June - Cooperative Extension

University of Arizona Yavapai County Cooperative Extension
Yavapai Gardens
Master Gardener Newsletter
June 2014
Monarch Butterflies, Milkweeds and
Master Gardeners
By Bob Gessner and Cathy Palm-Gessner
Events & Activities
MG Association Meeting, Wednesday June 11
Please note this is a change from the regular
meeting date. See last page for details.
Alta Vista Gardening Club, Prescott, fourth Tuesday of the month, 12:30pm. Call 928-458-9508 for
information.
Prescott Area Gourd Society, third Tuesday of the
month, 6:30 pm, at Yavapai Title, 1235 E. Gurley.
Prescott Orchid Society, 4rd Sunday of the month,
1pm at the Prescott Library, (928) 717-0623
Prescott Area Iris Society call 928-445-8132 for date
and place information.
Mountain View Garden Club, Prescott Valley, Dewey
area, 2nd Friday of month, 1:30pm, call 775-4993
Native Plant Society Meetings - Prescott. 2nd Thursday of the month, 6:30pm. Attending the talk qualifies as Continuing Education. Non-members are welcome. Highlands Center for Natural History, 1375 S.
Walker Rd. (928-776-9550).
The Verde Thumbs Garden Club, Cottonwood
2nd Tuesday, 6:30 pm at The Seventh Day Adventist
Church. (928) 634-7172
Table of Contents
Monarch Buttlerflies, Milkweeds and
Master Gardeners . . . 1
Moths are Butterflies. No! Butterflies are
Really Moths . . . 3
Attracting Butterflies . . . 4
Butterflies in Our Backyard . . . 5
Did You Know? . . . 6
MG Announcements . . . 6
100 Years . . . 7
After our trip this February to the monarch
butterfly wintering sites in Mexico, Cathy
was asked to be the local contact person for
the Southwest Monarch Study organization
in our area. A number of master gardeners
have expressed an interest in monarch butterflies and gardening
with milkweeds and have asked us to provide more information.
About 725 species of butterflies occur in North American
north of Mexico and about 335 of these species are in Arizona. Approximately 2000 species of butterflies are found in Mexico (naba.
org). The monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is probably the best
known and recognized butterfly by most Americans. Over the past
20 years its numbers have been declining in North America. Many
of you have read or heard recent accounts of the lowest numbers of
monarchs ever reported at their wintering sites in Mexico. The area
covered is down from 31.12 acres in 1995-1997 to 1.65 acres in
2013-2014 (http://www.nwf.org/). The numbers at the 101 different
California wintering sites have also dropped from highs of around
1.2 million to an all-time low of about 145,000 monarchs in 2012
(blog.nwf.org). The migration from Canada and the US to Mexico
appears to be in peril.
Why should we care? Like bees, wasps, beetles and moths, butterflies including monarchs move pollen from one flower to another.
Pollination enables sexual reproduction in plants and the production of fruits and seed. Factors that diminish pollinators have a wide
impact on many plants and animals, including humans. Monarch
decline and bee decline are major indicators of the disruption of our
natural ecosystems.
Why are monarch butterflies declining? A number of factors
have been correlated with the declining numbers.
1. Loss of habitat in key areas in the US such as the “Corn
Belt.” According to Chip Taylor, monarchwatch.org, the loss of these
habitats since 2008 exceeds 24 million acres (an area about equal
to the state of Indiana). It is believed that up to 90% of monarchs in
the past were produced on the common milkweed, Asclepias syriaca,
from this region.
2. The weather conditions in 2013 and possibly the longerterm influence of climate change are impacting the migration.
3. The use of genetically modified crops that tolerate her-
bicides (glyphosate, glufosinate
and imidazoline
herbicides) and
the wider use of
these herbicides
have reduced the
number of milkweed plants.
4. Insecticide application and drift
on milkweeds and nectar plants reduces butterfly numbers.
5. Forest practices in Mexico have also been cited
but from our observations of the forests utilized by monarchs in Mexico they appear to be healthy and regenerating. The loss of milkweeds in the US is by far the major
problem.
Milkweeds Monarch
butterflies
lay their eggs
on milkweed
plants. Their
larvae
will
only feed on
the various
species
of
milkweeds.
The adults
do not require milkweed but need flowers with nectar to build up
reserves for migrating. They also need a source of water
and moist soil from which they get needed minerals.
Milkweeds get their name from the white sap (latex) found in most species. The latex contains cardiac
glycosides and sometimes other toxins. These toxins
accumulate in the monarchs and help protect them from
predators. In Yavapai County there are 9 native milkweed
species (http://swbiodiversity.org/).
