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Posts Tagged: Santa Cruz
David James' Incredible Research on Migratory Monarchs
Newly published research by entomologist David James of Washington State University, Pullman, Wash., in the Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society yielded incredible news about the monarch population that migrates from the Pacific Northwest to...
This male monarch, released by citizen scientist Steve Johnson of Ashland on Aug. 28, 2016, fluttered into Vacaville, Calif., on Sept. 5, a 457-kilometer journey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The male monarch, No. 6093, sips nectar from a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia on Sept. 5, 2016. It traveled 457 kilometers from Ashland to Vacaville. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A feast! This migrating monarch from Ashland, Ore., sipped nectar from a butterfly bush, Buddleia davidii in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
WSU entomologist David James, wearing a monarch t-shirt, with citizen-scientist inmates at Washington State Penitentiary, Walla Walla.
Monarchs overwintering in the Natural Bridges State Park, Santa Cruz, in 2016. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Why Vector-Borne Diseases Remain a Key Threat to Human Health
"Vector-borne diseases remain a key threat to human health, wildlife, and plants, in part, due to the multitude of factors that influence their transmission," says biologist A. Marm Kilpatrick, assistant professor in the Department of Ecology and...
This Culex mosquito, Culex quinquefasciatus, transmits West Nile virus and other viruses. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Once Upon a Monarch...
We first saw her at 10 a.m. on Oct. 27, 2017. She was eating. That's what monarch caterpillars do best. They eat. A lot. "Where have you been?" I asked. "Where have you been hiding? Your siblings have long gone. Your buddies passed through here in late...
A monarch caterpillar dines on tropical milkweed on Oct. 27, 2017 in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The monarch caterpillar, found Oct. 27 on milkweed in Vacaville, Calif., formed this chrysalis on Nov. 4. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
On Nov. 22, the chrysalis darkened, revealing the iconic orange, black and white wings of the monarch in all its transparency. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
On Nov. 22, the monarch eclosed. It's a girl! Here she clings to her pupal case. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Monarch Mom Rita LeRoy, farm keeper at Loma Vista Farm, Vallejo, is ready to release the Vacaville-born and reared monarch at the butterfly sanctuary at Natural Bridges State Park, Santa Cruz, on Nov. 24.
Not a Good Time to Be a Monarch Caterpillar
Migrating monarchs are fluttering daily into our yard in Vacaville, Calif., one by one, two by two, three by three, and four by four, for a little flight fuel. They're sipping nectar from the Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifolia, and tropical...
A monarch caterpillar munches on tropical milkweed in Vacaville, Calif. on Friday, Oct. 27. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Pacific Northwest monarchs began migrating to their overwintering sites along coastal California in last August and early September. This one touched down on milkweed in Vacaville, Calif. on Sept. 12. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This was the scene Nov. 14, 2016 at the Natural Bridges State Park's Monarch Grove Butterfly Natural Preserve, Santa Cruz. They were overwintering 80 feet high in a eucalpytus tree. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Our Story Begins with Eight Monarch Caterpillars in the Dead of Winter
This is a story about how eight monarch butterflies escaped the freezing temperatures of Vacaville, Calif., and hitchhiked to sunny Santa Cruz, thanks to Good Samaritans (Good Monarcharians?) Rita LeRoy and Walter Rockholt of Vallejo. It all started in...
Rita LeRoy of Vallejo holds a Vacaville monarch before releasing it at Lighthouse Field State Park. (Photo by Walter Rockholt)
Monarchs overwintering in the Lighthouse Field State Park, Santa Cruz. (Photo by Rita LeRoy)
Monarchs fluttering in the warm breeze at Lighthouse Field State Park, Santa Cruz. (Photo by Rita LeRoy)
Multiple monarchs nectaring on Eucalyptus blossoms at the overwintering site in Santa Cruz. (Photo by Rita LeRoy)
