to attract hummers. Hummingbird feeders, she says, should be cleaned every day in hot summer weather to prevent sugar water from fermenting or growing harmful microbes.
Bottom line: our pollinators are in trouble. Some are going extinct; many are in decline; and some are disappearing at an alarming level. We all need to do our part to help save them.
Some resources to help:
- What to plant to attract bees and other pollinators: See the UC Davis Bee Haven website, directed by Niño and managed by Chris Casey. The Haven, located on Bee Biology Road, west of the central campus, is open year around, from dawn to dusk.
- What to plant to attract butterflies: See Art Shapiro's website, Art's Butterfly World
- Sign up for bee classes with the California Master Beekeepers' Program, launched and directed by Elina Lastro Niño
- See pollinators and other insects at the UC Davis Bohart Museum of Entomology, home of a global collection of 8 million insect specimens. (The Bohart, located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, is temporarily closed due to COVID-19 pandemic precautions)
In addition, the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden is a wealth of information, and periodically hosts plant sales at its nursery on Garrod Drive. Many UC Davis entomology faculty work with pollinators, including pollination ecologist Neal Williams; honey bee scientist Brian Johnson, focusing on animal behavior, evolution, theoretical biology, and genomics; community ecologists Louie Yang and Rachel Vannette; and urban landscape entomologist Emily Meineke. Diane Ullman, whose work encompasses insect/virus/plant interactions and management strategies for insect-transmitted plant pathogens, directs ceramic-mosaic art programs showcasing pollinators.
Photographs for the UC Davis Magazine article are by Kathy Keatley Garvey, communications specialist with the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, and an avid pollinator photographer, especially of bees and butterflies.
UC Davis Magazine has been covering the campus since 1983 and is published in March and September. The yearly subscription is $12.