Probably
the
most commonly known
milkweed is butterfly
milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa). The flower color
varies from yellow to
bright orange and the
yellow biotype is found
in the Southwest. It
lacks the milky sap found in most of the other species. In
Arizona, it usually occurs on well-drained sandy soils in
grasslands, montane habitats and clearings in pine forests
from 4,000 - 8,000 ft. . Butterfly milkweed is considered to
be one of the most widely dispersed and beautiful wildflowers of temperate North America (swcoloradowildflowers.
com).
Spider or antelope horns milkweed (A. asperula)
gets its common name from the upward-curving petals and/
or
curved
shape of the
seed pods.
The flowers
are greenishwhite
with
purple tinges
and are fragrant.
The
flowers have
five upward-curving petals
and a five-part crown of purple horns tipped with white.
The spider milkweed occurs
in dry plains, slopes, and
clearings in oak woodlands
and pine forests from 3000 9000 ft.
(prescottnatives.com).
Two species, the whorled
milkweed (A. subverticillata)
and the showy milkweed (A. speciosa) are worth trying in
gardens. There is also the tropical milkweed (A. curassavica)
that can be grown as an annual. We saw monarch eggs
and larvae on these in gardens when we were in Mexico.
You can find information on the other local species of milkweeds online. (http://swbiodiversity.org/, prescottnatives.
com, swmonarchs.org).
What can Master Gardeners do to help? You can help by
planting milkweeds in your garden. Monarchs lay their eggs
on milkweeds and
milkweeds are the
only food source
for the larvae.
Monarch Watch
recommends that
you plant 10 or
more
milkweed
plants so they can
more easily be found by the butterflies. Butterfly and spider
milkweeds form large deep root systems and are drought
tolerant once they are established. Information on where
you can obtain Arizona seed and plants are available at
http://www.swmonarchs.org/. Local nurseries and heirloom
seed companies are now carrying Arizona milkweed seeds
and plants.
You also need to plant native and/or ornamental
flowering plants in your garden that are sources of nectar. Lists for the Central Arizona Highlands are available at
https://www.facebook.com/SouthwestMonarchStudy. Usually flowers with a landing pad like zinnias or sunflowers
are good choices. You can even set up a Monarch Waystation (http://www.monarchwatch.org/waystations/waystation_guide.pdf). You should also provide a source of water
and moist soil from which the monarchs can get needed
minerals. Don’t use insecticides on your milkweeds and
nectar plants. How about growing milkweeds from seed for
future Monsoon Madness plant sales!
2
Southwest Monarch Study in Arizona “The Southwest Monarch Study is
researching the migration
patterns of monarch butterflies in Arizona and the
western United States. It
was once believed that
monarch butterflies east
of the Rocky Mountains
flew to the mountains near
Mexico City for the winter
and monarchs west of the Rockies flew to the coast of
California. Through fall tagging in Arizona and the Southwest (Nevada, New Mexico, Southern California deserts)
we have learned that this is not always the case. There
is much more to learn about the wild monarch migration
in Arizona and throughout the Western states. If you love
monarch butterflies, consider joining our study. (http://www.
swmonarchs.org/).
You can also help by being a spotter and/or tagger.
There will be informational workshops as well as presentations on monarchs this summer. (July 13 at the Prescott
Library and July 18 at the Highlands Center for Natural History) If you would like to be contacted about the workshops
on spotting and tagging contact Cathy at cpalmgessner@
gmail.com.
For more information http://www.swmonarchs.org/ https://
www.facebook.com/SouthwestMonarchStudy
http://www.monarchwatch.org/
http://www.journeynorth.
org/ http://garynabhan.com/i/archives/2354
http://www.monarchbutterflyfund.org/
Moths are butterflies. No! Butterflies are really moths
by Nora Graf
To a taxonomists there is no real difference between the
two. In fact, attempts to differentiate between the two
have failed. There are morphological and behavioral differences that can be used to divide them. The antennae
are different with butterflies having thin slender antennae
that are club-shaped at the end while moths have feathery or comb-like antennae, although there are exceptions.
Moths spin a silk cocoon while butterflies form an exposed
pupa known as a chrysalis, although there are exceptions.
For example, Hawk moths and Gypsy moths sometimes
form butterfly-style pupae. Butterflies are brightly colored
while moths are brown and gray except when they are
not. Day-flying moths are brightly colored. Oh, by the
way moths don’t all inhabit the night —some are day flyers. Moths and butterflies have different resting postures
but those just depend on the species. So stop thinking of
moths as the less interesting cousins of butterflies; you
just aren’t not looking close enough. In southeastern Arizona researchers found over 1900 species of moths. With
all those moths out there maybe we should start paying
attention to them also.
