Author Topic: The reason why I cannot keep a clean windshield... (Read 119 times)

Sikotic™ · « **on:** April 09, 2005, 11:27:41 AM »

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=96&ncid=96&e=1&u=/space/20050408/sc_space/billionsofbutterfliesdescendoncalifornia

Quote

Billions of Butterflies Descend on California

Heavy winter rains have led to billions of butterflies that are beginning to descend on California in what could be a record migration.

Millions of butterflies that flew into the Central Valley in the last week of March could be just the advance guard of an unprecedented hoard.

"This may be the biggest migration of modern times," said Arthur Shapiro, a professor and expert on butterflies at the University of California, Davis.

There are now reports of billions of painted lady butterflies around Trona, near Death Valley, and in the San Fernando Valley, Shapiro said. More waves of butterflies are likely to appear in central California over the next few weeks.

Painted lady butterflies (Vanessa cardui) winter in the desert. As caterpillars turn into adults in the spring, they migrate north in search of food and a place to mate.

Painted ladies migrate every year, but usually in far fewer numbers. Exceptionally high winter rainfall in southern California has created a bumper crop of plants on which the caterpillars feed, Shapiro said.

The butterflies take about three days to reach the Central Valley. Some will fly on to southern Oregon to mate. Their offspring head up to British Columbia by summer, before returning south again in the fall.

How to identify painted ladies: They have a wingspand of 2 to 3 inches. They are orange-brown with black and white patches. Males are known to perch on shrubs and patrol during the afternoon in search of receptive females, according to the Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center. They can live just about anywhere but prefer open or disturbed areas, including gardens, old fields, sand dunes.

Da WCC Hopar! · « **Reply #1 on:** April 09, 2005, 12:13:43 PM »

dats a shit load of bugs man ima go hunting for those wit my bb rifle

MANBEARPIG. · « **Reply #2 on:** April 09, 2005, 12:21:34 PM »

I remember about 10 years ago there was a huge ass migration of Monarch Butterflies, scared the shit outta me

I remember they were everywhere, all in my backyard an shit.

epoxy · « **Reply #3 on:** April 10, 2005, 09:48:30 PM »

serioulsy i had to clean my car 3 days straight because of alll those little fuckers. They were everywhere.

Matrix Heart · « **Reply #4 on:** April 10, 2005, 10:21:40 PM »

They passed here a week ago

We Fly High · « **Reply #5 on:** April 10, 2005, 10:29:33 PM »

i remember driving down back from the bay area to santa barbara like a week or two ago.. and fuckin there were so many bugs out, like 10x more than usual. i dont think they were butterflies though, but my car got so fuckin dirty. i was just surprised at how many bugs were out that day. it was hella wierd.