Campus Butterflies

 

by Robert Mumby

 

Flowers — native, introduced, and nursery hybrids — abound on our campus, from the fields of mustard and star thistle on the west slopes to hundreds of gardens around the cottages and the decorative plantings elsewhere. Many of the flowers attract pollinators seeking nectar and pollen; honeybees are the least discriminating while butterflies often seek only certain flowers. Still in the less than two years that I have lived on campus, I have photographed twenty-two different butterfly species, from the big Monarchs and Tiger Swallow-tails to the tiny Sonora Skippers. The latter two along with cabbage butterflies are the most common.