Monarchs and QueensPresident’s Message December 2023by Margaret Rhyne
In California, a small state park is dedicated to protecting just one unique insect, the western monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus). The Pismo State Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove, nestled alongside Highway 1 south of Pismo Beach, is a protected overwintering site for western monarch butterflies. It is not the only “overwintering” site along the coast but it is the one that consistently has the most butterflies.
The coastal sites, stretching in a narrow band from San Diego to Mendocino County, provide the ideal climate for monarch’s winter diapause, a period of decreased resource consumption and suspended biological development similar to hibernation. Trees (including eucalyptus, Monterey pines, sycamores, coast live oaks and willows in Southern California), shelter groups of monarchs in camouflaged clusters, with wings closed showing only the tan underside in overlapping layers, resembling dead leaves. Monarchs begin arriving on the California coast in October and leave around February to begin looking for suitable sites for reproduction in California and other western states, west of the Rocky Mountains. Eastern monarchs overwinter mainly in Mexico and migrate to areas of the U.S. and Canada east of the Rocky Mountains to reproduce.
It takes both western and eastern monarchs 4 and sometimes 5 generations to complete the migratory cycle and return in Autumn to overwintering sites. All monarchs lay eggs only on species of milkweed, the only host plant used by both western and eastern monarchs.
Current monarch populations remain seriously threatened. 2018 through 2020 were disastrous years for western monarchs. At the Pismo grove, just 122 butterflies were counted during the winter of 2020. Although the 2022 count showed a promising rebound of 24,128, western monarchs have decreased 90% since the early 1990s. (Source: Xerces Society)
Are there monarchs overwintering in the desert? Yes! In 1976, monarchs were observed spending the winter in canyons of the Inyo Mountains adjacent to the Saline Valley. In 2016 formal winter counts began in these canyons and are continuing this year. (See Saline Monarch Count for more information.) A few areas in the Sonoran Desert in Arizona are also known overwintering sites.
In the spring and summer, monarchs search many areas in the desert both developed and wild in their search for milkweed and nectar. However, if you see an orange and black butterfly in the desert it is most likely one of the monarch’s “lookalikes.” Because of toxins in milkweed, the host plant that they rely on, monarchs (who are usually immune to these toxins) are toxic to predators, who soon learn to leave them alone. It is advantageous then for other butterflies to imitate their coloring. As discussed in a previous newsletter, the most common example of this is the painted lady (Vanessa cardui). Another desert monarch lookalike is the queen butterfly (Danaus gilippus). Queens look even more like monarchs than painted ladies and are found in California’s deserts throughout the year. Like monarchs, they rely on different species of native milkweed as host plants and also are toxic to predators. (Their caterpillars look alike as well! Click on the link below for the Lady Bird Johnson Widflower Center for more monarch and queen comparisons.)
Another orange and black desert butterfly with white dots like monarchs and queens is the California patch (Chlosyne californica). My husband and I spotted one in Joshua Tree National Park in October on a California juniper. Their host plants include a variety of desert sunflowers. The Hydaspe fritillary (Speyeria hydaspe) is another orange and black butterfly. We spotted one in the Tehachapi foothills this past spring, perched on a Mariposa lily.
Hydaspe Fritillary courtesty Bruce Blackadar
California Patch
What can we do to help monarchs and all butterflies? The best action to take is to plant native wildflowers. It is also helpful for monarchs and queens to plant milkweed but be sure to avoid tropical milkweed (common in garden centers, unfortunately) and plant only native species. Information about host plants used by monarchs and all of the butterflies mentioned is available on Calscape. Visit this great resource for information about California's native butterflies. And look for even more monarch "lookalikes."
