Butterfly Walk, Botanical Garden at UC Berkeley

I couldn’t resist this! Butterfly walks are offered by Sally Levinson, aka Caterpillar Lady, the 4th Tuesday of each month at the Botanical Garden at UC Berkeley, March through October. The website said children were welcome, so we decided to check it out this month with friends from my Nature Time! playgroup.

This was a fun walk. We started with a visit with a walk across the street to the entrance of the Redwood Grove, where we found several Pipevine Swallowtail caterpillars. I didn’t get a photo of any of these gorgeous caterpillars today, but if you want see what one looks like, click here to see some photos I took during an outing a couple months ago. These caterpillars are beautiful!

Then we were led back into the Gardens for a lovely walk around the grounds. The first butterfly we came across was a Mylitta Crescent. The butterfly sat on this flower, turning around and around, giving all of us an excellent view.

Next were several Cabbage Whites, which didn’t cooperate as well as the Mylitta Crescent. They fluttered quickly from flower to flower.

By now, the children had completely lost interest in the tour, but the adults were all completely engaged. In the future, I’d like to attend this without the little one. This was around the time someone showed me the hummingbird. So cute!

And lastly, we spotted a tiny little blue butterfly. I believe an Acmon Blue?

At this point, the tour continued without us, as our kids were far more interested in playing with each other than participating. I hope the group found more beauties!

The highlight of the outing for the kids? Checking out the beehive (which can be found in the Tropical House). They were fascinated…

The highlight for me? Butterflies, a hummingbird, a lovely visit with friends, and tons of gorgeous flowers!

Interested in going? Butterfly Walks are offered the 4th Tuesday of each month at the Botanical Garden at UC Berkeley (March through October). The walks are free with garden admission. Children welcome.

You may also enjoy the following, also taken during this visit to the Garden…

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