One of my favorite butterflies. They used to be fairly common in our Sebastopol garden, but sadly, they haven't shown up at all here for at least a decade.
Nice to hear from you. I first noticed Purplish Coppers on Bodega Head in 2016, but I had been working here for 11 years at that time and hadn't seen them during the previous years. Perhaps they blink in and out, and they'll be back in your yard in the future!
Interestingly, Art Shapiro also noted a change in the populations he monitors: http://butterfly.ucdavis.edu/butterfly/Lycaena/helloides
Thanks for that link - looks interesting, and I'll read it next. I've always assumed that the year-to-year variation in my butterfly visitors is due to changes in the garden habitat itself - more or less sun because of tree expansion, changes in what plants are thriving or not thriving, etc. We used to have scads of West Coast Ladies, for instance, but it's been years and years since we've seen any *anywhere*, and now I'm starting to wonder if there's something going on with that population.
One of my favorite butterflies. They used to be fairly common in our Sebastopol garden, but sadly, they haven't shown up at all here for at least a decade.
ReplyDeleteHi, Alice!
ReplyDeleteNice to hear from you. I first noticed Purplish Coppers on Bodega Head in 2016, but I had been working here for 11 years at that time and hadn't seen them during the previous years. Perhaps they blink in and out, and they'll be back in your yard in the future!
Interestingly, Art Shapiro also noted a change in the populations he monitors: http://butterfly.ucdavis.edu/butterfly/Lycaena/helloides
Jackie
Thanks for that link - looks interesting, and I'll read it next.
ReplyDeleteI've always assumed that the year-to-year variation in my butterfly visitors is due to changes in the garden habitat itself - more or less sun because of tree expansion, changes in what plants are thriving or not thriving, etc. We used to have scads of West Coast Ladies, for instance, but it's been years and years since we've seen any *anywhere*, and now I'm starting to wonder if there's something going on with that population.