Tag: western monarchs
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Late July and the Woolly-Pod Milkweed
Every year in late July, I hike along Vista Trail in O’Neill Regional Park to observe two healthy populations of wild milkweed growing along the trail. Last year at this time, the woolly-pod milkweed (Asclepias eriocarpa) plants were in full flower and bustling with bumblebee activity and hungry caterpillars.
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Monarchs Arrive for Summer
Have you noticed monarch butterflies flying around your California yard this summer? Western monarch butterflies are an iconic butterflies that delight us with bright orange plumage, black stripes, and white polka dots. They are so large, they cast a shadow when they fly overhead. After hearing about the historically low overwintering monarch butterfly count last…
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Summer Buckwheat Blooms Bright
It is July, the height of summer in Southern California, and buckwheats are blooming with thousands of showy white flowers. I took a walk this morning at my favorite local park, O’Neill Regional Park in Trabuco Canyon. Many of the spring-blooming plants are hunkering down in the 90-degree heat, but California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum) is…
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Where Do Western Monarchs Spend the Spring?
Despite the fact that Western Monarch butterflies are universally loved, their numbers have plummeted in recent years. What can you do to help? Join the Western Monarch Mystery Challenge–a campaign created to increase awareness of locations where Western Monarchs spend the spring in California after leaving their coastal California overwintering sites. If you see a…
A Buckwheat in Every Garden 