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LinkedInPosts Tagged: monarchs
Good News on the Monarch Front
Good news on the monarch front. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced a proposal to list the monarch butterfly as a threatened species "with species-specific protections and flexibilities to encourage conservation" under Section 4(d) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). "We are...
A monarch caterpillar munching on a milkweed leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This monarch chrysalis formed on a bird feeder in Vacaville. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A male monarch nectaring on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in Vacaville. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A female monarch foraging in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Not Good News on the Monarch Front
The dwindling number of monarchs overwintering along the California coast is of great concern. This just in from entomologist and migratory monarch researcher David James, an associate professor at Washington State University, who maintains a Facebook page, "Monarch Butterflies in...
Overwintering monarchs clustering in an 80-foot-high eucalyptus tree at the Natural Bridges State Park butterfly sanctuary, Santa Cruz on Dec. 30, 2016. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
What's a Group of Butterflies Called?
What's a group of butterflies called? A kaleidoscope, swarm, or rabble. If you've ever had a kaleidoscope in your childhood and admired the swirling colors and patterns, you know that's an appropriate name. But even one monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus, reminds us of...
Migratory monarchs in a Vacaville pollinator garden filled with Mexican sunflowers (Tithonia rotundifola). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Migratory monarchs in flight over a patch of Mexican sunflowers (Tithonia rotundifola) in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Zinnia Nectar: Flight Fuel for the Migratory Monarchs
Zinnias are a great nectar source for migratory monarch butterflies as they wing their way to their overwintering spots along coastal California. How much do monarchs love zinnias? So much that sometimes a monarch will touch down on a zinnia right next to you. That's what...
A migratory monarch butterfly nectaring on a pink zinnia in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A migratory monarch sipping her fill of nectar from a zinnia in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Wings Up! Let's Go!
Wings up! Let's go! The monarch fall migration is underway. "Unlike most other insects in temperate climates, monarch butterflies cannot survive a long cold winter. Instead, they spend the winter in roosting spots," explains Monarch Watch. "Monarchs west of the Rocky Mountains travel to...
A monarch butterfly gliding over a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola on Sept. 17 in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
