I took a stroll through a local nature reserve and found myself being courted by this handsome male monarch.
At first he seemed like the shy and lonely type, as he circled me from afar, drifting alone on the quiet afternoon breeze.
Pink n’ plush Indian Milkweed helped set the mood, softening the landscape with billows of sweet and creamy cotton candy blossoms.
Gathering his courage the brave king of the butterflies flew in closer, alighting upon a lovely coneflower. He spread his wings and basked proudly, as if to eclipse it’s beauty.
This was such a majestic display and there may have even been a little romance, had I been a female monarch! Sorry fella. Thanks for the memories, but you had better fly off now and look for love in some other faces, starting with your own species! KD
Ascelias eriocarpa is a species of milkweed known by the common names of Woollypod Milkweed, Indian Milkweed and Kotolo. It is native to California and adjacent parts of Neveda and Baja California. It grows in many habitat types but thrives in sunny, dry areas. The female Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus) uses this plant as a host and the males of this species can often be found fluttering around it “looking for love”…
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.
The Yellow and Winding Road
Painted Lady on Hollyhock
(Vanessa cardui on Alcea rosea)
© Mother Nature, 2009
(Yellow Roads Abstract by Leaf Miner)
Got the Blues? If you can’t beat them join em!
(Square-spotted & Dotted Buckwheat Blues)
Whether your feeling a bit low or not, chilling with some Blues is bound to better your mood. I found this straggle of buckwheat lovers partying it up on the trail to Holy Jim Falls in the Santa Ana Mountains, CA. The females were laying eggs, the males were puddling… all were having a grand time just hanging with the soft, lush buckwheat ( Eriogonum fasciculatum foliolosum). Don’t get me wrong, being with these guys was very cool and I loved every moment of it, but keeping company with the Buckwheat Blues can also be very confusing. Even after sharing an intimate afternoon with these butterflies, I still could not clearly tell who was a dot and who was a square.
Fred Heath, a fellow groupie and author of An Introduction to Southern California Butterflies, had this to say about his experiences with these particular butterflies. “Distinguishing the Square-spotted Blue (Euphilotes battoides) from the Dotted Blue (Euphilotes enoptes) is quite difficult…”. Mr. Heath goes on to say that “Generally, the Square-spotted has heavier black markings below, including the lines along the margins, and the orange in its hindwings is continuous as opposed to being separated into spots.”
Hmmmmm, thanks so very much to Mr. Heath, could be my mellow state of being, but I am still feeling a bit bemused as to which species is which here. DNA barcoding where are you when I need you! (read more on this here http://www.lepbarcoding.org/index.php ) Based on what I can see I am guessing that both of the aforementioned species were represented on the trail to Holy Jim Falls, although, I am not certain and welcome any feedback or commentary. Just don’t bring me down ok… or else I’ll have to be off chasing those blues again… -K.D’Angelo
