Lost in the Bushes: Examining the Black Sage and its Pollinators

One might imagine that a bush is just a plant, something boring to glance at while looking for the exciting mammals and birds in the trees or under their canopies. But what about those bushes? Why are they there? What lives in the bushes that, when you are just walking by, you might not notice?

But before we get philosophical about plants and the importance of taking quiet breaks in times that feel far from peace and quiet, let’s set the stage for why I was staring at the bushes. As part of an Experimental Ecology Lab, I’m required to spend half an hour a week making observations across the street from Mudd at the Bernard Field Station. The Bernard Field Station is incredibly peaceful and accessible to only a select population of the Claremont Colleges. I happen to be one of those lucky few. On this particular outing, I decided to sit near one of the outdoor tables at the main building (it would be nice to have a seat that was not just the dirt, I thought). I sat facing several large black sage bushes (Salvia mellifera) that initially looked devoid of active life. I could hear the Western Fence Lizards (Sceloporus occidentalis) out and scurrying through the leaves scattered throughout other parts of the underbrush and beneath the bulk of the plants, but nothing else seemed particularly exciting. 

Snapshots of the Western Honeybee [1]

As I sat quietly watching the sage bush, the first non-plant organism I spotted was the Western Honeybee (Apis mellifera). The black sage is the most common sage in California and also provides a valuable source of food to hummingbirds, bees, and more. Yay, pollination! The bees and other pollinators were busy working on getting nectar, while I was sitting and observing. Seeing nature uninterrupted and peaceful recenters or recontextualizes the stresses of problem sets into the grand scheme of things; sometimes you are the busy bee and sometimes you are the observing student.

Drawing from my field notebook of the blooming sage flowers [2].

The bees flitted about between the different flowers, pausing for only a few seconds at a time, making it challenging to photograph them. Despite the challenge of photographing them, it was still worthwhile to get the photos I was able to. I’ve been really getting into amateur photography and bought a camera to be able to take better pictures. Alas, on this particular excursion to the field station, I had forgotten my camera in my room and the couple hundred steps to get back felt insurmountable. I remembered that a friend had introduced me to Project Indigo, a free Adobe app that attempts to change a phone camera into something more akin to a mirrorless or other more professional digital camera with “SLR-like” quality, as the research group refers to it. All of the images in this blog post were captured with this software, which made a significant difference in perceived quality. Focus on specific elements of an image is one aspect where the software significantly improves a mobile phone camera.

Pictures of the Painted Lady Butterfly [3].

One of the most aesthetically pretty organisms that landed atop the sage bush was a Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui). The pattern of the butterfly’s movement was to flit between the different flowering sage tops, pausing only briefly to flutter its wings. 

Duskywing atop the sage, ready for flight [4].

My final observation for the trip was a Funereal Duskywing (Erynnis funeralis). It seemed to also be attracted to the sage, just like the bee and the other butterfly. The primary plant that it is attracted to is alfalfa and the butterfly itself can be found from the Northern United States all the way to Chile.

From this experience, I found myself feeling calmer because of the way that it allowed me to simply observe, making me much more ready to get back to the activities of life on campus. Being required to take time to make observations has brought me so much gratitude and appreciation for the natural environment—even in the most unassuming bushes conveniently located next to a comfortable chair.

Further Reading

“Pollinators Investigation,” The Huntington, The Huntington, https://www.huntington.org/pollinators-investigation 

“Growing Black Sage in Native Gardens: A Complete Guide to Care and Value,” Blossomdale Plant Nursery, Blossomdale, https://blossomdale.com/blogs/news/growing-black-sage-in-native-gardens 

Stefanescu, Constantí, et. al. “Timing of mating, reproductive status and resource availability in relation to migration in the painted lady butterfly,” Animal Behaviour, Volume 172, pp. 145-153, February 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.12.013. 

Media Credits

[1] Photo by Lilo Ryan

[2] Photo by Lilo Ryan from own field notebook

[3] Photo by Lilo Ryan

[4] Photo by Lilo Ryan