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

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

Celebrating its 36th year in 2010, the North American Butterfly Association (NABA) Butterfly Count Program is a long-term citizen-scientist project, involving almost 500 counts and thousands of volunteers throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Volunteers select a count area with a 15-mile diameter count circle and assemble a group to conduct a one-day census, of all butterflies sighted within that circle.

Butterfly Counts are usually held around the fourth of July. To learn more about them click the star spangled butterfly above. For free down-loadable 4th of July Butterfly coloring pages click on the Star-Spangled Butterfly coloring page below.

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Join Obsession With Butterflies under the oak trees as entomologists and other enthusiasts share their knowledge of bugs and butterflies at the annual “BUGS ‘N BUTTERFLIES” event at Riley Wilderness Park on Sunday, June 6th 2010.

Meet Brent Karner from the LA Museum of Natural History, along with his  “Insect Zoo”. Brent will be demonstrating interesting insect and lifestyles.

Vendors include:

• Sea and Sage Audubon
• Master Gardeners of Orange County
• Cleveland National Forest
• Donna O’Neill Land Conservancy
• Orange County Chapter of the North American Butterfly Association
• Orange County Vector Control
• Monarchs Forever
• Wer-Mor n’ Honey Beekeeper
• Obsession With Butterflies

Gardening specialists will discuss planting California native drought tolerant plants to attract pollinators like butterflies, bees and hummingbirds.

Enjoy guided Ranger-led as well as self-guided Nature Walks, the Riley Park Butterfly Garden, a “Hawk Talk”, Nature Center, Kid’s activities and Crafts which will be offered throughout the day.

Its a fun day for the whole family!

Event Fee: Free with parking
Parking Fee: $3.00

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

Photo: Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times

The rare Palos Verdes Blue butterfly (Glaucopsyche lygdamus palosverdesensis) took flight on a wind-swept bluff of the Palos Verdes peninsula in Southern California on Saturday, March 7th 2010.  Then another. Then another! Conservationists released 80 endangered butterflies in all, each bred in captivity, venture into the wild.

It was a big step into saving the Palos Verdes Blue butterfly from extinction.  This butterfly’s life is short, living for five to 10 days, it must work quickly to reproduce. During it’s short life, it must find nectar for energy, chose a mate, locate it’s host plant, locoweed (Astragalus trichopodes var. lonchus) and finally lay eggs for the survival of it’s species.

There are now as many as 10,000 Palos Verdes Blues compared to 1994 when they were at the brink of extinction.  Still, they face years of conservationist’s help before they can be removed from the federal list of endangered species.

A big thanks to conservationist at the The Urban Wildlands Group.  The UWG is dedicated to the conservation of species, habitats, and ecological processes in urban and urbanizing areas.

Kristen gives a Butterfly Presentation at the Los Angeles Arboretum

Everybody loves to learn about lepidopetera and Kristen enjoys teaching people about them. “Educating others about butterflies is so rewarding! Butterflies are fascinating and fun to learn about and having an understanding of their life cycle also helps to raise awareness of the delicate balance of nature.”