Recently, I visited Tilden Regional Parks Botanic Garden in Berkeley. I remembered seeing California pipevine, Aristolochia californica, when I had visited before. I asked a gardener who was doing some hand-watering if he knew where it grew. He told me where I could see the plant and its caterpillars and butterflies.
The plant is a large, sprawling vine with saxophone-shaped flowers. The caterpillars (larvae) are hairy, red-orange and black and 2 inches at maturity. The beautiful butterflies (Battus philenor hirsuta) are blue and black, with a wingspan of 2.75 to 5 inches.
The caterpillars will feed only on the Aristolochia plant. This trait is called being “host-specific.”
A visit to this park would be a great Mother’s Day excursion.