In April, mourning cloak caterpillars (Nymphalis antiopa) matured in our ornamental plum tree and became chrysalises.
I brought one into the house in a bug box hoping to catch the moment of transformation as it emerged as a butterfly. Resources said the metamorphosis should take 10-14 days. On the 12th day after forming a chrysalis, "Morty" emerged. As you might have guessed, one minute the chrysalis was hanging motionless, a half hour later I walked by and he (it) was pumping fluid into unfurled wings.
We missed the moment of emergence, but we still had the thrill of seeing how the black spiky caterpillar metamorphosed into a delicate winged butterfly. On the bottom of the bug box was a drop of fluid from inside the chrysalis. Some sources say this is extra pigment. Amazingly, when I washed out the box, the water turned an orange-pink.
I always think twice about bringing a wild thing into the house because they belong outside. They have evolved to survive warm days and cool nights (saving a bird). We were diligent to maintain an even temperature and humidity, and to keep the enclosure out of direct sunlight.
At the same time, we watched a second chrysalis that was outside. The caterpillar had attached to the bottom of our "Welcome" sign 36 hours after the one we had in the house. We hoped to catch this second butterfly as it emerged, but...
As day 14 came and went without the color changes we had seen in the chrysalis in the house, we wondered if the cool night-time temperatures had delayed the transformation. We continued to watch the chrysalis and as the daytime temperatures warmed up, I started to see the yellow coloring coming through the chrysalis wall that had heralded the emergence of Morty.
Then hot dry winds began to blow. I kept hoping the butterfly would emerge, but yesterday the color seemed intensified. (see original coloring) It appeared to be dehydrating.
This morning the story ends. The photo shows a small hole gnawed into the side of the chrysalis. Some other insect has preyed upon the unlucky mourning cloak before it could complete its metamorphosis.
Morty is flying about the yard and hopefully some of its siblings are as well. I hope they will contribute to the next generation of mourning cloak butterflies.
On a recent trip to Orcutt Ranch Park, I saw a number of butterflies: mourning cloak, painted ladies (Vanessa cardui), western swallowtail (Papilio rutulus), and anise swallowtail (Papilio zelicaon). Check out a video of this Hidden Garden in Los Angeles at TheEarthMinute.com.
I first noticed them as a small mass of black threads high in the ornamental plum tree–black caterpillars about the thickness of a pen.
They were clumped together munching on the purple leaves. It has been a while since we have had mourning cloak caterpillars, but I recognized them immediately–bristly black caterpillars with spots of deep red. With all of the nesting birds gathering food for chicks, the caterpillars were fortunate not to be spotted in the top of the tree.
Mourning cloak butterflies are one of the few species, like monarchs that overwinter as adults. A tattered adult frequented the yard a few weeks ago. It must have been a female that laid eggs on the newly emerged plum leaves.
A few days later I saw them again, but the clump had become more dispersed and they seemed plumper.
On Sunday, I just happened to see one "wandering" up the front of the house. It had trekked down the tree, across the ground, across the walkway and started up the wall. Wandering is the phase of a caterpillar's life when it leaves the food resource it has matured on and goes in search of a quiet place to start its metamorphosis into a butterfly. The caterpillar didn't know how lucky it was, I also spotted an alligator lizard waiting at the trunk of the tree and feasting upon some of the caterpillar's less lucky siblings.
Monday, I watched a second caterpillar troop up the wall of the house.
This individual attached itself to the bottom center of our "Welcome" sign. For about 24 hours it hung there, upside-down, in a "J" position.
But yesterday afternoon I was lucky enough to catch the moment when it dropped its spiky black outer skin and became a chrysalis. For a few moments it twitched and shuddered, hanging from the tiny base of silk that attached it to the ceramic sign. Then it became very still.
In the next 10-14 days it should emerge as a butterfly. How exciting!
We planted nectar plants to attract butterflies and it seems to have worked. Hopefully, this is just the first of several butterflies species we will have this year.
The praying mantis is a vital garden predator; the equivalent of a mountain lion in the chaparral insect world. As a top predator, it helps to keep a natural balance of pollinating, plant-eating and decomposing insects in our restored habitat.
Too often, these predator insects are imported. I have done it myself at times when native species of praying mantis and ladybugs were rare in our yard. I have also guarded egg casings to help make sure that these predators reproduced in our yard.
When I spotted this praying mantis, it looked unusual. The wide abdomen and short wings made me think it was an introduced species–such as a Chinese mantis or Carolina mantis.
Much to my surprise, the deeper I went in to the Bug Guide, the more I realized this is actually a California mantis (Stagmomantis californica). It has been so long since I have seen one of our natives in the yard, I didn't recognize it. I believe it is a female, because of the large size of the abdomen. (male vs female mantids)
Where did I find this native mantis? It was on one of our native sages, hunting for native insects. Native plants are vital to native insects of all kinds.
I've been wanting to do this for over a year, build a nesting box for native bees and other insects. My friend Doug Welch from A Gardener's Notebook had sent me various plans and ideas. I had a wooden wine box with a sliding lid and it seemed perfect.
