Western Monarchs Overwintering at Pismo Beach, California

February 5 is California Western Monarch Day, established by the state Legislature in 2004.  California Western Monarch Day celebrates the annual migratory return of the Western Monarch Butterfly to the central coast of California to spend the winter during October through March.

Thousands of Western Monarch Butterflies overwinter on the California coast each year.  One of the most popular spots for the Western Monarchs is Pismo Beach, California.  As of January, 23 , 2012 the count is more than 23,000 monarchs at the Pismo Beach Grove. The migration draws many visitors along the central coast.  The migration of the monarch butterfly is studied and celebrated by school children in California, across the United States, and in Mexico.

EVENTS

Mile Square Regional Park ~ Saturday, February 4th, 2012

This is the 2rd annual Monarch Butterfly Day at Mile Square Park. Children and families are welcome to come learn about the California Western Monarch Butterfly and its habitat with an up-close look at the magnificent creatures while they flutter through the Butterfly Garden and inside a netted butterfly enclosure in the park’s Camp Sycamore. Children can help the Butterfly Garden continue to grow by planting native plants in the garden to attract Monarch Butterflies. More than 140 plants will be available for planting on February 4th. Butterfly experts will also be on-site to provide educational information and answer questions about the beautiful and unique specimens.  Additional event activities include children’s crafts, face painting, guided nature walks through Mile Square Regional Park’s nature area. Each child in attendance will receive native seeds as a take away to continue to help build safe habitats for Monarch Butterflies and other creatures.

Event Time: 10:00 to 2:00
Event Fee: Event is free
Parking Fee: $5 per vehicle
Age: Recommended for ages 4 to 12
Special Instructions: Please be advised rain will cancel the event.

Mile Square Park
16801 Euclid
Fountain Valley, California 92708
(714)973-6600 or (714)973-3197

Pismo Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove ~ Saturday, February 4th, 2012

Plans are in place for a joyful celebration of Western Monarch Day at the Pismo Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove. There will be butterfly talks and educational booths for adults, as well as art activities for children. The main attraction, however, is the thousands of Monarchs hanging in huge clusters from the eucalyptus and pine trees in the grove. The grove will remain open through the month of February from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm with docents providing daily talks at 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm. For more information, please visit www.MonarchButterfly.org

Times: 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Parking: Free
Admission Fee: Free

Monarch Butterfly Grove
Monarch Butterfly Grove, Hwy. 1
Pismo Beach, California
(805) 773.7034

Citizen Science Butterfly Count in Limestone Canyon ~ February 5th, 2012

Join staff and local butterfly experts on IRC’s annual butterfly count! We will be recording number and types of butterflies encountered along the trails of Limestone Canyon. Our butterfly count will provide a benchmark estimate of diversity and number of these beautiful insects to compare to future local surveys and to larger patterns being compiled nationwide. Be prepared to learn about some new species if you’re new to this activity, or to share your appreciation and knowledge of butterflies.

Time: 8:30 AM
Activity Type: Citizen Science
Distance: 2+ miles
Duration: 5 hour(s)
Guided: Docent-Led
Reservations needed
Event is limited to space, please visit the IRC’s Website to sign up for a reservation.

They are a breath of beauty fluttering by They are mystery chronicled upon wing They bring forth the grace and wonder of this world to our eyes everyday ~K. D’Angelo

1st Place ~ Surprised Terra Sphinx Moth

The Aqua Lady Butterfly Bracelet
. . . goes to wingedthing for the adorable Terra Spinx Moth Caterpillar with the surprise look on its face!

2nd Place ~ Black Swallowtail Caterpillar

The Painted Lady Butterfly Caterpillar Kit
. . . goes to Michael Marlow (BugPhoto.net) for the Black Swallowtail caterpillar making a meal of parsley buds and stems in a backyard garden.

3rd Place ~ Hungry Terra Sphinx Moth Caterpillar

The Haven Brand Soil Conditioner Teas – Assorted 3 Pack
. . . goes to Edith at Shady Oaks Butterfly Farm for the very hungry Terra Sphinx Moth!

Madame’s Journey Home is a sweet tale of a Monarch Butterfly’s journey. The vivid and delightful pictures, illustrated by the authors son, will reach out and touch your heart! This is wonderful book, an inspirational story of Love shared with the world…

From the Author, Mariosa: Madame’s Journey Home is a children’s book filled with a powerful message of love and transformation. It is a true story of a woman and her son that found a Monarch butterfly on the eve of a killing frost. They named her Madame. She lived with them for three months and became part of their community.

