Living with the Lockdown – Treasure Hunt #7

Posted on May 6, 2020 | by MMPC

First the Birds, then the Bees and now … the Butterflies

Decades ago I married into a family that loved insects, and most especially butterflies. As a result of this Lepidopteran love affair, we started raising butterflies as soon as our offspring could appreciate them. In fact, I seem to remember we were always writing excuse notes for our children’s lateness. The reason … the butterflies … perverse as they are, often chose to emerge just as the kids were getting ready for school. We still raise butterflies, and they continue to be a big part of our lives, to this day.

Happily, Santa Barbara is home to many kinds of butterflies, with more than twenty different species being recorded on More Mesa alone. Indeed, while researching our last Treasure Hunt, I came across a “West Coast Lady” on a Deerweed plant, and while researching this piece, I came across two “Buckeyes”. The butterfly season has arrived!

Butterfly Life Cycle is Very Short, but Complex …

The life cycle of most butterflies is two months or less, and has four distinct stages; Egg, Caterpillar, Pupa and Adult. Most of us see only the adult stage.

Eggs begin a new cycle and are laid on plants that the caterpillar likes to eat … and the caterpillar is usually a very picky eater!
The caterpillar’s job is to eat and grow. A tiny caterpillar emerges from the egg. Over several weeks, it will shed its skin 4 times to accommodate the growth needed to eventually become an adult. Indeed, when the caterpillar is ready to pupate, it weighs 3000 times what it weighed when it hatched from the egg. Its final task is to find a convenient and safe place to do its work as a pupa. At that spot, it will literally generate a hook to “hang” itself and turn into a pupal shape.
The pupa is the transformative stage. This is the time a caterpillar becomes a butterfly. It is at the very end of the pupal stage that a butterfly emerges.
The only job of the adult butterfly is to begin the cycle again. That is, it must find a mate, mate, and lay eggs. However, immediately after emergence, the butterfly must do some ‘prep’ work. First it pumps fluid into its wings and then dries them. Now it can fly. But it must also construct its proboscis, a long straw-like body part that will enable the butterfly to feed itself during the adult phase. During these 2-3 weeks, the butterfly only consumes enough food to stay alive until it lays eggs. Its food is the nectar of flowers and thus the process is called “nectaring”. (Notice that the food the adult uses to stay alive is different from the food the caterpillar needs to grow … and grow … and grow.)

* Thanks to the Museum of Natural History Butterfly Docent Program for the Life Cycle Graphic above.

Some Well Known Species Live Out the Whole Cycle on More Mesa…

There are at least two butterfly species that go through their entire life cycles on More Mesa; the Anise Swallowtail and the Common Buckeye. For the Swallowtail, that cycle can be anywhere from 6 to 10 weeks.

To start, eggs of the Swallowtail are deposited on the ubiquitous Fennel all over More Mesa. But while Swallowtails have been native to this area, Fennel is an introduced European plant. I wondered how that could work. Here’s how … Fennel is a member of the carrot family; a large family with many domesticated members, and many wild members as well. For example, the Swallowtail caterpillars may have used native Hemlock as caterpillar food before Fennel came on the scene.

The Common Buckeye life cycle is similar to the Swallowtail. However, Buckeye caterpillars are not as picky as most caterpillars. They eat several species of Plantain, a family of low growing flowering plants … also readily available on More Mesa. On the other side of our country, Buckeyes from Florida prefer False Foxglove, as well as other eastern plant types. Buckeyes tend to be found closer to the ground, whereas Anise Swallowtails fly much higher. Look for them throughout the Spring, Summer and Fall.

They Are Beautiful, But What Are They Good for?

There should be no argument that butterflies are beautiful and watching them makes us all feel really good. They are a truly charismatic family. But they are also a functioning part of their ecosystem. Although they are often referred to as pollinators, that service is more of an accident, and not extremely effective. While a butterfly can inadvertently fly away with some pollen on its legs after it has been nectaring, that surface area is extremely small compared to what a bee can carry off.

Caterpillars are food for other animals. For example, a tiny bird like the
Eurasian Blue Tit, which weighs less than ½ an ounce, will need to find
nearly 20,000 caterpillars to raise one average clutch of youngsters.

Grandaughter Discovering Caterpillars on More Mesa

Most importantly, because butterflies are indicators of a healthy environment and healthy ecosystems, they become effective indicators of environmental disturbances and can be used to find answers to complex scientific questions.

All of the above aside, and in the final analysis, most of us would agree with Alan Watts when he said …

BUTTERFLIES ARE NATURE’S WAY OF WRITING POETRY.

