Two Butterfly Walks Sunday, May 18Join Sarab Seth, the Butterfly Guy, for a guided walk around the Botanic Garden in search of butterflies. Two walks are scheduled on Sunday, May 18, at 1:00 p.m. and at 2:15 p.m. Free; reservations required. Meet at the Botanic Garden Visitor Center. Each walk is limited to 10 participants. Register here. Sarab’s observations: Last year, Lorquin’s admiral (Limenitis lorquini) was a reliable sighting in May and early June. This is a rewarding species to look for because Lorquin’s admirals generally offer good sightings. They keep jumping up to defend their territory, which makes them easy to spot. And they keep returning to a perch close to the previous one when they are disturbed, so you can usually get photographs or a good look through binoculars. I expect Variable checkerspots (Euphydryas chalcedona) to be abundant this year. In March and April, the number of caterpillar sightings reported on iNaturalist has been much higher than normal. We should see the adult butterflies through June. The best spot to look for them in May is at the confluence of beds 1101, 1102, and 1103 in the Antioch Dunes section. They can be seen nectaring on the wallflower (Erysimum) there, as well as the ninebark (Physocarpus capitatus) that is just starting to flower. On the second butterfly walk last month we saw six Western Brown Elfins (Callophrys augustinus iroides), mostly on the manzanita in and above the Sea Bluff section. I have never seen more than two in a day anywhere in the East Bay before. Hope to see a lot more of these butterflies this month. It's an early-season butterfly, and they are seldom seen after the end of May. Males typically perch on manzanita to look for females.
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