This is the story of an amazing journey and a very special circle of life.

Madame’s Journey Home is available through Amazon Books.

Cute Swallowtail Caterpillar

We think caterpillars are cute. . . If you do too, leave us a comment about our caterpillar and then vote for the cutest caterpillar in the OWB Flutter-Blog “Cutest Caterpillar Photo Contest“. Better yet, register to enter your favorite caterpillar photograph for a chance to win some great prizes!

Prizes will be awarded to the photographs with the most votes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place!

The OWB Flutter-Blog Cutest Caterpillar Contest ends Saturday, December 3rd, 2011

How To Enter

• Register to enter.
• Post your favorite caterpillar photograph. (click on the post photos link)
• Don’t forget to vote for your favorite caterpillar!
• Share this link with your friends on Facebook or your favorite social network.
• Follow Us on Twitter!

How to Win

• Prizes will be awarded to the photos with the most votes, so be sure to tell your friends to vote! (You can only vote once)
• Tweet up your cute caterpillar entry.
• Share this contest post on Facebook.
• Winners will be notified by email.
• Winners will be posted on the OWB Flutter-Blog.

Rules:

• Entries must be of a caterpillar and submitted by the original photographer.
• Any image deemed inappropriate by Flutter-Blog admin will be removed.
• Contest ends Saturday, December 3rd, 2011 at midnight PST (Pacific Standard Time).
• No purchase necessary.
• Sorry, the Cutest Caterpillar Photo Contest is open to U.S. residents only.

Prizes:

1st Place Prize: Aqua Lady Butterfly Bracelet (value $39.00)
Winged Inspirations Fine Butterfly Jewelry
Sponsored by Obsession With Butterflies

1st PLACE Aqua Lady Butterfly Bracelet Sponsored by Obsession With Butterflies

2nd Place Prize: Painted Lady Butterfly Caterpillar Kit (value $19.00)
Live Butterflies For Release, Classroom Education, Children’s
Parties, Weddings, Butterfly Rearing Supplies
Sponsored by Chase N’ Butterflies

2nd PLACE Butterfly Larvae Kit sponsored by Chase N' Butterflies

3rd Place Prize: Haven Brand Soil Conditioner Teas – Assorted 3 Pack (value $12.95)
All-natural, premium soil conditioner teas for the home gardener, landscaper and farmer. Haven Brand uses only the highest quality manures from livestock that are raised on permanent, native grass pastures at the Haven Family Ranch.
Sponsored by Haven Brand

3rd PLACE Assorted 3 Pack Premium Soil Conditioner Teas sponsored by Haven Brand

"Do you have time for bon bons?" Asked Mother Robin of the Butterfly.

Monarch Butterfly Egg

Giant Sulphur Butterfly Egg

In nature, when it comes to motherhood and eggs, the female butterfly soars with the best of them. Although, she may not have to sit on her wee ones for 12-14 hours a day, as the Robin does, she will devote almost her entire existence to being an expert egg layer.

Butterfly eggs come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and colors. Depending on the species of butterfly, the eggs could be rounded or pointy, they could be brown, white, pink, blue or green, they could be laid singularly, in twos or in groups of a hundred at a time. All these factors and many more come into play as the female butterfly chooses where and when to deposit her tiny specs of life.

Gulf Fritillary Butterfly Egg

Question Mark Butterfly Eggs

Green eggs go on green leaves, as camouflage is important to defend from predators. Pointy eggs may be laid in groups, because there is safety in numbers. The correct, safe and healthy, host plant must be found and on it the perfect leaf must be present or my babies may not survive. So much for eating bon bons or fluttering about without a care in the world!

In a brief and dangerous season of life, female butterflies have to work skillfully and quickly to ensure the survival of their species. Like many of the other mommies found in the natural world, their efforts are to be valued and are not just for the birds!

To learn more about Female Butterflies and their Eggs visit the OWB Dimension pages …

Others labor from sun to sun but a Mother's work in never done! ~ Unknown

The Itsy Bitsy Spider Crawled Up The Flower Stalk!

Graceful and non-aggressive, butterflies, at every stage of their development, from egg to caterpillar, caterpillar to chrysalis, chrysalis to adult, attract a wide variety of natural predators.