Remember: Six Feet Apart and Stay Safe,
Valerie …

This Treasure Hunt is a family affair … all photos by Donley Olson

Living with the Lockdown – Treasure Hunt #6

Posted on April 28, 2020 | by MMPC

A Tiny, but Powerful Member of the Animal Kingdom

Prologue: When I sat down to write this week’s Treasure Hunt I had planned to introduce one of my favorite and hard-working little plants, Deerweed. But as I got deeper into the research about certain aspects of Deerweed, I discovered a world of mind-boggling information on the major pollinator of Deerweed; Bees. Because of this, I added a section on bees that I thought was fascinating. As I have been doing, I passed the text off to a good friend and colleague to get his comments, edits etc. He, replied … nicely of course … “You got it all wrong, it should be all about the bees“.

When I thought about it, he was absolutely right! And here’s the reason … if you have been following our Treasure Hunts you will remember that 4 of the 5 of the “Hunts” published so far have discussed reproduction. After all … it is Spring, reproduction is in the air, and bees are a major player in this vital process. And happily, while bees are gathering nectar to raise their own young, they are simultaneously pollinating the plants they visit, thereby helping produce the next generation of that plant.

Bees are Premier Pollinators and Vitally Important

Busy Bee Photo by Chris Brems — Busy Bee
Photo by Chris Brems

Scientists consider bees to be a keystone species and the USDA estimates that 80% of insect crop pollination is accomplished by bees. They are critically important to ecosystems of at least 90 commercially grown crops that depend on bee pollination for survival. Bees are the undisputed champions of the
pollination world. However, bees are in trouble. Like many in the insect world, bee populations are declining precipitously. While pesticides and climate change, are part of the problem, die-offs are happening largely because bees, like many insects, are losing their habitat to both development and urbanization.

The Superhero Bee

If a bee were a superhero, its sight would be its super power. Bees have two types of eyes, with each type having a separate function. The three smaller eyes in the center-top of a bee’s head are called ocelli; a word from Latin, and meaning “little eye”. These little bee eyes each have a single lens, with the three of them helping the bee maintain stability and navigate.

bee eye Vision is accomplished using two very large compound eyes. These eyes are amazing examples of nature’s engineering. A bee compound eye is made up of thousands of tiny lenses called facets. Each of these facets takes in one small part of the insect’s field of view. The bee’s brain then converts these signals into a mosaic-like picture made of each image. Some bees have up to 8,600 facets.

Bees Cannot See Red: Humans base their color combinations on red, blue and green, while bees base their colors on ultraviolet light, blue and green. This is the reason why bees can’t see the color red. Things that appear “red” to us, look black to bees. On the other hand, bees are able to see ultraviolet patterns on various flowers.

bee vision

About the Deerweed … Never Mind, It’s Done!

Deerweed Stalk-Red and Yellow Flowers Photo by Chris Brems — Deerweed Stalk-Red and Yellow Flowers
Photo by Chris Brems

Bees go mad over the bright-yellow flowers of this California native. And, as mentioned above, they are simultaneously gathering nectar and pollinating. However, once pollinated, the flower gets to work producing seeds for the next generation. Since the bees are no longer needed on the pollinated flower, that flower turns red and a bee can’t “see” it anymore. It is therefore common for us to see both red and yellow flowers on the same stalk of Deerweed. Why does the plant do that? The pollinated flower appears black to the bee, so it is not attracted to it, because it can no longer see it. Bee vision then becomes another “Mother Nature win-win” situation; the bee doesn’t waste time on the pollinated flower and that particular flower is not disturbed while it is busy preparing for the next generation.

You can find Deerweed along the coastal trail of More Mesa and many other habitats in our area. You can find bees everywhere.

A Word in Support of the Bee

Lastly, have you ever noticed when someone mentions bees, the first thing, and most times the only thing, that gets discussed is a stinging incident? Unlike mosquitos and other stinging insects, bees are merely reacting to a perceived threat to the colony or the hive. There is no benefit to the individual bee who stings someone. In fact, it is committing suicide, since the stinger is stuck in the wound (with several other body parts) and the bee can no longer function.

Please Help!

People who love More Mesa have a long tradition of not only carrying out their own trash, but picking up trash left by others. Since the lockdown many more people are visiting More Mesa. These new people don’t know about our More Mesa traditions and therefore do not know that they should be very respectful of this place we love. Also, with the current situation, it is not as easy to pick up after those who are “not in the know”. One way to help would be to educate the newcomers … shouting from six feet away … that More Mesa is a very special place and we need to take care of it. Ask them to PLEASE pick up their trash and carry it out.