Moths evolved before butterflies. Fossils of moths
as old as 190 million years have been found. Scientists
think that moths evolved along with flowering plants and
so you might find yourself agreeing that butterflies are really moths.
Like butterflies, moths go through a larval stage.
The caterpillars are sometimes a major agricultural pest
and include things like corn borers and bollworms. The
gypsy moth can become nasty forest pests and codling
moths are the bane of fruit trees. Others are famous for
eating our clothes, especially anything wool or silk. Then
there is the silkworm from which we get silk, one of the
most luxurious fabrics ever created.
Moths are attracted to and circle artificial light.
There are theories about this but no one really knows why
they do it. Pay attention to moths sometime. They may not
be butterflies but they can be beautiful and are a food
source for bats, bears, lizards and birds.
3
Attracting Butterflies
by Nora Graf
The beauty of and long journey Monarchs endure makes
it a megastar compared to the smaller and less dramatic
butterflies but there are some real beauties out there that
we often overlook. There are also some moths which are
the poor stepchild to butterflies but are very interesting and
beautiful in their own right. There are over 335 species of
butterflies in Arizona including species like Swallowtails,
Sulfur, Blues, Metalmarks, Snouts and Skippers. If you
are creating a butterfly garden don’t limit yourself to the
needs of monarchs. While butterflies can usually feed on
a variety of plants, the larval stages can often have very
specific and limited tastes. While we begrudge any “worm”
on our beloved plants, without caterpillars there are no butterflies or moths.
To attract butterflies the best thing is to plant flowers. Large plantings do best. Plants like zinnias, marigolds, daisies and thistles work well, but to keep the butterflies in the area, figure out what works best to have them
lay their eggs in your yard. Consider these plants to both
attract butterflies and to feed their larva.
You can’t have moths and butterflies without caterpillars. Before you get out the toxic chemicals to kill caterpillars you might want to take the time to determine what
they become. I have caterpillars that absolutely devastate
my sunflowers every year. Turns out they become Painted
Lady butterflies. Glad to have them! Check out the website to help figure out what caterpillar you have.
http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?&guide=Caterpillars
https://insects.tamu.edu/extension/insctans/identification/
caterpillar_pests/couplet1.html
Arizona Poppies (Kallstroemia
grandiflora),
not the California poppy, so make sure you
have the right one to
attract adult butterflies.
Yellow Columbine attracts adults.
Chocolate Flower attracts adults.
Blue mist (Caryopteris x clandonenis
‘Dark Knight”) is a plant that is readily available in nurseries. Various
butterfly species feed on it, some
may use it as a larval site also.
Some grasses like Sideoats Grama
(Bouteloua curtipendula) is a larval
food for Checkered skippers and
Bamboo Muhly (Mulenbergia dumosa) is liked by Orange skippers.
Others that attract butterflies are
Blue Grama (Bouteloua gracilis), Pink
Mist (Muhlenbergia dumosa), Deer
Grass (Muhlenbergia rigens) and Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans).
Black Dalea (Dalea frutescents) attracts Southern Dogface caterpillars.
Mallow (Malva sp.) is a larval food plant for Checkered
Skippers.
Red Bird of Paradise (Caesalpinia
pulcherrima) attracts Swallowtails,
Sulfurs and some Skippers.
Passionflowers are a bit frostsensitive but they attract
adults who may then lay their
eggs.
Golden Dyssodia (Dyssodia pentachaeta) provides food and nectar
for Dainty Sulfurs, both the butterfly and caterpillar.
Mountain Marigold, Cosmos and Spreading Fleabane are
liked by Buckeyes.
Pipevine (Aristolochia sp.) is a
larval food for Swallowtails.
Various agaves and yuccas feed larvae including any that
grow in your area. They include (not an inclusive list)
Palmer’s Agave, Desert Agave, Schott’s Agave, Banana
Yucca and Soaptree Yucca.
Desert Hackberry (Celtis pallida) is a larval food for Snouts
and Empress Leilias. The
Leilieas feed on the sap and rotting fruit vs. the flowers.
Sunflowers will attract adults who then may lay their eggs.
The Desert Botanical Garden has an extensive list on its
website if you want to find more plants that might work.
