“The butterflies have flown away, like my ignorance and youth.”

-Eileen Granfors

I wish to resume flogging the dead horse. Maybe I was a S&M dominatrix in a previous life... who knows. Here is a citizen all volunteer park renovation project in National City, California where they took neglected city property and turned it into a mini oasis of life.

Aired April 22, 2013

The City of Laguna Beach wouldn't allow the volunteer maintenance and upkeep of an already existing butterfly garden within Alta Laguna Park that was not so grand in scope as National City's or the Gibbs Butterfly Park in Huntington Beach, California.

Due to its location along a coastal ridge on top of a hill that bisects two distinct biomes: coastal and intercoastal, a relatively immense amount of various butterfly species visited the site. Off the top of my head, I can remember seeing at least 19 different species, and there were more I couldn't identify. Being on a hill gives Alta Laguna Park the added bonus of "hill-topping": articles here and here.  Shortsightedness on the City of Laguna Beach management's part, as the infrastructure is already in place!

This edition of dead horse flogging is complete.

More flagellation later, maybe...

"The butterfly is a flying flower,
The flower a tethered butterfly."
-Ponce Denis Écouchard Lebrun

Marion Jacobs of Laguna Beach, California, informed me that the nine cats on her milkweed plant at home have finished it off in record time. She bought a replacement, transferring the remaining larvae onto the full one. She also donated two milkweed plants for the defunct Alta Laguna Park Butterfly Garden that Anthony, the current city gardener, planted for her. Thank you Marion for the kind and thoughtful gift for the Monarchs. I'm sure those plants will be depleted by voracious Monarch caterpillars before the season's over! I also wish to thank Anthony, or "A.C." for his interest in the butterfly garden. Hopefully, he'll be able to resurrect at least some of it, if the City allows him to. 

Here's a nice little vid from Annie's Annuals and Perennials on container gardening for those of you who may be interested. Great planting info for just that one pot you want to put on the patio too.

Watch on Vimeo for better quality

 The container garden is home to several interesting and hard to find plants that were purchased from her online nursery. All plants arrived healthy, well packed, no worse for wear, and fresh for planting. Annie's physical nursery is located in Richmond, California, close to Oakland in the Bay Area. As I assess their usefulness throughout the season in a butterfly garden (at least this one), I'll be commenting on their relative worth.

Let Them Eat Pumpkin!
Pretty soon, and if you are lucky, you may find yourself running out of milkweed. Have Monarch caterpillars decimated your milkweed plants and you can't find anymore? What's a parent to do? Feed them pumpkin! This very informative PDF explains the whys and wherefores of getting your cats to a chrysalis stage after running out of milkweed and none is to be found anywhere. As mentioned in the article, other cucurbits such as squashes, cucumbers, and melons could also be substituted.

WARNING! This is not meant to be a replacement for milkweed! It only helps get those cats in their last instar to the chrysalis stage. Those at lower instars are most likely to die if not fed milkweed. It's kind of like feeding a 17 year old kid only Twinkies to get them by until they turn 18, after which you can legally kick them out of the house: it's not long enough to outright kill them, but will keep them alive long enough until they can be emancipated.

"In nature a repulsive caterpillar turns into a lovely butterfly.  But with humans it is the other way around:  a lovely butterfly turns into a repulsive caterpillar."

-Anton Chekhov

There's a fair amount to cover in today's blog entry: 

The container butterfly garden is now being visited by various butterfly species visitors: lots of Monarchs, several Cabbage Whites, and a few Sulphurs, or Sulfurs; the spelling dependent upon which side of the tracks you come from. Can't wait to start seeing swallowtail species stopping by.

Margot Norris, who I wrote about in last week's entry, informed me that her milkweed plant is just about stripped clean and the six cats on it are getting very fat. Good work Margot!

James Vaughn of Laguna Beach emailed me recently about his predicament with Monarch caterpillars on his milkweed plants at home and how they've stripped his plants bare also. Wanting to know if it's O.K. to move them to newer plants and how to go about it, he did an online search, learning that one way to perform this is to remove the leaf from the old plant with the caterpillar on it, then placing the leaf and cat on the new plant.

