At our little homestead we have more than enough canyon grape vines (Vitis arizonica) to share with the voracious caterpillars of the western grape skeletonizer. That said, I doubt I’ll get an invitation to be a spokesperson for the vintners of the Willcox wine region (the wine capitol of Arizona!) if I’m heard happily jabbering about western grape skeletonizers. But listen, I suspect the vineyards have Harrisina metallica pretty well figured out and I learned that there are organic ways to deal with these native rascals in a vineyard setting. Problem solved.
The photos are mine. The moth is on the flowers of white brush (Aloysia gratissima) blooming conveniently below some canyon grape in our yard. The munching caterpillars look like they’re wearing colorful striped sweaters.
I wrote this song about Lycium fremontii when I was managing the native plant nursery of Desert Survivors on West Starr Pass in Tucson....
My made up morning melodies are not nearly as amazing as the songs of a curved bill thrasher, but they help me begin the...
This is the time of year when you see desert millipedes out and about on muggy overcast days. Sometimes even crossing the two lane...