There is an extensive list for the Prescott area also.
http://www.dbg.org/system/files/253/original/Butterfly%20
Gardens%208-11.pdf?1315954953
http://www.naba.org/ftp/cahi.pdf
Rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus) is an excellent
nectar bush. Reakirt’s Blues really like rabbitbrush.
Velvet Mesquite (Prosopis velutina) has leaves that are eaten by Leda Hairstreaks.
4
Butterflies in Our Backyard
by Nora Graf
These butterflies can be found in Yavapai County:
Painted Ladies (Vanessa cardui)These are one of the most widespread butterflies. They are found
everywhere except in Antartica
and South America. They are migratory butterflies and prefer to lay their eggs in areas with
lots of flowers.
Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor)The caterpillars are picky eaters feeding
only on species of the pipevines (Aristolochia), while the adults only feed on
nectar from thistles, bergamot, lilacs,
petnunias, lupines, yellow star thistle
(glad it’s good for something) and a few other plants.
Pacuvius Duskywing (Erynnis pacuvius)Adults feed on flower nectar while catepillars are found on various species of
Ceanothus.
Funeral Duskywing (Erynnis funeralis)The adults feed on flower nectar while
the catepillars are found on legumes
like Mexican locust, bur clover, desert
ironwood and vetch.
Queens (Danaus gilippus)-A monarch
look-alike with same liking for milkweeds for both adults and caterpillars.
Monarchs (Danaus plexippus)-They
feed on various flower nectars as
adults but the caterpillars are milkweed exclusive.
Orange Sulphur (Colias eurethemer)-The
caterpillars prefer plants in the pea family,
including alfalfa and clovers. The adults
feed on nectar from milkweeds, goldenrod,
dandelions, asters and others.
Sara Orangetip (Anthocharis sara)-A picky butterfly, adults feed on flower nectar, including
mustards, thistles, fiddlenecks and brodiaeas while the caterpillars need plants in the
mustard family, preferably rock cresses.
Juniper Hairstreaks (Callophrys gryneus)Adults feed on flower nectar from a variety of
plants while the catepillars feed exclusively
on junipers.
Reakirt’s Blue (Echinargus isola)-The
adults feed on the flowers of herbs, including spearmint and white sweet clover while the caterpillar needs members
of the pea family, including yellow sweet
clover, mesquite, indigo bush and mimosa.
Mormon Fritillary (Speyeria mormonia)-It
feeds on various flowers but lays its eggs
on violets.
Empress Leilia (Asterocampa leilia)-In spite
of its lovely name it is less discriminating in
its food at times. It eats sap and dung and
sometimes flower nectar and uses Celtis
pallida (hackberry) to feed the caterpillars.
Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus)-Looks
kind of moth-like. It feeds on flower nectar
including knapweed, thistles and asters
and likes grass for its caterpillars including burmuda, crabgrass and St. Augustine
grass.
Greenish-Blue Lycaenid (Plebejus saepiolus)This pretty blue-green-gray butterfly likes
clovers for its caterpillars and feeds on
flower nectar as an adult.
Cloudless Sulphur (Phoebis sennae)-The
Cloudless is more specific than the Orange
Sulphur and restricts itself to the genus Senna (a member of the legume family).
American Snout Butterfly (Libytheana
carinenta)-The snout part of the name
comes from labial palps that extend forward. They are used to help them appear
like dead leaves. They prefer flower nectar from a number of plants including dogwood, goldenrod and asters and use hackberry for a host
plant for the caterpillars.
Two-Tailed
Swallowtail
(Paplio
multicaudata)-It likes the velvet ash, hop
tree and chokecherry for the caterpillars but the adults feed on the nectar
of thistles, milkweeds, lilacs and other
plants. The Arizona’s State Butterfly.
Variegated Fritillary (Euptoieta Claudia)The caterpillars are sort-of centipedishlooking. Nectar from milkweed and
some sunflowers and other plants are the adult foodsource
while the caterpillar feeds on members of the passionflower, violets, purslane and sedum.
5
Hoary Comma (Polygonia gracilis)-Caterpillar hosts include currants and gooseberries
while the adults feed on nectar from sweet
everlasting and other flowers.
California Sister (Adelpha
californica)-the host for the caterpillars
are oaks while the adults like mud, water and rotting fruit. There is an Arizona
sister but it is thought to only be in SE
Arizona, Mexico and a few other parts of
the west. The taxonomy seems to be in flux.
Sleepy Orange Sulphur (Eurema
nicippe)-Picky when it comes to its
young—the host needs to be a cassia
species. Adults feed on flower nectar.
Pine White (Neophasia menapia)-As
you might have guessed this butterfly
likes pines for its caterpillars. As an
adult it feeds on rabbitbrush and yellow composites and monarda.