This is a very safe way to transfer them, but a word of caution: make sure the caterpillar has firmly and completely transferred itself onto the new plant. If not, the leaf and cat may fall off and be lost below or even hurt itself. Personally, I gently pick up cats by gently squeezing them 'tween the thumb and the forefinger and carefully lifting. I've done it so many times now that it becomes second nature. Works well except for the tiniest of the tiny ones.

Below are some photos James sent of his caterpillars. Gotta love those Oleander Aphids too: add a contrasty color splash. Happy transferring James!

© James Vaughn

© James Vaughn

© James Vaughn

Monarch cat on a milkweed seed pod.

Helga Robinson of Laguna Beach, California shared this wonderful little video produced by videographer Paul Hengstebeck, also of Laguna Beach. It follows the exploits of a Monarch caterpillar transplanted from Paul's garden outside to inside Paul's home, where our chubby friend (the caterpillar, not Paul) metamorphosizes into a chrysalis.

According to Paul, this clip is a rough draft so to speak. At the moment, he is in the process of creating a more finished video. I'll post it also when ready.

© Google

 Good photo of Monarch caterpillars in its five various stages of instars.

Are Monarch Butterflies Making a Comeback? is an article from a Monarch butterfly aficionado out of Bloomington, Minnesota. Sounds like 2014 will mark a turnaround point in the drastic eastern Monarch population decline. Hopefully, this uptick will last many more seasons.

As for our western race, the southwestern drought we've been experiencing has surely put a dent in butterfly populations in general. It is most certain that wild stands of milkweed plants have felt its effect. One mitigating factor though here on the west coast directly influencing Monarch population numbers has been the increasing awareness of the Monarch life cycle and its complete dependence on milkweed plants.

Here's a little primer for those who aren't aware of the Monarch butterfly life cycle and its total dependence on milkweeds: Plight of the Monarch. Some people are unaware for instance that there are two distinct races of Monarch butterflies in North America.

Not only do milkweed plants afford food for Monarch caterpillars, their blooms produce copious amounts of nectar for all butterflies, bees, and other nectar-loving insects. Those adding milkweeds to their gardens and those reintroducing native milkweeds to their original ranges certainly help support and bolster western Monarch populations.

The container garden can certainly attest to that. Up until this year, hardly ever was a butterfly spotted around the house. Now, with butterfly-specific plants which includes healthy doses of various milkweeds, the yard is constantly being visited by various butterfly species, especially Monarchs.

 “Oh my dear love is so fragile but also very beautiful ... just like a butterfly . Promise me you never put your heart in the hands of savage , but instead give it to another butterfly .”

-Dagmar D.l.R

Summer is well on its way now, as the latest photos below of the container garden attest. There is a constant flow of new and emerging Monarch caterpillars, coupled with a population explosion of oleander aphid on the milkweed.

No worries mate, as they are host specific just as the caterpillars are. Yes, they are ugly, and yes, they can literally cover a plant's stems, but they don't seem to affect their hosts too much; there are plenty of leaves to be had for the munching by Monarch caterpillars.

The only plants I've lost to aphids were those that were already weak for whatever reason. They would have eventually succumbed without the help of the aphids anyway.

Margot Norris of Laguna Beach, California informed me that she just found six Monarch cats on her Tropical Milkweed plant. Congrats Margot! As the season progresses Margot, and if you get bit by the Monarch caterpillar bug, you will need to buy more milkweed in order to satisfy the voracious appetites these striped hotdogs with legs require.

SPEAKING OF MILKWEED...

There have been reports on a Facebook page of people purchasing milkweed at their local Home Depot, only to have their Monarch caterpillars croak after feeding on them (copied from Facebook Monarch Butterfly Garden page):

A Cautionary Tale that Bears Repeating:

From MBG Community Member Wendy: "Please warn everyone The Home Depot is selling milkweed with pesticides. A friend and I bought tropical milkweed plants, and transferred our caterpillars to these pl... See More

 That's not to disparage Home Depot; others have bought milkweed plants there without the resultant cat mortality. Basically, buy from a reputable source that will guarantee their milkweed plants to be pesticide free. Ask first before purchasing. Although the nursery personnel may say they don't spray pesticides on their milkweed, their supplier or suppliers may. Locally, Butterfly Farms of Vista, California specifically raises host and nectar plants that are pesticide free with butterflies in mind .