Finding the western bumble bee nest in one of my bird houses finally prompted me to just do it.
I drilled holes of 3/8", 1/2" and 5/8" in the lid. Different bee species prefer different size holes. Then I filled the box with hay and dog hair. These were the kinds of fibers in the bird house that the bumble bees had liked.
I mounted two hooks on the back of the box so I could hang it on the fence at the side of the garden.
In this location we can see any activity at the nest box, it is near the vegetable garden, but it is out of the way enough that people won't be crossing any bee traffic. We probably won't see any action until spring, but we finally have our bee nest box up.
When I went to clean out one of the bird nest boxes, I was surprised to find that a western bumble bee (Bombus occidentalis) had made its nest inside. Typically this kind of bumble bee makes its nest in the ground. But here was the clump of waxy cup-shaped cells described in the books nestled in the dog hair and sticks that the Bewick's wrens had been using to build their nest. (This could explain why the wrens decided to move out and rebuild their nest in the pot next to the back door.)
Alarmingly, all of the bumble bees, adults and juveniles, still developing in their wax cells, were dead. What killed them? Was is the cold weather snap we had in October/November? There was a garden spider in among the corpses. Had this small spider preyed on the bumble bee nest? I can't imagine that it could have gotten to the juveniles in their waxy cells. Was there some kind of mite or fungus that caused the death of all ages? I don't know.
During the winter the queen bumble bee hibernates in a protected location all alone. She will emerge in the spring to start a new colony and then usually die. I hope that there was at least one survivor from this western bumble bee nest. (More on bumble bees: xerces.org) Our native bees are vital pollinators and typically are not susceptible to the same diseases and environmental conditions that threaten European honey bees. Most are not aggressive and are not a threat to people.
We have noticed carpenter bees nesting in the yard before but this is the first time for bumble bees. I've wanted to create a native bee nesting site for some time. It seems now is the time to finally take on that project.
Ladybugs are insects that even a toddler can identify. Their red and black markings are distinct and their rounded shape appears nonthreatening. As predators of aphids and other garden leaf-eaters, ladybugs have one of the most positive insect profiles. Everyone loves ladybugs.
But across the country native ladybug populations are declining. What is happening to these important and beloved insects? Citizen scientists can play an important role in helping scientists sleuth out this environmental problem.
Go looking for ladybugs or just keep your eyes open and aware during your daily activities. When you see a ladybug, take its picture and report it to the Lost Ladybug Project
I spotted this ladybug on a lavender plant on December 9th. Ladybugs hibernate over the winter as adults and typically they group together in a protected location. One year we cut down a live Christmas tree and brought it into the house only to find that there were about 100 ladybugs hibernating in a clump at the center of the tree. The ladybug I took a photo of was out in the warm winter weather. (Climate Change in California) If it gets caught without a protected place to stay when the temperature turns cooler, as it is expected to do this weekend, will it survive the colder temperatures?
Scientists need your eyes to help solve this mystery of Missing Ladybugs.
Other Citizen Science Projects.
The warm autumn weather has brought a few surprise encounters. The photo shows a pair of mating praying mantises. Notice how the male (on top) is slightly smaller and measurably slighter in build. He also appears to have much longer antennae.
I came across this pair at dusk as I was running out of the house. I wasn't the only one startled by the large insects. Fik, one of our male Allen's hummingbirds, was quite disturbed to have the pair on his feeder.
I'm not sure why the large female praying mantises tend to hang out on the hummingbird feeders. Are they hunting insects that might come to the feeders or are they really set on grabbing a hummingbird? Fik wasn't taking any chances, he stayed on the far side of the feeder.
I know you are probably wondering, did the female mantis consume her male companion following mating? I don't know. I took the photo and had to run. I saw the female the next evening, but have yet to locate her egg casing. I wonder if she is one of the offspring that emerged in the back yard in June. Praying mantises.
Meanwhile a new mother-to-be has attached her tan-colored egg sac to the scented geranium, a green lynx spider. This is the second year that one of these free-living predators has stopped to have a family on the geraniums in the garden. Last year, winter storms destroyed the egg sac despite the mother's attempts to keep the nursery safe and dry. It will be interesting to see what happens this year.
There is an aspect of sustainability in everything we do, that includes how you handle the tomato worms in your garden or the ants in your pantry.
This week I'm working with a Girl Scout Twilight Camp to help some girls earn their Incredible Insects badge. As part of my preparation, I had to become knowledgeable about the 5 components of Integrated Pest Management.
While the five components are fairly intuitive, knowing them and applying them to any "pest" situation can help you respond in a more sustainable and earth-friendly manner.
Over the next few days I'm going to apply these five components to a couple of "pest" situations around my own home to demonstrate how you too can dig a little deeper and find new ways to approach old insect "pest" problems.
Look at the insect in the photo above. Is it a pest or a beneficial ? If you don't know, make sure you come back over the next week, it could make a huge difference in how you see the world and respond to insects.
