Our most common garden butterfly is one that does not delight me. The cabbage white has a natural range across Europe, Asia, and North Africa. It was accidentally introduced to Canada around 1860 and spread rapidly throughout North America. Estimates show that a single female of this species might, in a few generations, be the progenitor of millions.
That’s a lot of caterpillars eating my brassicas 😖
This week in the perpetual journal … I’ve been seeing a lot of swallowtails recently — big and beautiful!
Cali spotted a highly reflective chrysalis in the garden, which brought us all running. Turns out it’s the pupa of the Common Crow Butterfly, Euploea corinna. I’m hoping I’m still here when it metamorphoses.
Hiking in Santa Ynez Canyon yesterday, Annette spotted this Anise Swallowtail caterpillar munching on wild fennel, their preferred food source.
I attended a Youtube Livestream last night with a super-enthusiastic entomologist, who weekly magnifies and explains one insect for our edification and sketching pleasure. She goes fast and meanders frequently—it’s pretty hectic (but fun). I filled several pages with scribbled notes and sketches which I consolidated into this page after the session.
hashiworks 