Posts Tagged: Arthur Shapiro

The Flower Feeders

University of Minnesota honey bee researcher Marla Spivak, in her TED talk on honey bee health, referred to bees as "flower feeders." That they are. Flower feeders. As are other pollinators from butterflies to beetles to bats.  But it's a special...

A Gulf Fritillary butterfly, Agraulis vanillae, sharing a passion flower with honey bees. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Gulf Fritillary butterfly, Agraulis vanillae, sharing a passion flower with honey bees. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Valley carpenter bee and a honey bees working the passion flower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Valley carpenter bee and a honey bees working the passion flower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Two Valley carpenter bees on a passion flower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Two Valley carpenter bees on a passion flower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Anise Swallowtail: Have You Seen Me?

An anise swallowtail fluttered in and out of the tall anise bordering the banks of the Benicia Marina. A beautiful sight. The female butterfly (Papilio zelicaon), as identified by butterfly expert Arthur Shapiro, professor of evolution and ecology at...

Female anise swallowtail,Papilio zelicaon, as identified by butterfly expert Art Shapiro of UC Davis, visiting anise at the Benicia Marina. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Female anise swallowtail,Papilio zelicaon, as identified by butterfly expert Art Shapiro of UC Davis, visiting anise at the Benicia Marina. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A female anise swallowtail,Papilio zelicaon, touches down on anise at the Benicia Marina. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A female anise swallowtail,Papilio zelicaon, touches down on anise at the Benicia Marina. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Up and away--the female anise swallowtail flutters away. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Up and away--the female anise swallowtail flutters away. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey

European paper wasp, apparently scouting the anise for butterfly eggs. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

European paper wasp, apparently scouting the anise for butterfly eggs. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

To Catch a Cabbage White

So you're out roaming the countryside or cityscape in Solano, Yolo or Sacramento counties at the start of the new year and you encounter a Cabbage White butterfly.It's worth a pitcher of beer or the equivalent if you win Arthur Shapiro's 40th annual...

Two Cabbage Whites

TWO CABBAGE WHITES nectaring on salvia. Arthur Shapiro's 40th annual Cabbage White Butterfly Competition begins Jan. 1, 2011. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Seeing Spots

If you've seen a lot of buckeye butterflies this season, you're not alone.It's a big year for buckeyes, says noted butterfly expert Arthur Shapiro, professor of evolution and ecology at the University of California, Davis. He counts between "30 and 85 a...

Buckeye Butterfly

BUCKEYE BUTTERFLY (Junonia coenia) nectars on a zinnia, a member of the aster family. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-up

LIKE AN AIRPLANE in flight, a buckeye butterfly (Junonia coenia) glides to a zinnia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Mournful Butterfly

Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.--Nathaniel Hawthorne Maybe not "alight upon you," but stay long enough for you to admire it.Such was the case...

Mournful Butterfly

MOURNFUL BUTTERFLY, Erynnis tristis (Hesperiidae), spreads its wings on lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Eyes Have It

THE EYES of the Mournful or Sad Dusky-Wing, Erynnis tristis (Hesperiidae) are vivid in this photo. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Golden Pollen

GOLDEN POLLEN glitters on the head of a Mournful Dusky-Wing. Butterflies are often overlooked as pollinators. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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