Red Car Property: Monarch Butterfly

Photo: Diane Edwardson,May 25, 2016.  I followed a Monarch Butterfly flying north through Red Car Canyon, then it seemed to luxuriate in the flowering tree of a Riverside Place backyard.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)  

Click here for all our butterfly posts.

For the past few months, we've been preoccupied with the loss of trees in the Red Car Property Neighborhood.  So we're looking at the little things that got overlooked this summer.

Red Car Property Neighborhood: Sometimes, You Just Make Art

*Stuff you missed this year...

Photo: Diane Edwardson.  July 6, 2015.  When you shoot a lot of butterflies, you invariably make a lot of art.  They simply move too fast, like Gulf Fritillaries. (Click on photos to enlarge.) 

Photo: Diane Edwardson, March 7, 2015.  The most common butterflies, Cabbage Whites, actually have variations of white and cream in their wings.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 3, 2015.  Cabbage Whites are usually in constant motion so capturing their wing movement is pretty cool.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 18, 2015.  Another common butterfly, a Marine Blue only showed up blue when the light was right.  I'd actually never seen one look as blue as this one right after the July rainstorm that dumped an inch of rain on the neighborhood.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, March 15, 2015.  Monarchs became common this year.  Credit native milkweed restoration efforts.  Note: The Monarch here is on non-native, invasive wild radish.

The warmest March on record had butterflies on overdrive.  Butterflies are cold blooded and warm up with the sun. 

Photo: Diane Edwardson, March 7, 2015.  Myths of faeries in gardens gain credibility when the light cast a shadow from the eye of the Cabbage White.  I couldn't have created this shot if I tried, it just happened.  Magic can happen if you just shoot.

*Stuff You Missed This Year is our annual wrap up of interesting photos and things we just didn't have a chance to run, because everything seems to always happen at the same time.

Red Car Canyon: Monarch Butterfly Feeding On Native Toyon Flowers

Photo: Diane Edwardson, December 6, 2015.  I've noticed a number of different butterfly species feeding on the Toyon flowers, but was excited to score a couple of good photos of a Monarch Butterfly on the flowers.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

I've noticed butterflies seem to be particularly attracted to the native trees' out of season bloom, more than bees or other insects. Indeed, I've seen so many butterflies lately, you would think it was spring.  Keep planting native plants in your gardens!

LA County Natural History Museum is studying local populations of Monarchs and milkweed.  They have links for more information on Monarch Butterfly habitat conservation and citizen science programs on their website.  

Red Car Canyon: Monarch Butterfly

Photo: Jonathan Vandiveer, September 28, 2015.  While walking his kids with dogs through Red Car Canyon, Vandiveer discovered Monarch Butterfly, just barely clinging to life.  It was a rare opportunity for his kids to see one up close.  Summer Monarchs live 2 - 5 weeks, winter Monarchs up to 9 months.

Photo: Jonathan Vandiveer, September 28, 2015.  This time of year, the Monarchs flock to Red Car Canyon because of the Silk Floss Tree blooming on a street directly adjacent the canyon.  On sunny afternoons, the wooded canyon becomes magical, as beams of light filter through the trees with dozens of Monarchs fluttering through.  It is very cinematic.  

Learn more about Monarchs: 
Monarch Watch
Butterflies and their larval foodplants (UCI)
Butterflies of Orange County (UCI)

Click here for all our Monarch Butterfly posts
 

Red Car Property: Butterfly Bonanza Continues

Photo: Diane Edwardson, March 20, 2015.  Monarch Butterflies' epic migration is seriously endangered.  However, they are alive and well on the Red Car Property.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Photo: Diane Edwardson, March 30, 2015.  Cabbage Whites are among the butterfly species most often seen on the Red Car Property. 

Photo: Diane Edwardson, March 28, 2015.  Painted Ladies are not as plentiful as Cabbage Whites & Monarchs, but they too like the non-native wild radish flowers. 

Also plentiful right now: Funereal Duskywings, Gulf Frittilaries, Sulfurs, Western Tigers, Checkered Whites, Giant Swallowtails and Mourning Cloaks.
 
Enjoy them while you can before brush clearance takes the flowers the adult butterflies like to feed on. 

Red Car Property: Vernal Equinox

Photo: Diane Edwardson, March15, 2015.  There are lots of Monarch Butterflies taking the trail on the north end of the Red Car Property, particularly around the historic landmark viaduct footings..  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

The Vernal Equinox is exact today at 3:45 PM, PST.  Get out there and take a walk!

Corralitas Public Staircase: Monarch Butterfly

Photo: Diane Edwardson, February 24, 2015.  If you look closely you can see the Monarch (Danaus plexippus) drinking from the Dandelion.  This one was at the base of the Corralitas Public Staircase.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Monarchs appear to have a sense of humor, or maybe they are just more curious than other butterflies I've photographed.  Whenever I've stopped to shoot photos of them, even if I'm 10 yards away, a Monarch will come over and circle my head closely.  (It's not as if I ever wear bright colors that would attract them.)  Maybe it's just circling like a shark doing threat behavior & I'm just not reading the signs coming from a pretty butterfly.  

