Escape the Funk - SoCal 4/9/02

[Mark Walker]

Because of all the traveling I am otherwise blessed to enjoy, I often end up
missing the great seasonal lepping in my hometown of Southern California.
So it was with pleasure that I was notified of a trip cancellation this past
week, and looked forward to spending some time at home - as well as in the
field.  To my dismay, most of southern California has been under some sort
of spring funk - where the marine layer remains throughout the day, and
extends well out beyond the mountains and into the Mojave and Colorado
deserts.  With temperatures rarely exceeding 65 F and no direct sunlight to
speak of, the prospect of lepping has been pretty bad indeed.
 
During this past weekend I drove north to spend time with family near San
Luis Obispo, and I knew I was in trouble when I had reached Buttonwillow
(along Interstate 5, well north of Bakersfield) and still hadn't escaped the
thick layer of fog.  The condition persisted all weekend long, save for a
brief break on Saturday that allowed me to find butterflies ironically on
the immediate coast in Los Osos, including the local sand dune Plebejus
icariodes moroensis (Morro Blue), Glaucopsyche lygdamus (Silvery Blue),
Callophrys affinis (Bramble Hairstreak), Danaus plexippus (Monarch), Pieris
rapae (Cabbage White), Plebejus acmon (Acmon Blue), and Anthocharis sara
(Sara Orangetip).  I say ironically because this habitat is well known for
being socked in by fog well into the afternoon.  When I returned home on
Sunday along highway 166, the skies were still gray.  In fact, they grew
worse the farther south I drove (and the announcers for the Dodgers game
complained that the lights had been required in the ravine right from the
games early afternoon start).
 
On Tuesday, April 9th, I decided to attempt to escape the funk by driving
east from San Diego.  When I reached Jacumba, along Interstate 8, the fog
was still pouring over the pass and into the desert below.  The sun was
trying hard to penetrate, and I noticed a green hairstreak flitting about
while filling up at the gas station, but my appointment was with the lower
desert so I decided not to stay.
 
I dropped down into Ocotillo, aptly named for the cactus plant that abounds
there (and is in spectacular form, with bright red blossoms on every ten
foot long shoot).  From here, I headed up the well known S2 overland stage
route that introduces the northbound visitor to Anza Borrego Desert State
Park.  It was about 10:00 a.m. when I drove past the park boundary, and
surprisingly the conditions were slowly improving.  The temperatures were
already approaching 80 degrees when I spotted a lone hitchhiker carrying a
near empty bottle of water without a vehicle and far from the nearest
convenience.  I pulled over, not wanting to ignore the obvious urgency, and
was surprised both by the young mans youthfulness (around 16) and the speed
with which the other two young men jumped out of the bushes. 
 
"Oh, here we go", I thought with a start.
 
They were tired and weary, not to mention quite soiled, but I couldn't just
speed off and leave them out in the middle of nowhere.  They didn't speak
much English, so my awful Spanish had to do - they were hoping to at least
get a ride to a market of sorts.  I explained that I was probably not going
very far, but soon it became apparent that my intentions of heading into the
east-facing slopes of the Laguna Mountains would be somewhat delayed - a
reality made more painful by a lazy Papilio polyxenes coloro (Desert
Swallowtail) flopping it's way across the highway.  We were driving past Box
Canyon when they proposed that I drive them to Los Angeles for a fee of
$200.  I told them that this would be too difficult (not to mention
unethical), that there was immigration inspection stations to deal with, and
that they'd have to settle for Shelter Valley.  When I dropped them off for
refreshment and a pay phone, I told them that I needed to head up into the
mountains for a couple of hours and that if they were still there when I
returned, I'd see about giving them a ride out of the desert.  I waved and
headed up into the foothills, targeting Rodriguez Canyon for some hiking and
lepping, and the thought of never having to deal with them again certainly
crossed my mind.
 