The list of butterfly foe is long and includes critters such as ants, frogs, lizards, birds, rats, snakes, parasitic flies, wasps and many species of carnivorous insects, like praying mantises, dragonflies and robber flies. Opportunistic and stealthy spiders can also be found hunting unsuspecting butterflies.

Brightly-colored markings, foul odors, bitter-tastes, false eye-spots and false identities are just some of the creative and dramatic defenses that butterflies have developed over time to protect themselves from their aggressors, but despite their efforts, butterflies still find themselves at the bottom of the food chain and at the top of the menu for many creatures who are hungry for survival.

To learn more about Butterflies and their Predators…

Visit OWB’s Butterfly Dimension Pages…

California Dogface (Zerene eurydice)

Bugs and Butterflies Event
Sunday, June 5, 2011
10:00 AM to 3:00 PM

Join Obsession With Butterflies along with plant, and insect enthusiasts for a day under the oak trees. Learn about butterflies and how to attract them to your garden. Rangers will lead nature walks through the native plant garden, offer a Hawk Talk and other activities for children. Brent Karner from the LA Museum of Natural History will have his traveling Insect Zoo with many interesting critters to meet up close. Information will be offered by specialists in water conservation, gardening, beekeeping, vector control, wilderness preserves and entomology. A fun day for the whole family!

Some of the vendors include…
Obsession with Butterflies/NABA (North American Butterfly Association)
LA Museum of Natural History
Orange County Vector Control
Wer-Mor n Honey
Donna O’Neill Land Conservancy
Master Gardeners of Orange County
Wagon Wheel Natural History Association

Event Fee: Free with parking
Parking Fee: $3.00

Thomas F. Riley Wilderness Park
30952 Oso Parkway
Coto de Caza, CA, CA 92679
949-923-2265 or 949-923-2266

Breezes of Spring

Sweet life is borne on Breezes of Spring
A tiny new bud, an egg left by wing…

Caterpillar and flower frolic happily together
With raindrops and rays amidst clement weather

Scarlet-gold leaves herald in changing light
Turning friends to chrysalis n’ seed at Nature’s delight

Creation finds rest in a white winter’s slumber
Silent snow cradles the awaiting season’s wonder

Out of the morning’s dew a yearning sprout does appear
Beholding a familiar winged dancer spying it’s tear

“Oh, bright little blossom, why do you cry?”
“Can you not see I’ve become a butterfly?”

Sweet life is borne on Breezes of Spring
A tiny new bud, an egg left by wing…

˜K. D’Angelo

Lotus scoparius, also commonly known as Deerweed,

is definitely not just for Deer!

In California, Arizona, and parts of Mexico, Deerweed sets the foothills ablaze in color from early spring through summer. This brightly hued perennial is a hot spot for local wildlife, butterflies included. Margaret Huffman of the North American Butterfly Association calls this lovely lotus “the best butterfly plant for Southern California”.

The Silvery Blue, Glaucopsyche lygdamus, Bramble Hairstreak, Callophrys perplexa, Funereal Duskywing, Erynnis funeralis and Avalon Scrub Hairstreak, Strymon avalona, all use this hardy plant as a host. Female Gray Hairstreaks, Strymon melinus, Orange Sulphurs , Colias eurytheme, Acmon Blues, Icaricia acmon, Marine Blues, Leptotes marina, and Chalcedon Checkerspots, Euphydryas chalcedona, are also rumored to have frequented its flames in search of a place to lay their eggs.

Changing in color from yellow to red once pollinated, Deerweed’s fiery buds attract many other pollinators as well, including the Yellow-faced Bumblebee, Bombus vosnesenskii. Rodents, birds and other seed eating creatures partake in its zestful foliage too. Male butterflies can often be found setting up territories near Deerweed. And not to worry; Deer, for whom this plant is not so aptly named, do not find themselves burned where foraging is concerned, as this hearty and drought tolerant native has ample to share.

Lotus scoparius is also known as Deervetch, California Broom and Western Bird’s-Foot Trefoil. It is a sub-shrub in the Pea Family and is commonly found in many areas including chaparral, coastal sand and at roadsides (elevations below 1500 m.). Ironically, despite its blazing appearance, Lotus scoparius is often used and planted for habitat restoration and erosion control after a brush fire. Plant Deerweed , Lotus scoparius, in you garden today and help butterflies and other native species to thrive. KD