Posts Tagged: cabbage white butterfly

Cinderella and the White Cabbage Butterfly

If Cinderella were a butterfly, she'd probably be a white cabbage butterfly, Pieris rapae. The butterfly--in its larval stage it's a pest of cucurbits--is stunning as an adult.  Just think of a flowing white gown, exquisite pirouettes, and a...

A cabbage white butterfly nectaring on lavender in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A cabbage white butterfly nectaring on lavender in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Caught in flight--a cabbage white butterfly, Pieris rapae, leaves a lavender blossom. Image taken with a Nikon Z8 and 105mm Nikon lens. Settings: shutter speed, 1/3200 of a second; f-stop, 3: and ISO, 800. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Caught in flight--a cabbage white butterfly, Pieris rapae, leaves a lavender blossom. Image taken with a Nikon Z8 and 105mm Nikon lens. Settings: shutter speed, 1/3200 of a second; f-stop, 3: and ISO, 800. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Heat. The Butterflies. The Butterfly Guru.

Don't expect to see UC Davis distinguished professor emeritus Art Shapiro monitoring butterflies on the 4th of July. There's a good reason why. Shapiro has monitored the butterfly populations of central California since 1972 and maintains a research...

A cabbage white butterfly, Pieris rapae, nectaring on lavender in a Vacaville garden on June 24. Next Wednesday, July 4, promises to be a scorcher at 106 degrees. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A cabbage white butterfly, Pieris rapae, nectaring on lavender in a Vacaville garden on June 24. Next Wednesday, July 4, promises to be a scorcher at 106 degrees. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A cabbage white butterfly, Pieris rapae, flutters its wings, ready to fly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A cabbage white butterfly, Pieris rapae, flutters its wings, ready to fly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Who Won the 2024 Beer-for-a-Butterfly Contest?

Drum roll….  We have a winner in the annual Beer-for-a-Butterfly Contest, in which the first person to collect the first cabbage white butterfly of the year in the three-county area of Yolo, Sacramento and Solano, wins a beer. The 2024...

The cabbage white butterfly, Pieris rapae, is white with small black dots on its wings. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The cabbage white butterfly, Pieris rapae, is white with small black dots on its wings. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A cabbage white butterfly nectaring on a catmint in Vacaville. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A cabbage white butterfly nectaring on a catmint in Vacaville. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A statistics chart of the first flight of the cabbage white butterfly, a work created by Matthew Forister of the University of Nevada. He collaborates with his former professor, Art Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor emeritus.

A statistics chart of the first flight of the cabbage white butterfly, a work created by Matthew Forister of the University of Nevada. He collaborates with his former professor, Art Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor emeritus.

Suds for a Bug? Net the First Cabbage White and Win a Beer!

A beer for a butterfly? Suds for a bug?  It's almost time for the Art Shapiro's annual "Beer-for-a-Butterfly" contest that he's sponsored since 1972. The person who finds the first-of-the-year cabbage white butterfly, Pieris rapae,...

A cabbage white butterfly in flight, heading toward lantana in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A cabbage white butterfly in flight, heading toward lantana in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Cabbage white butterfly flutters toward lantana in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Cabbage white butterfly flutters toward lantana in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Cabbage white butterfly nectaring on lantana in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Cabbage white butterfly nectaring on lantana in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This is the first-flight-of-the-year butterfly chart by Matt Forister, professor at the University of Nevada, who collaborates with UC Davis butterfly guru Art Shapiro. Forister received his doctorate from UC Davis, studying with Shapiro.

This is the first-flight-of-the-year butterfly chart by Matt Forister, professor at the University of Nevada, who collaborates with UC Davis butterfly guru Art Shapiro. Forister received his doctorate from UC Davis, studying with Shapiro.

Bingo! First Cabbage White Butterfly of the Year!

In between the rain and the cold, UC Davis distinguished professor Art Shapiro of the Department of Evolution and Ecology has been searching in vain for the first white cabbage butterfly (Pieris rapae) of the year.  He participates in his...

UC Davis distinguished professor Art Shapiro spotted two cabbage white butterflies today (Feb. 8) in West Sacramento, Yolo County. These weren't them. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

UC Davis distinguished professor Art Shapiro spotted two cabbage white butterflies today (Feb. 8) in West Sacramento, Yolo County. These weren't them. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This is the first-flight-of-the-butterfly chart by UC Davis alumnus Matthew "Matt" Forister, the Trevor J. McMinn Endowed Professor in Biology, and Foundation Professor, Department of Biology, University of Nevada.

This is the first-flight-of-the-butterfly chart by UC Davis alumnus Matthew "Matt" Forister, the Trevor J. McMinn Endowed Professor in Biology, and Foundation Professor, Department of Biology, University of Nevada.

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