I'm sure there were Anise Swallowtail cats in the fennel. I can't find any, but several days ago I noticed that the fennel plants were all disheveled. Looking closer, I did find tiny caterpillar frass in some of the leaf crotches, but no cats. The assumption is that a larger bird - most likely crows - spotted them and had a heyday with the cats in the plants (sounds like a Dr. Seuss book). As Charlie Brown would say, "Aaugh!"

© Charles Shulz

© Andrew Kliss

© Andrew Kliss

© Andrew Kliss

Large empty tubs waiting for their plants to get larger before planting.

© Andrew Kliss

 “The caterpillar does all the work, but the butterfly gets all the publicity.”

-George Carlin

I need to reiterate:
most - if not all - of the butterfly, caterpillar, and chrysalid photos in this blog have been downloaded from web searches. I've received several comments lately about their high quality and the assumption that I took them.

In order to allay any confusion or misconceptions regarding photo authorship, this blog will begin to give credit either to the blog author or Google, which this site uses extensively. I don't have the amount of caterpillars, chrysalids, and butterflies at my disposal, nor the patience to chase down and try to produce quality butterfly photos. I have a cat; trying to corral him at times for either beneficial or seemingly ulterior motives is enough of a patience tester for me as it is.



Butterfly Farms in Vista, California, held an open house of their facilities June 14. They offer butterfly-specific plants for sale on top of regular landscape fare, and is home to the largest butterfly vivarium in California according to their Facebook page, .

Butterfly Farms has recently opened their doors. As such, it is in the process of growing, expanding, and maturing. The visit to the vivarium and butterfly plant nursery was a pleasant way to spend the later half of a Saturday morning amongst butterflies chrysalids, caterpillars, along with some of their favorite plants.

© Andrew Kliss

© Andrew Kliss

This netted building houses plants on sale specifically for butterflies.

© Andrew Kliss

Butterfly plants for sale.

 

© Andrew Kliss

Butterfly vivarium.

© Andrew Kliss

Once inside the vivarium, one is greeted by a landscape dedicated to supporting butterflies stocked with both host and nectar plants. The watermelon is used as an enticement to lure butterflies and makes for a good nectar substitute when low on flowers. Just about any fruit that contains sugars will work, even oranges. Cut up fruit in a dish and placed in the garden will keep butterflies coming to visit. Change periodically when fruit begins to dry out. Watch out for those pesky Argentine ants, as once they find it, they'll be all over it like flies on feces.

© Andrew Kliss

© Andrew Kliss

This is Micaela, the daughter of one of the owners with an Anise Swallowtail perched upon her forehead. She is the spokesperson, greeter, and unofficial mascot of Butterfly Farms.

© Andrew Kliss

Monarch feeding on lantana.

Male Monarch feeding on Tropical Milkweed. Milkweeds serve a twofold purpose: nectar and host plants. Two gender identifying characteristics are the small black dots on each lower wing with males, and the absence of the dots, plus thicker black veins on wings with females.

© Andrew Kliss

Various instars of Monarch caterpillars chomping away on Tropical Milkweed. Notice the yellowish orange oleander aphids infesting the plant also, which was touched upon in the June 6th blog post.

© Andrew Kliss

© Andrew Kliss

Anise Swallowtail sipping watermelon juice.

© Andrew Kliss

There were several Anise Swallowtail chrysalids on display in the vivarium that exhibited several color morphs, dependent on what color their surroundings are. Above is one in green phase when what it attached itself to was still green. Below is a brown chrysalid blending in with its surroundings. This particular sad looking plant was donated to the vivarium for showcasing the various color forms. Unfortunately, transplant shock got the better of it.