President's Message September 2023Three Words Could Equal a World of Safe Outdoor Adventuresby Margaret Rhyne - president@prmdia.org
What do stranded hikers, a motorists injured on a remote highway and a lost kayaker all have in common? They all were helped by a new smartphone app called what3words. This new app is being used by diverse organizations including Domino’s Pizza, the Los Angeles County Fire Department and now our own California Department of Parks and Recreation. What is it? According to the California State Parks: “California State Parks is excited to announce its partnership with innovative location technology, what3words. A new tool in the State Parks toolkit, what3words provides dispatchers with state-of-the-art technology to assist visitors in the event they become lost, stranded or who otherwise need help from emergency services. Using this revolutionary technology, State Parks dispatchers will now be able to pinpoint the precise locations of individuals who become lost with just three dictionary words, so that help can be sent quickly to exactly where it is needed. The app is available in over 50 languages to date, and is free to download for both iOS and Android devices.” (https://www.parks.ca.gov/WhatsNew) What3words is an easy way to identify precise locations. Every 10 foot square in the entire world has been given a unique combination of three words: a what3words address. Now you can find, share and navigate to precise locations using three simple words. Before such precision was available only by using complicated alphanumeric GPS coordinates that give latitude and longitude. It is more accurate than street addresses and simpler than GPS coordinates, it’s also a more accessible way to communicate location information than latitude/longitude coordinates or GPS - in short, it’s a simple “geocode.” For instance, if you wanted to let someone know to meet you at the Poppy Reserve entrance, you could simply give the them the street address on Lancaster Road. But what if you wanted them to meet you at a specific spot on a park trail that was perfect for watching the sunset or a reliable location to view the bloom of an intriguing wildflower? In the past, you could send the GPS coordinates that give exact latitude and longitude, such as 34.73408578152156, -118.39619124806275. This is the specific location to view evening snow, Linanthus dichotomus, a funnel shaped snow-white flower with some purple in its lobes, which begins blooming at the Poppy Reserve in the late afternoon and closes with the first rays of the morning sun, generally from April through June. Now there is an easier way, instead of the long alphanumeric, use these three words: wildest.robs.achieving. Go to the what3words app or the website what3words.com, and type in those three words on the top left to find the location (in the maps choice, top right, I chose Google maps and bottom right, round icon, toggle to the satellite view). For a great place to watch the sunset try straddle.cuteness.vine and for a great picnic spot (at Ripley Desert Woodland) type in marathon.concierge.tummy. Yes, the words are strange but were assigned randomly with no attempt to relate them to the location, just to find a simple way to communicate a location, anywhere on earth that avoids a complicated alphanumeric. For more information visit www.parks.ca.gov/WhatsNew. Be sure to click on the link to learn more. Links are given to download the app (free!) and to videos that show how to use what3words.

President's Message March 2023 On the Lookout for Imposters!by Margaret Rhyne - president@prmdia.org
An unfortunate feature of the modern electronically connected world is the digital imposter who masquerades as part of a legitimate company to lure unsuspecting users into disclosing sensitive identification and/or financial information. Of course, we are all aware that it is necessary to be on guard for these attempts while emailing, texting and surfing the Internet. But did you know that imposters lurk in the natural world as well? Fortunately, plant and animal imposters are not attempting to fool and exploit humans. Instead, nonhuman imposters are simply mimicking the coloration, physical characteristics and/or behavior of other plants, animals and insects in order to eat or avoid being eaten and in the case of some desert wildflowers, to attract pollinators with as little effort as possible.
In our desert parks, gopher snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus), exist alongside their more dangerous relatives, the Mojave rattlesnake. Both snakes can give a painful bite, but the gopher snake does not dispense venom with its bite. It obtains its meals by constriction, not through the use of poisonous venom. However, when agitated, gopher snakes will coil like a rattlesnake and flatten their heads to appear more like a venomous snake. They also vibrate their tail and produce an audible hiss when threatened. All of these behaviors mimic the more dangerous rattler in the hope that a threatening predator will look for other prey. The coloration of this rattlesnake imposter also mimics its deadlier cousin; both have splotchy dark markings on their backs, yellow or brownish coloration and large heads. The caterpillar of the white-lined sphinx moth (Hiles Lineata), often called a horn worm, is large and plump and must often travel over open ground to find its favorite food, the many species of primrose. To avoid looking like an easy meal for a predator, it sports an appendage from its rump, which is often strikingly orange. This “horn” mimics the stinger found on many other insects and helps to persuade predators to move on to what may be an easier target. Many caterpillars have colorful “eye spots” that mimic the real eyes of more threatening animals and are meant to intimidate predators. Numerous species of hawk moths and swallow tail butterflies have this feature. Like the painted lady, the common butterfly of the Mojave Desert, many butterflies have evolved to closely resemble the larger and more famous monarch butterfly; there are at least 7 species of butterflies that resemble the monarch. Scientist believe that this evolutionary mimicry came about due to the diet of the monarch caterpillars. Monarch butterflies lay their eggs on just one type of plant, milkweed (genus Asclepias). Milkweed contains toxins that can be harmful to pets, livestock and people. The milky sap for which it gets its name leaks out from the stem or leaves. This sap contains toxins called cardiac glycosides or cardenolides, which are toxic to animals if consumed in large quantities. However, most animals won’t eat it because it simply does not taste good. What it does