Native Host Plants. It wasn’t until the 1970s, when teachers and fourth grade students of Dailey Elementary in Fresno helped establish an “official” state insect by writing to Assemblyman Kenneth Maddy. After considerable effort, Assemblyman Maddy introduced a bill that was finally approved and signed into law by Governor Ronald Reagan on July 28, 1972.Prior to leaf budding in late March to early April, the first of season butterflies will emerge and begin laying their first eggs, the first of two possible seasonal broods. A complete metamorphosis from egg, to larva, then chrysalis or pupa, and finally into an adult butterfly takes approximately 30 to 33 days.The proposed (1929) design for an official Entomological State Emblem or Seal was never officially adopted but, over the years, similar forms of recognition were presented. California Native Plants That Attract Butterflies This table describes the plants that attract butterflies. “A major factor for this decision was the fact that the California Dogface was the only one of the three candidates limited solely to California in distribution” (B. Cavanaugh 2011).The male and female butterflies are morphologically different. Here is a letter from him: Killing Butterflies to Save Butterflies.
Enjoy! The key word nectar is used to denote a plant that is, shall we say a super-attractor. The Monarch Program rears a variety of native butterfly species for classroom projects, private individuals, public butterfly houses, and scientific studies. The male has … Habitat gardens are an oasis for creatures in areas otherwise dominated by ‘green deserts’.Habitat gardeners recognize the intricate relationships between native plants and the host of native creatures that evolved in associations with these plants. The plant grows in local river canyons between 500 and 2000 feet elevation, usually along seasonal stream channels within rocky side-canyons. Scattered widely and rarely plentiful, it is most often associated with Poison Oak, Ponderosa Pine, Foothill Pine, Black Oak, Interior Live Oak, Blue Oak, Canyon Oak, White-leaf Manzanita, and a variety of foothill wildflowers that include Coyote Mint, California Brodiaea, Humboldt Lily, and various thistle species (Ross, 2008). Habitat gardens are designed to provide food, cover, water, and nesting opportunities for wildlife; enhanced conditions that bring fascinating creatures closer to home. We strongly encourage the planting of its host plant, False Indigo: Amorpha californica or A. fruticosa, in public and private butterfly gardens.