© Andrew Kliss

© Andrew Kliss

Cloudless Sulfur caterpillar feeding on cassia spp.

© Andrew Kliss

The converted clothes hampers above make for great rearing pens. I've been lax with the butterfly web site and have not updated the type of laundry hamper I now use. I really like the Whitmor collapsible laundry hamper for its convenient size and zippered lid.

Is it worth one's time to go out of your way to visit the vivarium? No, not right now at least. If one lives close to Butterfly Farms, the trip is worth the short drive. It is too new and not mature enough to warrant a special trip right now. Next year at this time, the vivarium should be established enough to make a trip worthwhile.

The nursery is worth coming to, as it stocks a varied and large selection of nectar and host plants, with an emphasis on milkweeds. It is a nonprofit; plant sale proceeds go to operations costs, hosting school field trips, and advancing butterfly research.

"Know thyself. A maxim as pernicious as it is ugly. Whoever studies himself arrest his own development. A caterpillar who seeks to know himself would never become a butterfly."

-Andre Gide

Finding a few more Monarch caterpillars with each passing week. That's good news, as it affirms the presence of butterflies in a neighborhood sparse with nectar bearing and host plants.

 The Gulf Fritillary

 Many times mistaken for a Monarch due to its similar attire, they are two distinct species with distinct host plant proclivities.

Whereas the Monarch butterfly hosts on milkweed species, the Gulf Fritillary hosts on various species of passion vine. We would not have any "frits" in California were it not for passion vines growing in our gardens.

Gulf Fritillary Agraulis vanillae

The under-wings of Gulf Fritillaries sport large, metallic-luster silvery patches that photographs have a hard time giving justice to. This is one very outstanding notable difference between them and Monarchs.

Gulf Fritillary Caterpillar

Gulf Fritillary Chrysalis

Blue Passion Flower Passiflora caerulea

There are a myriad of passion vine species, cultivars, and hybrids one can choose for a garden. A word of warning regarding some passion vines: from what I've read online on various sites and posts, red flowering varieties should be avoided as they are poisonous to frit cats. Whites, purples, violets, yellows -- anything but red should be planted. Also be careful to make sure that any hybrids you may be interested in have no red flowering parentage in their lineage.

The container garden originally was home to Passiflora loefgrenii, but was replaced by Passiflora edulis 'Possum Purple', as P. loefgrenii was not producing as many leaves as wished for in order to support a fair number of frit cats. I was enamored by its blooms, but alas, necessity above beauty. That's not to say P. edulis is the ugly duckling of the passion vine family: far from it! I find all of them to be equally beautiful. How could a parent say one child is more beautiful than another?

I picked 'Possum Purple' over the common P. edulis just to be different, plus from what I've read, it produces excellent passion fruits. Soon I'll be able to sip a tropical passion fruit drink from the front porch while watching butterflies flit about in the container garden. Yes, life is good!

“What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls a butterfly.”
- Richard Bach

Now that butterfly season is ramping up, this post is longer than most, covering several different topics. 

Latest Container Garden News:
Found seven new Monarch cats this week. Looking for various swallowtail cat species on my fennel, dill, Queen Anne's lace, angelica, and common rue; all members of the carrot family, or Apiaceae, - except for common rue, which is a member of the citrus family - on which a few members of the swallowtail family host on. Haven't found any yet, but I did see an unidentified swallowtail cruising past the front of the house last week. Also spotted a Giant Swallowtail flitting about the neighbor's dwarf orange tree. Can only guess it was a female looking to oviposit some of her eggs.

The plants mentioned above make wonderful nectar sources on top of being hosts to several swallowtail species here in So Cal. I haven't seen any real nectar gathering on common rue, but that may be due to not seeing this type of activity because of timing: being at the right spot at the right time.

• Fennel, dill, and Queen Anne's lace host the Anise Swallowtail and Black Swallowtail.
• Queen Anne's lace also hosts the Giant Swallowtail and possibly the Black Swallowtail.
• Angelica hosts... I'm not sure yet, as I've only started growing it this year. Makes an excellent nectar plant. Will update.
• Rue hosts the Giant Swallowtail and Black Swallowtail.