This part of Anza Borrego is at about 2500-3000 feet above sea level - quite
a bit higher than the well known lower elevations near Borrego Springs - and
the butterflies typically fly here several weeks after they peak down below.
It has been a long time since I've seen this part of the desert still so
bleak at this time of the year.  In the canyons the plants were just
beginning to leaf out, and there was virtually nothing yet in bloom.  With
the cooler temperatures, the intermittent sunshine, and the severe lack of
nectar - I was not expecting much in the way of butterflies.  But then I've
been fooled before.
 
By noon the temperatures were heating up into the 80's, and I soon spotted
my first lep since the road-crossing Swallowtail.  This was a Callophrys
(Mitoura) gryneus (siva) loki (Loki Hairstreak - would someone please get
this complex straight), though there was little juniper to be seen.  The
bug, whetever it should be called, is very different from any of the others
within the gryneus complex.  There is a bit of green scaling at the base of
both wings ventrally, but there is also lavender (as in nelsoni), as well as
grey and much white banding.  There are also some very distinct red spots
and row of black spots on the ventral hindwing submargin - also like
nelsoni.  The black spots distinctively occur all the way to the hindwing
apex.  There is also a distinct gray and white marginal band on the ventral
hindwing.  It's a nice bug, for sure, and certainly as deserving of being
split off from gryneus as any other.
 
Anthocharis sara was readily found patrolling the canyon, and before long I
spotted my first Euphydryas chalcedona hennei (Henne's Checkerspot).  This
bug can be very common in these eastern drainage canyons in San Diego
County, but it was a bit early yet this year due to the lack of rain.  I saw
four or five, including one female.  The most astonishing find for me this
day was Thessalia leanira wrightii? (Leanira Checkerspot).  I've always
noted the presence of Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja) in these foothills, but
have never spotted this bug here.  In fact, I always assumed I needed to
return to the area sometime in May to find it, if it flew here at all.  I've
never been butterflying in this region in May/June.
 
And here was this bug - and common, too.  In fact, it was the most common
lep on the wing this day.  It was lazily patrolling the canyon, unlike it's
cousins that fly in the Mojave - which are most commonly found at nectar or
hilltopping.  Like it's other desert counterparts, these bugs do tend to
have extensive orange scaling on both the dorsal forewing and hindwing.  Not
alma, for sure, but perhaps a bit more orange than typical wrightii.  What a
great surprise to find it on an otherwise limited day for leps.
 
Other butterflies were on the wing, including Glaucopsyche lygdamus (Silvery
Blue) and Callophrys affinis (Bramble Hairstreak).  There was also a
stunning little day flying moth that is black with large white spots on both
the forewing and hindwing, and red spots on the thorax and abdomen.  I've
found this bug in the Mojave also, and it's always a tough catch there.
Here it came to what little nectar was available, and I was able to have a
good look at it.
 
By the time I headed back down the canyon it was already 2:30 and getting
quite hot.  I found the car unbearable, and the thermometer was reading 95
F.  I needed water badly, so I headed for the only market within miles.
When I returned to the little country store, I was not entirely surprised to
find my three amigos waiting under the shade of the few trees planted there.
By now I was looking a lot like I too had been sleeping in the desert for
the past few days, and we all enjoyed another round of refreshments.  I
pondered my predicament, and concluded that no laws would be broken in
driving them out of inhospitable territory - in spite of which parts south
of the border they originated from.  Just as we started off again, one of my
compadres mentioned that he had a Tio (Uncle) in a place called Fallbrook.
Well, Fallbrook happens to be close enough to my home in Oceanside that I
can hit it with a stick, so Fallbrook here we come!  And there are no INS
check stations to cross - only the Cleveland National Forest including the
Laguna and Palomar Mountains.
 
Our drive to Fallbrook via highways 78, 79, and 76 was quite pleasant, and I
noticed my amigos enjoying the mountain countryside equipped with lakes and
vistas.  We stopped in Julian for some locally bottled Montezuma
Apple/Cherry juice - and polished off a half gallon amongst the three of us.
By 5:00 p.m. we arrived safely in Fallbrook, having successfully escaped the
desert desolation.  Meanwhile, I had successfully managed to escape the
funk.
 
Mark Walker
Oceanside, CA
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