THANKS SO MUCH!

It’s All About the Birds and the Bees!

Posted on October 24, 2019 | by MMPC

Mother Nature Has Incredible Ability to Bounce Back!

In our Spring Issue we waxed eloquent over the rains that had filled our prolific and very significant vernal pool. And further, those same rains also created an unusually effective ecological chain of events. The rains brought grasses … grasses in great profusion. These grasses then provided an abundance of food for the rodents that are prey for our local birds … the most important of which is our “signature and logo” the White-tailed Kite.

Fledgling Kites Photo Courtesy of Morgan Ball — Fledgling Kites
Photo Courtesy of Morgan Ball

Here’s how the rains inspired the kites. In normal rain years (October 1st of the current year to September 30th of the following year) More Mesa supports two, and sometimes three pairs of adult kites. The nests are conveniently referred to as “East”, “Central” and “West”. Each breeding pair typically has 2-4 chicks per nest, but not all the chicks may survive. “Doing the math” tells us we could have between eight and eighteen kites on and around More Mesa at the end of a breeding season. However the number is typically much closer to eight. During the recent drought, we had several years with no More Mesa chicks reported at all. Last year More Mesa had but a single breeding event that produced two chicks … perhaps the only youngsters in all of the Goleta Valley.

BUT THIS YEAR WAS A BANNER YEAR! Of the 10 breeding events in the Goleta Valley, More Mesa had three active nests that fledged at least 10 young and possibly many more. Further, there is some evidence that one or more of the pairs have “double clutched” … that is, they raised yet another set of chicks. In the past we have seen chicks hatched as late as October, so there may even be more to come!

AND EVEN MORE EXCITING … In our extensive web feature about White-tailed Kites, we have described the kite’s practice of winter communal roosts. We have not observed one of these roosts for many, many years. However, this year, a large communal

Multiple Kites Roosting - September 2019 Photo Courtesy of Barry Rowan — Multiple Kites Roosting – September 2019
Photo Courtesy of Barry Rowan

roost was discovered in the central area of More Mesa. This particular roost is unusual for a couple of reasons. First, roosts typically are a winter phenomenon that occurs, at the time when all, or most of, the chicks are fledged. But this roost was identified in September. Moreover, at one point there were 29 birds observed at the central roost. This is an extremely large number and would indicate that either there were a great many chicks fledged on More Mesa, or there were visiting kites from other areas around the Goleta Valley … or both! (As of this writing the roost has been abandoned. This is typical behavior, and as yet, an alternate roost has not been identified.)

And What About the Bees?

bees Bees, and their almost 300 species of insect buddies, are, as usual, busy nectaring from coyote bushes in flower during the fall and winter seasons on More Mesa. You can read about this unassuming, but extremely important plant on our web site.

The Past – Taking Another Look at More Mesa’s History

Of late we have departed from the “standard” format we historically used for our periodic e-mail updates. In this issue we are returning to one of our most popular features: that concerning More Mesa’s past. Although we are reprising information shared with you in our very early issues, we are also including new material that has been revealed since we originally published. With that prologue …

The Chumash – The original, local Californians lived on More Mesa as early as 6,000 years ago. However the first mention of these highly sophisticated native people was made by the Cabrillo expedition in 1542. The ship’s journal noted that the area of the Goleta Slough and west More Mesa was the most heavily populated region in all of Alta and Baja California.

First map of the Channel Islands Campbell Grant — First map of the Channel Islands
Campbell Grant

Then in 1602, the first map of the Santa Barbara Channel was drawn by Father Antonio de la Ascencion, diarist of the Viscaino Expedition. In the image shown, we have taken the liberty of translating the handwritten Spanish on the map into English. The “Big Town” was probably Mescalatitlan or Dos Pueblos.

Campbell Grant, in the opening chapter of his book, “The Rock Paintings of the Chumash”, waxes eloquent about the wealth of plants, trees, animal and sea life that were accessible to the Chumash. He says, “It is small wonder that the Chumash chose to live in such a land. It was a fine place to live.” A ramble through More Mesa convinces one that it still is a fine place to live.

Mysteries!

Posted on August 13, 2019 | by MMPC

Spring came so late this year that it might as well have been a really long winter. But it is warm at last, and More Mesa has presented us with three different mysteries!

Mystery #1: What was actually found in our vernal pool

In our last issue we talked about the More Mesa Vernal Pool finally filling … after 8 long years of drought. Joanna Tang, a graduate student at UCSB, lead the scientific study of our pool with the aid of More Mesa supporter, Angela Rauhut, who took most of the measurements. Joanna has kindly written a synopsis of what she found after 3 months of study.