Viceroy (Limenitus archippus)-This is one of
the large showy butterflies that resembles
monarchs. They prefer willows, cottonwoods and poplars for their caterpillars
while the early adults feed on aphid honeydew, carrion dung and decaying fungi.
Later generations will feed on flower nectar.
Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes)-The
adults feed on flower nectar including
red clover, mildweeds and thistle, while
the caterpillars are found on members
of the parsley family including carrots,
dill and Queen Anne’s lace and sometimes they use citrus
plants.
928
Congratulations
for completing 50 hours
Maria Sancho
mentor Pauline Rotta
Karen Brown
Did you know?
By this time you should know that monarchs complete an
astonishing migration but did you know that the top speed
of a butterfly is 12 miles per hour but some moths fly up to
25 miles per hour.
Butterflies can’t fly if the temperature is below 86 degrees.
The species of butterflies number around 24,000 while
there are approximately 140,000 different species of moths.
Most butterflies have a short lifespan except for the Brimstone butterfly. It can live 9 to 10 months, the longest on
record.
Some butterflies taste with their feet. This is the way they
find out if the plant is good enough to lay their eggs on.
Some moths never eat, they don’t even have mouths.
They live on energy stored as caterpillars. Another interesting case are female moths that don’t have wings., All
they do is crawl.
Most moths and butterflies have proboscis for feeding on
flowers. The Morgan’s Sphinx moth from Madagascar proboscis is 12 to 14 inches long so it can feed on a specific
orchid species that has a flower with a 12 inch deep nectar
repository.
The impressive Luna
Moth, unfortunately not
found in Arizona. Texas
is as close as it gets.
Monsoon Madness – July 12th
We need more help starting at 5:30am (setting up tables and canopies) and for 6am to
10:30am, getting the merchandise out of the
barn and helping customers. Contact Missy
Sandeen, [email protected]
928-771-9856.
mentor Joni Harvey
6
100 Years!
Since we are Extension volunteers, thought you might want to be
aware of the following:
This year we are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the formation
of Cooperative Extension based on the signing of the Smith-Lever Act
on 8 May 1914. Following the passage of the Smith-Lever Act, the
Legislature of the State of Arizona in 1915 authorized the Board of
Regents of the University of Arizona, the Land Grant University in
Arizona, to "organize and conduct agricultural Extension work which
shall be carried on in connection with the College of Agriculture of the
University of Arizona in accordance with the terms and conditions
expressed in the Act of Congress aforesaid".
FROM THE EDITOR: Please
send or email articles and announcements to the address
below. All articles must be in
my hands by the 10th of the
month. Short announcements
(no more than 2 or 3 lines) will
be accepted until the 25th.
Nora Graf
PO Box 3652
Camp Verde, AZ 86322
[email protected]
(928) 567-6703
The College of Agriculture of course was the original name of what we
now refer to as the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences or CALS.
It is also interesting to note that the State legislation in 1915 also
provided the capacity for county governments to appropriate funds for
their county Extension programs. Collectively, the cooperative funding of federal, state and county governments led to the name "Cooperative Extension”.
100 Years of Progress
The 2014 Master Gardener class presented Jeff with a Bill Murray Caddy Shack hat on the last day of class. Perhaps this will generate some new
gopher removal techniques.
Jeff Schalau
County Director, Yavapai County Extension Agent,
Agriculture & Natural Resources
email: [email protected]
Prescott
840 Rodeo Dr.
Building C
Prescott, AZ 86305
(928) 445-6590
FAX: (928) 445-6593
Camp Verde
2830 N. Commonwealth Dr
Camp Verde, AZ 86322
(928) 554-8999
MG Desk (928) 554-8992
Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Jeffrey C. Silvertooth, Associate Dean & Director, Economic Development & Extension, College of Agriculture and Life
Sciences, The University of Arizona. The University of Arizona is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution. The University
does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or sexual orientation in its
programs and activities.
7
Arizona Cooperative Extension
Yavapai County
840 Rodeo Dr. Building C
Prescott, AZ 86305
MG NEWSLETTER
Next Meeting
PLEASE NOTE THE DATE AND PLACE HAVE
CHANGED FOR THIS MEETING ONLY!
June 11, 6:30 pm, at the Cottonwood Recreation
Center
Welcome for new Master Gardener Class.
meet the newest graduates.
Come
Cottonwood Recreation Center
150 S. 6th St.
Cottonwood, AZ
Parking is off of Brian Mikelsen Pkwy