A special FIELD TRIP with Dr. Pearson. This field trip will accommodate those with an eye for shorebirds and tiger beetles. Willcox and the Sulphur Springs Valley are among the best places in Arizona for fall migrating shorebirds, and with 18 species of tiger beetles, it has one of the highest diversities of tiger beetle species in North America, including several endemic species and subspecies- a veritable paradise!
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As good butterfly stories go, Marceline VandeWater and Gretchen Bickert have their share of doozies. VandeWater, a Scottsdale botanist, recalls seeing a pair of metallic black-blue pipevine swallowtails so busy mating that they let themselves be devoured by a preying mantis. It was so terrible and sad, I deleted all the pictures I had taken of them, and I didn’t stay to watch the outcome, she says, grimacing.
Bickert, a registrar at the Phoenix Zoo, recounts a canoe trip in Peru: This thing came floating down out of the forest toward us, and I kept looking at it, and looking at it, like ‘What is that thing?’ No kidding, it was as big as a bird! she says of her encounter with a rainforest-dwelling blue morpho, an electric-blue, iridescent monstrosity of a butterfly that can reach a wingspan of 8 inches.
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Saturday & Sunday / March 8-9 / 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
The Desert Botanical Garden is the perfect setting to experience the beauty of the southwest wildflower season. During this weekend, visitors will have the opportunity to participate in activities designed to enhance their understanding of desert blossoms. In addition to taking a tour of our wildflower trail, guests can learn about Arizona plant societies, conservation organizations and botanical institutions, enjoy music by local musicians, participate in demonstrations, and shop in the Flower Power Market. New this year, guests will learn about eco-friendly or “green” products and services.
All activities are included with membership or paid admission and are subject to change.
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"How to Build Butterfly Garden".
Saturday, Feb. 23 from 9 a.m. to Noon
Scottsdale Gardener Adriane Grimaldi will present a 3-hour workshop on How to Build A Butterfly Garden as we head into spring. Learn some identification of specific butterflies, what plants to plant to attract butterflies to your garden and learn about the amazing life cycle they go through to become butterflies. Handouts will be available to help start your butterfly garden this spring.
Class is Saturday, Feb. 23 from 9 a.m. to Noon at Horizon Community Center, 15444 N. 100th St., Scottsdale. Cost is $24 for Scottsdale residents and $36 for non-residents through the Scottsdale Parks and Recreation Department.
To register, contact (480) 312-7957 or click on the link "read more".
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Nowhere in nature is there so much beautiful colour as on the wings of butterflies. Scientists, however, are still baffled about exactly how these colours are created. Marco Giraldo has been examining the structure of the surface of the wings of the cabbage white and other butterflies. Among the things he has discovered is why European cabbage whites are rebuffed more often than Japanese ones. Giraldo will be awarded a PhD by the University of Groningen on 25 January 2008.
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Don't know if you like to hike and walk, but on Jan 13th at South Mountain Park they are having another "Silent Sunday," where just off the Central entrance they close the road to vehicles so people can walk or jog or ride bikes, etc., without having to have the traffic around (only the park rangers' trucks for safety). People can walk all the way up to the summit if they wish, with no cars passing by. It begins early--about sunrise--and ends around dusk. People set their own hours. You can arrive anytime and leave when you please. The Park's Department offers Silent Sundays once a month now. "Butterfly watching" and photographing is an outdoor activity, mostly appreciated by outdoor enthusiasts, thought there might be CAzBA members interested in this, especially when the weather gets warmer and there could be some butterflies flittering around. Perhaps something to keep in mind for spring.
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Scientists have discovered genetic information that helps explain how monarch butterflies find their way from Canada to winter nesting grounds in the mountains of Mexico. The researchers genetically mapped the molecular underpinnings of the butterflies' circadian clocks and found cryptochrome proteins that are common in both insects and mammals. Reppert believes these proteins enable the monarchs to navigate by using the sun's position in the sky.
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Many of you have already sponsored us by buying our 2008 Butterfly Calendar (with excellent butterfly photos by several of our members), and we have still some more for sale at $15 per calendar (shipping not included). Besides calendars, we also have beautiful butterfly earrings, field guides and butterfly art prints for sale. !Note: pre-order the book Caterpillars in Field and Garden by Thomas Allen, Jim Brock and Jeffrey Glassberg now! Please visit us at the next meeting: the Annual Membership Meeting, Saturday January 12th at the Desert Botanical Garden from 1 till 3pm.
For ordering calendars or other goodies from the book table, email Joyce at jrpeters7@cox.net or call her at 480-390-9054
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The genes that make a fruit fly’s eyes red also produce red wing patterns in the Heliconius butterfly found in South and Central America, finds a new study by a UC Irvine entomologist. Bob Reed, assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, discovered that genes involved in making insect eye pigments evolved over time to also make wing pigments in butterflies. This finding sheds light on the genetic causes of wing patterns and why, in the Heliconius, those patterns can vary widely from region to region.
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Morley, is a member of the group Monarch Watch, a project of University of Kansas Biology Department. She marks butterflies with an identifier before releasing them to migrate to Mexico. The tag is placed on the large area of the wing called a discal cell. In Mexico there are people who find the butterflies. Look at this website for more information: http://www.monarchwatch.org/
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