More Mesa has a vernal pool harboring several locally rare plants and animals that are vernal pool specialists. Even after being dry for 8 years, recent plant and animal surveys have revealed the resiliency of these special vernal pool species. They are adapted to live in aquatic conditions during the winter, reproduce and drop seed as the vernal pool dries out. Then they remain in the dried up pools as seeds and cysts (invertebrate eggs) that can withstand prolonged desiccation — just add water and they come to life!

After this year’s winter rains, several vernal pool specialist plants popped up. There was, appropriately enough, Popcorn Flower, a common vernal pool plant in the area.

However, we also saw Pacific Foxtail and Lemmon’s Canary Grass, small native grasses that are only found in More Mesa and a few other pools near UCSB. Another plant found commonly in the local vernal pools is Coyote Thistle, but More Mesa’s Coyote Thistle has unique leaf and stem forms that may make it a distinct subspecies. Of particular interest, More

Mesa is the only local pool sampled this year that has Clam Shrimp — this little crustacean requires deeper vernal pools that stay filled with water for longer, so the large More Mesa pool is the perfect habitat for it! Other common freshwater invertebrates like Copepods and

Ostracods were also found in the pool, as well as plenty of tadpoles of Pacific Tree Frogs!

It is so much fun to see the More Mesa pool come to life with so many species this year!

Our many thanks to Joanna and Angela for the data and photographs in this article.

Mystery #2: What’s going on with these big birds chasing one another?

One recent early evening, two of our More Mesa fans were hiking on County owned More Mesa Open Space. They came across one large bird being loudly pursued by 2 or 3 other (perhaps smaller) birds. The pursuers disappeared quickly, but the bigger bird, resolutely and overtly, perched on a nearby tree with a huge portion of food clasped tightly in its talons. Fortunately the hikers managed to capture a photo of the perched bird and asked if it could be identified. The mystery thickened … what species and why the chasing?

Immature Coopers Hawk (Photo by Chris Brehms & Mark Johnson)

After studying a few books and sites, a rank amateur guessed it might be an immature Red Shouldered Hawk, but decided to get some real experts to weigh in. Oddly enough the experts were a little more than puzzled as well. The reason it was puzzling was that the bird in the photo was NOT an adult. It was an immature, meaning its in year 1 of its life. This ruled out the scenario where we would have an adult with food and juveniles chasing it. They might be chasing, but they were chasing an immature bird with prey, either a nest-mate or some other non-related bird. It seems a likely scenario that it was a group of young Cooper’s tussling for the food brought by an adult. However, the experts agreed that there was probably an adult around somewhere

The final verdict? The proud holder of the food was this Immature Coopers Hawk.

Many thanks to Rebecca Coulter, Krista Fahy and John Storrer for their help, advice and descriptions of what was likely happening.

Mystery #3: Why are the Locks on the Southeastern Gate Gone?

This mystery is not nearly as much fun as the ones above. The locks are gone because they have been stolen.

No private vehicles are allowed on More Mesa because of the potential for disastrous fires. A case in point: Twelve years ago, a fire on More Mesa burned to the edges of Hope Ranch and Vista la Cumbre. It started as a result of sparks from a motorcycle that was illegally being ridden on More Mesa.

At that time the More Mesa Preservation Coalition took on the task of reducing the potential for fire on the eastern side of More Mesa. We collected private funds and obtained permission to finish the fence limiting entry onto More Mesa. After the fence was finished, we placed locks on the fire gate that would allow entry to those agencies that needed to have access to More Mesa. These included the owner of More Mesa, the Fire Department and the Sheriff. For many years these locks were in place and working well.

Unhappily emergency work by the gas company left the locks untended, and they were stolen. Because the special fire department locks are difficult to obtain, the gate was unlocked for several weeks. During that time, off-road vehicles and trucks decided to make More Mesa a playground and rode around in the mud after our frequent rain storms. Some of these vehicles got stuck and had to be pulled out by a tow truck. In one instance the tow truck had to be pulled out by a bigger tow truck. IT WAS A MESS!

A new set of locks was installed (several hundred dollars) and were gone the very next day. A third set disappeared in a few weeks. There is apparently a way to destroy any lock and chain … no matter how sturdy they are. Now there are no locks at all.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!! If you use More Mesa, please help to protect it. If you see vehicles illegally out on More Mesa, grab your cell phone and call the Sheriff. When you do this quickly, the Sheriff may get out there and confront the offender. We cannot let this magic place be destroyed by people who think they have a right to ride anywhere and everywhere their vehicles can possibly go. THANK YOU.

