Master Gardeners of Ventura County
University of California
Master Gardeners of Ventura County

Posts Tagged: David James

On Sept. 6, 2016, It Happened

On Sept. 6, 2016, it happened. A monarch fluttered into our pollinator garden in Vacaville and touched down on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. It wasn't just "any ol' monarch"--if there's ever such a thing as "any ol'...

This monarch, tagged and released in Ashland, Ore., on Aug. 28, 2016, touched down in a Vacaville garden on Sept. 6, 2016. It flew 285 miles in 7 days or about 40.7 miles per day, according to WSU entomologist David James. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This monarch, tagged and released in Ashland, Ore., on Aug. 28, 2016, touched down in a Vacaville garden on Sept. 6, 2016. It flew 285 miles in 7 days or about 40.7 miles per day, according to WSU entomologist David James. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This monarch, tagged and released in Ashland, Ore., on Aug. 28, 2016, touched down in a Vacaville garden on Sept. 6, 2016. It flew 285 miles in 7 days or about 40.7 miles per day, according to WSU entomologist David James. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Friday, September 6, 2024 at 4:48 PM
Focus Area Tags: Environment, Innovation, Natural Resources, Yard & Garden

Revisiting the Issue of Monarch Butterflies Missing from California Classrooms

A monarch butterfly caterpillar goes through five stages or instars before it J's and becomes a jade-green chrysalis. Scientists estimate that only 10 percent of the eggs and 'cats survive to adulthood. They don't "survive" at all in...

A monarch caterpillar crawling on a milkweed leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A monarch caterpillar crawling on a milkweed leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A monarch caterpillar crawling on a milkweed leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A male monarch butterfly foraging on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifola) in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatle Garvey)
A male monarch butterfly foraging on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifola) in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatle Garvey)

A male monarch butterfly foraging on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifola) in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatle Garvey)

Posted on Wednesday, April 10, 2024 at 12:00 AM
Focus Area Tags: Environment, Innovation, Natural Resources, Yard & Garden

A Fascinating, Must-Read Book: 'The Lives of Butterflies'

“Butterflies are treasures, like great works of art. Should we not value them as much as the beauty of Picasso's art or the music of Mozart or the Beatles?—Lincoln Brower (1931-2018), renowned Lepidopterist educated at Princeton and Yale...

In the field: David James, an entomologist and associate professor at Washington State University.
In the field: David James, an entomologist and associate professor at Washington State University.

In the field: David James, an entomologist and associate professor at Washington State University.

A monarch butterfly on Tithonia rotundifola in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A monarch butterfly on Tithonia rotundifola in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A monarch butterfly on Tithonia rotundifola in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Monday, January 8, 2024 at 5:03 PM
Focus Area Tags: Environment, Innovation, Natural Resources, Yard & Garden

Monarch 'Cats Sleeping with the Aphids

Sleeping with the aphids...that's what this monarch caterpillar was doing. It lived--and quite hidden at that--through the freezing cold, the rain, and the wind. It surfaced today on a milkweed in our Vacaville pollinator garden. Surprise,...

A monarch caterpillar sharing a milkweed leaf with oleander aphids on Dec. 8, 2023 in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A monarch caterpillar sharing a milkweed leaf with oleander aphids on Dec. 8, 2023 in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A monarch caterpillar sharing a milkweed leaf with oleander aphids on Dec. 8, 2023 in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Milkweed going to seed on Dec. 8, 2023 in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Milkweed going to seed on Dec. 8, 2023 in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Milkweed going to seed on Dec. 8, 2023 in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Friday, December 8, 2023 at 5:14 PM
Focus Area Tags: Environment, Natural Resources, Yard & Garden

Monarchs on the Move...So Many Mysteries

Monarchs on the move...so many mysteries. Where do Western monarchs go after leaving their overwintering sites along coastal California in February?  An observation: They didn't stop in the spring or summer to deposit eggs on any of our four...

A tiny monarch egg. Image taken on Nov. 14, 2023 in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A tiny monarch egg. Image taken on Nov. 14, 2023 in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A tiny monarch egg. Image taken on Nov. 14, 2023 in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A monarch caterpillar sharing a milkweed leaf with aphids. This image was taken Nov. 15, 2023 in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A monarch caterpillar sharing a milkweed leaf with aphids. This image was taken Nov. 15, 2023 in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A monarch caterpillar sharing a milkweed leaf with aphids. This image was taken Nov. 15, 2023 in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Two monarch caterpillars sharing a milkweed leaf. This image was taken Nov. 15, 2023 in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Two monarch caterpillars sharing a milkweed leaf. This image was taken Nov. 15, 2023 in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Two monarch caterpillars sharing a milkweed leaf. This image was taken Nov. 15, 2023 in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A very hungry monarch caterpillar on the move. This image was taken Nov. 18, 2023 in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A very hungry monarch caterpillar on the move. This image was taken Nov. 18, 2023 in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A very hungry monarch caterpillar on the move. This image was taken Nov. 18, 2023 in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Hi, there! A monarch caterpillar faces the camera. This image was taken Nov. 14, 2023 in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Hi, there! A monarch caterpillar faces the camera. This image was taken Nov. 14, 2023 in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Hi, there! A monarch caterpillar faces the camera. This image was taken Nov. 14, 2023 in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Tuesday, November 21, 2023 at 2:13 PM
Focus Area Tags: Environment, Innovation, Natural Resources, Yard & Garden

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