Greetings. With the sun out, the butterflies in the yard are going nuts. At least two Lorquin's Admirals are cruising around. It is always fun to watch the males fly up at any intruder, particularly western tiger swallowtails, which seem to be all over the place. I am particularly partial to Lorquin's because I found three larvae in our yard this spring. They were eating our ocean spray. The larvae are rather intriguing; they look like bird poop with two black spikes protruding up from one end. When at rest they raise their rumps (if that is what you call the rear end of a caterpillar) in hopes of fooling would be predators. Two of the larvae eventually morphed into chrysalids, which I brought inside. The third may have been eaten or it went on a walkabout and I never located its chrysalis. After 12 and 14 days, respectively, a butterfly appeared from each chrysalis. I felt like a proud parent and like to think that the Lorquins in our yard may have been born here. Wishing everyone happy bugging experiences. Cheers, David Williams Seattle
For more information about pnw-natives, or to manage your subscription, please see the list instructions.