July-August 2017 – It’s Still Summer!

Posted on September 29, 2017 | by MMPC

Latest News About More Mesa

coastal commission — California Coastal Commission

On August 10, Valerie Olson (MMPC Board Chair) and Linda Krop (Chief Counsel of the Environmental Defense Center and MMPC’s attorney) represented the More Mesa Preservation Coalition at a California Coastal Commission hearing in Calabasas. The hearing was in regard to the County of Santa Barbara’s Eastern Goleta Valley Community Plan. We both spoke in support of strong protections for More Mesa and its rare and sensitive coastal habitats. In general, the Commission was favorable toward our views on preservation of More Mesa, but their recommendations must now go before the County Board of Supervisors for review before the whole plan is certified. We will continue to advocate for strong policies when the County holds its next, and possibly final, hearing on the Plan.

Ask the President

Q: What does it mean when the Community Plan specifies that More Mesa must have a Specific Plan?

A: That everything is planned together … at the same time.

Santa Barbara County defines a “Specific Plan” as “A plan that provides for a more a more precise level of planning for an area than is ordinarily possible in the Comprehensive Plan or the Coastal Plan.” Potential development on More Mesa has required a Specific Plan ever since More Mesa was first protected in the Community Plan for our area … over 20 years ago. This means that whatever is being planned for More Mesa, no matter when various parts of the development will actually be built, all planning must be submitted and approved before any actual building begins. For example, you may recall a development that was being discussed about 5 years ago. This proposal included 27 “Casitas” and 12 Mansions. According to the guidelines of More Mesa’s Specific Plan, all 39 of these structures would have had to be fully planned and approved before any development could occur.

overview map — SPECIFIC PLAN must include everything planned in the RED development Envelopment.

This Month on More Mesa – The Mystery of the Anise Swallowtail

AS Caterpillar — Even the Swallowtail Caterpillar is lovely

Our website has photos of all 19 species of butterflies found on More Mesa. One of these species is the Anise Swallowtail, so named because this butterfly lays its eggs on fennel, a plant that tastes like anise or licorice. Caterpillars hatch from the eggs and gorge themselves on their fennel hosts until they are big enough to become pupae. Metamorphosis occurs within the pupae, and the life cycle is completed when the butterfly emerges to begin the cycle again. It all sounds straightforward until we recognize that fennel is not native to Southern California!

…but when it is threatened, horns appear and give off a nasty smell!

Fennel was probably introduced by Italian immigrants settling in the Goleta Valley in the late 1800s; relative newcomers who used fennel extensively in their Mediterranean diets. The introduction of this non-native plant leads to some interesting musings:

When did the Anise Swallowtails appear here? One possibility is that the species has been here for a long time and BF (before fennel) they fed on other close members of the fennel family; carrots, parsley, coriander, dill and probably wild members of the same family as well.
The caterpillar becomes a pupae…
If they were already here, why were they called Anise Swallowtails? The naming logic is hard to track, but it probably happened after naturalists were around to name them.

Naming aside, these are beautiful creatures and can be found in many areas of More Mesa. Take a walk, enjoy this magic place … and look for the Anise Swallowtails. They will be there … along with lots of other butterfly friends!

AS Butterfly — …which then becomes the lovely Anise Swallowtail. Thanks to Donley Olson for the use of his Anise Swallowtail photos.

How You Can Help

Between now and the day we learn of the plans of the owners of More Mesa, we will continue to strengthen our argument for why any development should be opposed. You can help in formulating that argument in these ways:

Send us a photograph of you and others enjoying More Mesa … demonstrating both public interest and use;
Share a particularly interesting way in which you enjoy the Mesa;
Help us clean up trash on More Mesa … to keep it beautiful while, at the same time showing community support;
If you have some money left over at the end of the month send us a contribution, of any amount, to help us in defending More Mesa. You can do this on the home page of our web site or by mailing a check made out to the “More Mesa Preservation Coalition”, P.O. Box 22557, S. B., CA 93121; and,
Encourage your friends and acquaintances whom you know enjoy the Mesa to do one or more of the above.

Thank you very much for your continued interest and support. We look forward to the day when we can purchase More Mesa and preserve for all time this rare and remarkable place … the last great place in Santa Barbara.

Be attuned to, and look for messages in the news, and from MMPC reporting on the Board of Supervisors hearing on the Goleta Community Plan.

Thanks so much!

Valerie Olson
President, MMPC