Though Gulf Fritillaries (Augraulis vanillae) are not native to this region, the migrant stray can be fairly common from year to year depending on season. Today we had a chance to see a few down at El Cerrito's Ohlone Greenway at Lincoln Ave.! Typical of migratory butterflies, the Gulf Fritillary is is incapable of diapause. The butterlies are virtually year-round and generations are constantly overlapping. However, it is still more common during certain parts of the year though it is very difficult to pinpoint exactly when. Here in the Bay Area we have observed that they are common during the winter since they are so mild here. In the past, they have also been extremely common later in the summer like in August. Today, we decided to search for them anyway. The caterpillar's host plant is the tropical Passionflower (Passiflora spp.), but due to the fact that the vine has become so popular due to its edible fruit many species in the genus have been cultivated. In addition, it is a favorite in nurseries and gardens since it has very showy flowers and it is not difficult to locate the plant even here in Albany, CA. This is partly why the Gulf Fritillary's range extends so far, all over the U.S. Even though we had already searched a few passion vines this year and were unable to find any caterpillars and eggs despite occasionally seeing the butterflies all throughout the season, we still took our chances and went down to El Cerrito's Ohlone Greenway at Lincoln Ave. where there is an enormous passion vine along the trail. This is the vine where we had first encountered Gulf Fritillaries (caterpillars and eggs) three years ago in 2013 and since then has consistently the best place to find them. We don't know why it is so difficult to find any eggs anywhere despite having seen so many butterflies this year but perhaps the unwilling butterflies have a broader agenda than we know of. Today, we had a chance to see several butterflies fluttering around the vine, though they were either refusing to lay eggs or were males competing with each other. At the same time the the majority of the vine was dead due to the dryness of summer, but we doubt that this would really have discouraged egg laying. We were only able to collect a single newborn caterpillar, though we lost it at some point and were unable to bring it home. However, we were also able to catch a butterfly which we do believe is female, so perhaps we could get some eggs out of it. . . - Brian
Comments
|
Timeline 2012–2017
Albany, California This timeline is a series of daily posts recording our observations on and experiences with various insects in Albany California and surrounding areas, from 2012-2017. Since we did not publish this site until 2016, posts before that were constructed retroactively. Starting in August 2017, we moved to Ithaca, New York; posts from there on can be viewed at Timeline 2017-present: Ithaca, New York. Archives (1,011)
August 2017 (49) July 2017 (121) June 2017 (79) May 2017 (77) April 2017 (91) March 2017 (35) February 2017 (12) January 2017 (10) December 2016 (12) November 2016 (26) October 2016 (49) September 2016 (84) August 2016 (94) July 2016 (99) June 2016 (53) May 2016 (21) April 2016 (4) January 2016 (1) August 2015 (3) July 2015 (3) June 2015 (2) June 2014 (3) May 2014 (1) April 2014 (3) March 2014 (3) December 2013 (2) November 2013 (2) October 2013 (5) September 2013 (11) August 2013 (15) July 2013 (9) June 2013 (5) May 2013 (4) April 2013 (3) March 2013 (2) February 2013 (3) January 2013 (2) December 2012 (2) November 2012 (1) October 2012 (2) September 2012 (2) August 2012 (5) July 2012 (1) June 2012 (1) Authors
![]() ![]() Full Species List (Alphabetical by scientific name) Note: - Not every species we encounter is necessarily presented on this site, rather a selection of those that were of particular interest to us and that we felt were worth documenting. - We can't guarantee that all species have been identified accurately, particularly taxa we are not as familiar with. Lepidoptera Actias luna Adelpha californica Agraulis vanillae Allancastria cerisyi Antheraea mylitta Antheraea polyphemus Anthocharis sara Argema mimosae Attacus atlas Battus philenor hirsuta Bombyx mori Caligo atreus Callosamia promethea Coenonympha tullia california Citheronia regalis Cricula trifenestrata Danaus plexippus Eacles imperialis Erynnis tristis Estigmene acrea Eumorpha achemon Eupackardia calleta Furcula cinereoides Heliconius erato Heliconius hecale Heliconius sapho Heliconius sara Hyalophora cecropia Hyalophora columbia Hyalophora euryalus Hylephila phyleus Hyles lineata Junonia coenia Langia zenzeroides formosana Lophocampa maculata Manduca sexta Morpho peleides Nymphalis antiopa Orgyia vetusta Orthosia hibisci quenquefasciata Pachysphinx modesta Papilio cresphontes Papilio eurymedon Papilio glaucus Papilio machaon oregonius Papilio multicaudata Papilio polyxenes asterius Papilio rumiko Papilio rutulus Papilio zelicaon Phyciodes mylitta Phyciodes pulchella Pieris rapae Plejebus acmon Poanes melane Polites sabuleti Polygonia satyrus Pyrgus communis Rothschildia jacobaeae Samia cynthia advena Samia ricini Smerinthus cerisyi Smerinthus ophthalmica Strymon melinus Trichoplusia ni Uresephita reversalis Vanessa annabella Vanessa atalanta Vanessa cardui Unidentified Lepidoptera Hybrids Papilio glaucus × Papilio rutulus Papilio polyxenes asterius × Papilio zelicaon Orthoptera Melanoplus devastator Phaneroptera nana Pristoceuthophilus pacificus Scudderia mexicana Trimerotropis pallidipennis Phasmatodea Carausius morosus Phyllium giganteum Mantodea Mantis religiosa Phyllocrania paradoxa Hymenoptera Apis mellifera Bombus vosnesenskii Brachymeria ovata Linepithema humile Pediobius sp. Polistes dominula Xylocopa varipuncta Unidentified Diptera Lucilia sericata Unidentified Hemiptera Brochymena sp. Leptoglossus sp. Nezara viridula Odonata Argia vivida Libellula croceipennis Coleoptera Coccinella septempunctata Cycloneda polita Diabrotica undecimpunctata Hippodamia convergens Araneae (Class: Arachnida) Araneus diadematus Phidippus johnsoni |