Posts Tagged: anise swallowtail
Early Birds? No, Early Butterflies!
Meanwhile, in between social distancing, what's happening in the world of insects? We were surprised to see a skipper butterfly today (March 25) foraging in our bed of mustard in Vacaville, Calif. Butterfly guru Art Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor of evolution and ecology, identified it...
Early butterfly: This Umber Skipper, Poanes melane, was photographed in Vacaville, Calif. on March 25. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This Anise swallowtail, Papilio zelicaon, foraged March 21 in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology's Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven. The plant: Brandeegee sage (Salvia brandegeei). (Photo by Allan Jones)
Side view of Anise Swallowtail (Papilio zelicaon), nectaring on Brandeegee sage (Salvia brandegeei) on March 21 in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology's Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven. (Photo by Allan Jones)
Marilyn's Miracles: Anise Swallowtail Butterflies
If you've ever reared a butterfly--from an egg to a caterpillar to a chrysalis to an adult--you know what it feels like. Like a miracle, to see life unfolding. Our friend, Marilyn Sexton, aka "Anise Swallowtail Butterfly Mama," showed us her Bohart Museum of Entomology habitat that housed two...
Pupal cases: a stark reminder that two anise swallowtail butterflies eclosed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A newly eclosed anise swallowtail,Papilio zelicaon, reared by Marilyn Sexton of Fairfield. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Ready to fly: a newly eclosed anise swallowtail,Papilio zelicaon. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Some flight fuel on Agapanthus and off it goes, an anise swallowtail. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Art Shapiro: 'Butterflies as Heralds of the Apocalypse'
Butterflies, beer and a bar...Who wants to drink to science? If you've ever wanted to converse with butterfly guru Art Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor of evolution and ecology, about "butterflies and the apocalypse" and sip a beer (or another beverage) at the bar at the same time,...
A newly emerged anise swallowtail, Papilio zelicaon, spreads its wings on anise, its host plant, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Western tiger swallowtail, Papilio rutulus, spreads its wings in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Buy a Plant and the Pollinators Are Free!
When you head over to a nursery, and see bees and butterflies and other pollinators foraging on the plants, that's a good sign. Buy the plants. Promise: The pollinators will come. Many gardeners and would-be gardeners are looking forward to the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden Plant...
An anise swallowtail, Papilio zelicaon, sets the scene in the Kate Frey Pollinator Garden at Sonoma Cornerstone. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Saving a Butterfly: In a World Where Kindness Matters
It was a long awaited process, but it's a girl! And she's beautiful! It all began with finding two anise swallowtail chrysalids clinging last July to the fennel stems in our pollinator garden in Vacaville, Calif. To protect them from predators and the elements, we tucked them inside a zippered...
Newly eclosed anise swallowtail, Papilio zelicaon. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Newly eclosed anise swallowtail, Papilio zelicaon, ready to take flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)