Carrot cousins make for strong butterfly nectar magnets and are necessary host plants for swallowtails. Other members of the carrot family you would be familiar with are caraway, coriander, cumin, lovage, and parsley. The container garden is host to Angelica stricta "Purpurea", an exquisite beauty of a plant. Well worth looking into if one has the inclination to plant this biennial.

Angelica stricta "Purpurea" 

Many people plant only milkweed to attract Monarch butterflies, but swallowtails are beautiful guests to gardens too. A few representatives of the carrot family would go a long way in diversifying a butterfly garden, plus they are general nectar plants that Monarchs and others likewise feed on.

Speaking of milkweed:
'tis the season for oleander aphids to start making their appearance on your milkweed plants. These pesky little orange/yellow critters are more of a nuisance and eyesore than anything else, although, if one has severely distressed, sickened, or weak plants, they can succumb to large numbers of them. If you don't find any on your plants, consider yourself very lucky, as they are are pretty much endemic to most of the warmer sections of the U.S. and major portions of the world now.

Oleander aphids, Aphis nerii. The brownish aphids are carcasses of dead individuals parasitised by a tiny wasp.

It is an import that most likely originated in the Middle East where its namesake oleander is native of. It is very host specific, only feeding on a few garden plants here: oleander, milkweed, and hoya are pretty much it. Fear not, as they won't invade other plants one has in surrounding areas.

Tiny wasp parasitising an aphid by injecting a tiny egg in the aphid's body that will hatch to eat its host from the inside, out.

What's a person to do? Certainly not spraying for them, as that will kill any butterfly eggs or caterpillars that may be inhabiting your milkweed, and threaten any butterflies one wishes to attract. The best method is to practice mechanical and biological deterrents. If one has the inclination, one can squish the bastards little darlings between the thumb and forefinger. It's best to let nature take its course, allowing aphid predators to help put a dent on their populations.

The frequent and indiscriminate carpet bomb approach to pest management utilizing chemical sprays is an atrocity to nature. One effectively sterilizes an area, creating a vacuum. Nature abhors a vacuum. Pests return with a vengeance. When one has sterilized an area, one has also dispatched predators, but predators have a much slower rate of reproduction which allows pest populations to explode. So what does one do? ONE SPRAYS AGAIN. AND AGAIN. AND AGAIN...

 This ugly creature is the nymph of a cute ladybug. Ladybugs and their nymphs feast on aphids.

 Adult ladybug, or ladybird beetle as some call it, contentedly munching away on a soft bodied aphid.

 GACK! Ants!

In our warm weather area, we are cursed with another unwanted introduction, the Argentine ant. This little bugger invades gardens and homes and is quite pernicious. They actually round up and cultivate aphids for the honeydew they exude from their bodies, milking them as we do cows. Fierce protectors, they are able to fend off most aphid predator attacks. Bad juju. In order to allow aphid predators to do their thing, one must first eliminate Argentine ants from the garden - or at least on one's plants.

In summary, eliminate or severely curtail the use of pesticides, allowing a natural balance to rule your yard. I do believe in the localized and restricted use of pesticides when all other options have expired, but then allow nature to once again take over.

Practice IPM.

If you have an ant problem, target them and not the whole yard. There are baits one can place in the garden and house that ants will collect and take back to their colonies which in many instances kills off the colony, or at least severely limits their populations and destructive capabilities.

Milkweed in the container garden is beginning to attract oleander aphids. I do see ladybugs and I've done my share of squishing, and hopefully, predatory wasps have spied them too. Eventually, I'll throw in the towel, stare at the myriad maddening mass of orange/yellow aphid bodies, safe in the knowledge that my Monarch cats are well, my environment is healthy, and biodiversity rules this little corner of God's green earth.

Other News:
Two relatively close So Cal butterfly exhibits that are active at the moment are the ENC Native Butterfly House in Newport Beach, and the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden Butterfly Pavilion, located in Claremont, California. The butterfly vivarium at Butterfly Farms in Vista is fully now open too.