Posts Tagged: overwintering
Guess Who's Back?
"Guess who's back?" butterfly guru Art Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor of evolution and ecology, asked in his "posse" email today. "Guess, who's back?" has nothing to do with the catchphrases uttered by Arnold Schwarzenegger and ...
Monarchs overwintering in the Natural Bridges State Park, Santa Cruz, in 2016. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
How Little We Know About Monarchs...
How little we know about monarch butterflies, Danaus plexippus... And how long misinformation can linger... Take the news about the overwintering 250,000 monarchs recorded along the California coast in the Western Monarch Thanksgiving...
Monarchs overwintering in the Natural Bridges State Park, Santa Cruz, in 2016. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Overwintering Milkweed Bugs on the Prowl
Have you seen any overwintering milkweed bugs lately? About a dozen milkweed bugs, Oncopeltus fasciatus, emerged from seclusion Jan. 2, 2022 in our Vacaville garden. The temperature hovered at 32 degrees that morning, but when the...
Two's company, three's a crowd? Milkweed bugs on a cactus on Jan. 2, 2022 in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A colorful milkweed bug, Oncopeltus fasciatus, sunning itself on a succulent on Jan. 2, 2022 in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Warmth of the January sun and these milkweed bugs are getting all of it. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Western Monarch Population Increase: What Does This Mean?
What does the increase in the overwintering Western monarch population along coastal California mean? The number of Danaus plexippus sightings showed a 100-fold increase as compared to last year, according to the Thanksgiving...
Overwintering monarchs at Pacific Grove, California, in 2016. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This migratory male monarch, released Aug. 28, 2016 by Steve Johnson of Ashland as part of the David James' citizen scientist project, fluttered into Vacaville, Calif. on Sept. 5, 2016, on its way to an overwintering site along coastal California. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Memorable Year for the Western Monarchs
It's definitely going to be quite a memorable year for the Western monarch butterflies--memorable as in "record low populations at the overwintering sites along the California coast." Matthew Shepherd, director of communications and outreach at the...
Monarchs overwintering in the Natural Bridges State Park, Santa Cruz, in 2016. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A male monarch nectaring on Mexican sunflower, Tithonia, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)