do is provide food for the monarch caterpillars. The toxins in milkweed do not bother monarch caterpillars and are transferred when they transform into butterflies. Monarchs become toxic to predators by sequestering or storing toxins from the milkweed plants. This makes monarchs very distasteful or unpleasant to predators. Studies have shown that birds can learn to avoid preying on monarchs after exposure to this toxin and can then transfer this avoidance behavior to other butterflies that closely resemble monarchs. While flower watching in the desert it is always exciting to find the luminous sand blazing star (Mentzelia involucrate).The pale yellow blazing star has a floral mimic, the ghost flower (Mohavea confertiflora) which has evolved to closely resemble it. Amazingly the ghost flower, one of the cleverer plant tricksters, is a bee imposter as well! Recently, in early February, I found both flowers within several yards of each other in Box Canyon south of Joshua Tree National Park. I first spotted a blazing star and then its plant imposter, the ghost flower. Why is it advantageous for one to resemble the other? The mimic ghost flower saves energy by not producing any nectar to attract pollinators. Rather, it relies on its resemblance to the sand blazing star to fool insects into visiting its flower, where they receive no reward for their pollinating efforts. Both are pollinated mainly by the Xeralictus bee. The blazing star attracts the female bee by producing sweet nectar. The female bee uses the nectar to take back to their nest to feed their young. In the process, they enable pollination as they transfer pollen from flower to flower. The ghost flower attracts the male Xeralictus bee but since it has no nectar to lure the bee to its bloom how does this happen? Quoting the scientist and artist Margaret Gallagher:"The Ghost Flower - it not only mimics the Blazing Star, it also has red spots on its petals which are thought to actually mimic the appearance of a female Xeralictus bee visiting the flower. Male bees see this flower and approach, hoping to mate! But instead they just bumble around, pick up some pollen (there’s no nectar for them to eat, and they don’t even want it anyway), and continue on their way unsatisfied, until they are tricked into visiting another Ghost Flower, and pollination occurs. In this way, the Ghost Flower takes advantage of the male Xeralictus bees, capitalizing off the symbiotic pollination relationship of the female bee with the Blazing Star." Look for these plant and animal imposters – and in the case of snakes, please look carefully – as you amble through our ceaselessly fascinating desert public lands!
President's Message December 2022Iconic Desert Dweller Needs Our Helpby Margaret Rhyne - president@prmdia.org
Once abundant throughout the Mojave Desert, the population of the desert tortoise, Gopherus agassizii, or Agassiz’s desert tortoise, continues on a steep decline despite the efforts of many environmental groups, biologists and volunteers. A recent article in the Los Angeles Times - “California’s Mojave Desert Tortoise Moves Toward Extinction” Nov. 17, 2022 by Louis Sahagun - details this decline and explains why reversing it - while not impossible - is very challenging. According to this source “eight decades ago, the vast Mojave Desert was home to hundreds of tortoises per square mile… Today, most tortoise populations in California and outside designated recovery areas have fallen to 2 to 3 adults per square mile…” Threats to the desert tortoise come from many sources including habitat destruction due to housing development, industrial solar installations, military maneuvers and desert recreation; decrease in food and water sources due to climate change; and increase in predator populations of feral dogs, coyotes and ravens.
Ravens, once rarely seen in the Mojave, are now common, particularly near human housing and recreation areas. Fearless, aggressive and very intelligent, ravens have learned to raid trash cans and other sources of food inadvertently provided by people. Ravens are particularly deadly to newly hatched tortoises whose soft shells provide little protection. Like ravens, coyotes have adapted well to living with people and have a taste for tortoise hatchlings. Coyotes also have been known to prey on adult tortoises by digging them from their burrows during times when other food sources are scarce.
The desert tortoise is very long-lived but also takes several decades to reach sexual maturity. Females lay 1– to 14 eggs between April through June; number of eggs seems to be dependent on the size and age of the female. Females dig nests with their hind legs and then carefully cover the nest. When the eggs hatch, generally from 70 to 120 days, the young are on their own. Wildflowers are a favorite food for all tortoises. Desert grasses and cactus buds are also eaten. Tortoises must drink water. They become noticeably more active after rainstorms in the spring, summer and early fall. They hibernate generally from October to March.
What can individuals do to help the Mojave desert tortoise? Here are a few suggestions:
Secure your trash. Close lids and do not let trash overflow. When recreating, pick up your own trash and while you are at it, look for other trash that you can take with you as well. If a campground or city park picnic area does not provide secure trash receptacles “pack it in and pack it out.” Slow down. Tortoises are attracted to roadsides when water accumulates alongside pavement. This is a particular problem after desert monsoon rains. PRMDIA helps with the effort to slow traffic on desert roads by financing the printing of postcards provided free to the public at Mitchell Caverns (inside the Providence Mountains State Recreation Area). Suggested and designed by State Park Interpreter Andrew Fitzpatrick, these postcards urge the public to slow down when driving in the desert and never touch a tortoise unless it is in danger of being hit. (Learn more about how to safely move a tortoise by reading this information provided by Joshua Tree National Park: www.nps.gov/jotr/learn/nature/tortoise.htm) Learn more. Providing protection for desert tortoises, important research and many sources of education for the public, the Desert Tortoise Research Natural Area lies on the western edge of the Rand Mountains, northeast of California City. This protected area provides 39.5 square miles of prime tortoise habitat. It is open every day. Visit in person and/or read through the extensive information on their website: About the Desert Tortoise.
For more information:View a video based on the LA Times Article mentioned above . Also: Wild Kingdom Protecting the Wild