The Monarchs have really made their presence known in the neighborhood.  I've seen them in Elysian Valley, on Corralitas Drive, Riverside Place & all along the Red Car Property.  I've often seen them once the sun hits Red Car Canyon, flashing their bright orange wings in the dappled light.  Last fall, it was spectacular to see dozens at a time fluttering through the tree branches.  They also seem to like the slope above the Historic Red Car Viaduct Footings.

Considering Monarch migration numbers are in steep decline, it's great to see them adapt to our small pathways of green between the LA River, Elysian Park, Red Car Property & Griffith Park.  It has a lot to do with local native Milkweed restoration efforts.

Click here for all the butterflies we've documented through the years in the Red Car Property neighborhood.

Red Car Canyon: Monarch Butterfly Bonanza Continues

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 23, 2014.  A Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus) took a break on a native Coast Live Oak Tree in Red Car Canyon.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

The wooded canyon between Lake View, Corralitas & Riverside Place has been the place to see Monarch Butterflies for the past few months.  The dappled light catches their wings as they flash brilliant orange flying between the trees.  On warm afternoons, you can see dozens of the majestic butterflies there.  The effect is magical.   

2014 has been an extraordinary butterfly year.  Click here for all our butterfly posts.

Riverside Place: Monarchs Flocking To Silk Floss Flowers

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 12, 2014.  Dozens of Monarch Butterflies (Danaus plexippus) were feeding excitedly on Silk Floss flowers in a huge 30' tree near the Red Car Property.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)  

There were several species of butterflies flying among on the branches, but the Monarchs were the most showy and majestic of the bunch.  You know it's a Monarch  by the polka-dotted body.  Their numbers are in steep decline and their annual migration between Canada & Mexico is monitored closely; their actual migration is endangered.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, October 12, 2014.  The Silk Floss Tree (Chorisia speciosa) is non-native.  The flowers & Kapock-like seeds are messy to pick up.  But once a year, the drought tolerant South American tree puts on a spectacular show of color, attracting butterflies, birds & bees.  The Wiki page even highlights Monarch Butterflies as pollinators.

Red Car Property: Monarch Butterfly On California Black Walnut Tree

Photo: Diane Edwardson, August 7, 2014.  A boldly patterned Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus) flew right toward my head as I walked up the Red Car Property.  It then in landed high above me in a native Black Walnut tree.  You know it's a Monarch by the white polka dots on the black body.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Photo: Diane Edwardson, August 8, 2014.  The Black Walnut tree it flew into was the one on the far left.  I could not get a good establishing shot due to the huge size differential of the tree to the butterfly. 

Red Car Property: Monarch Watch

Photo: Diane Edwardson, February 28, 2013.  I did not realize this was a Monarch Butterfly until I downloaded the photos.  All I saw was a large orange butterfly.  I was shooting from 10 yards away, while it was feeding on non-native, invasive Wild Radish flowers, at the north end of the Red Car Property, above the historic viaduct footings.  (Shoot first, ask questions later.  Click on photos to enlarge.)

Photo: Diane Edwardson, February 28, 2013.  LA County Natural History Museum is partnering with Butterflies and Moths of North America conducting butterfly survey to track the 236 species found in Los Angeles.  They invite the public to submit photos of butterflies & moths found in the wild in LA County (not raised in captivity).

Monarch populations are declining due to deforestation and Milkweed die-off.  (Native Kotolo Milkweed grows on the northern end of the red Car Property.  It is a slow growing plant that often gets destroyed, before going to seed, when the City does brush clearance with a bulldozer.)

The Natural History Museum only shows photos of 8 species of butterflies on their website. So here's a few other resources for identification & education:

Butterflies and Moths of North America
BugGuide
Butterflies & Their Larval Foodplants (UCI)
Monarch Watch  

Corralitas Drive: Monarchs of Winter

Photo: Diane Edwardson, December 26, 2012.  Look closely, the Monarch Butterfly's (Danaus plexippus) tongue is reaching up and over its head, into one of the top flowers on the left .  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Photo: Diane Edwardson, December 26, 2012.  I haven't seen Monarchs in a long time.  It seems like we used to see more 20 years ago.  Now they are rare visitors on their winter migration to Mexico.  Years ago, I seem to remember reading an old EIR, where it said the 5 Freeway corridor was along their primary migration route. My backyard is within 1000' of the 5 Freeway. (The Monarch was in my backyard, 6' from my back door.)

Photo: Diane Edwardson, December 26, 2012.  UCI has a guide to Butterflies & Their Larval Food Plants by Peter J. Bryant,  if you want to know what to plant to attract specific species to your yard.  Bryant also posted a photo guide to  Orange County butterflies (which is the closest I've found to Los Angeles butterflies).