Thursday, March 31, 2005
PAINTED LADIES
No. I do not mean that kind of painted lady.
I mean this kind: Vanessa cardui [Linnaeus].
They are aswarm in our Valley. It is the Spring migration.
A lot of people bitch about their cars getting splatted with them but I worry about the Ladies. When you are walking, there is nothing but beauty. They surround you and drift by. When there is a breeze they sail by at a higher speed as they ride on it.
I look forward to seeing them return every year. Well, not that they went anyplace. They are here to stay. They will just change form. Then they won't bother the cars. But I will miss them.
They are in abundance. It is not as though the cars are a population threat. They are Nature Conservancy Rated: G5 Very common; demonstrably secure under present conditions. The Rating is a neat thing. Take a look.
