Black Swallowtail at Solar One
Monday, August 17th, 2009
In the herb garden just outside of Solar One, we spotted 4 Black Swallowtail caterpillars. The were munching on the seedlings of last years dill plant.
At first glance we thought the caterpillars were Monarch caterpillars only because they are the only caterpillars we ever see in that garden, and from a distance they have similar stripes. But on closer inspection we noticed that they were definitely not Monarch caterpillars, nor were they on the correct host plant. These caterpillars were on our dill plants which are one of the host plants for the Black Swallowtail along with carrots, parsley, Queen Anne’s Lace, and a few other species.
The Black Swallowtail starts its life as a cream colored egg, it then goes through 5 larval instars and then forms its chrysalis (cocoon). After the chrysalis it emerges as an adult Black Swallowtail Butterfly.
The instars are different stages of growth the larva goes through to reach its mature size. The first two instars the larva or caterpillar is brown with a white band in the middle of its body. The following 3 instars the caterpillar is light green with black bands that have yellow dots on them (as shown above). It is the larval stage that these insects do most of their eating, in fact is seems like they never stop!
When the caterpillar enters the pupal stage, the time it forms it’s chrysalis, it begins the process of metamorphosis. This is when it changes shape from a caterpillar to a butterfly. Depending on the time of year the pupal stage can last from 8-12 days (if formed in early summer) or it can over winter (if formed in late summer) and emerge 8-9 months later. The time of year also determines the color of the chrysalis; green in summer brown in winter.
It seems as though we may have to wait till next year to see the beautiful Black Swallowtail butterflies emerge from their chrysalides. In a few days these caterpillars are going to form their chrysalides, they seem to be in the 5th instar now.
Check back with us on our flickr account @ solaronenyc for updated photos of the caterpillars, chrysalides and hopefully the butterflies.
Posted in Education, Food, Organic Farming, Solar One, Stuyvesant Cove Park | Permalink
Park Volunteer Day
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009| September 26, 2009 | ||
| 9:00 am | to | 1:00 pm |
SEPTEMBER 16th: Stuyvesant Cove Park Volunteer Days offer people the chance to get their hands dirty while assisting in the maintenance of the park and learning about its history and care.
Tasks include weeding, mulching, plant care, tree pruning, cleanup, graffiti removal and general beautification.
TIME: 9 AM – 1 PM
More info: http://solar1.orf/park
Posted in Education, Native Plants, Solar One Events, Stuyvesant Cove Park | Permalink
Stuyvesant Strolls
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009| September 16, 2009 | ||
| 6:00 pm | to | 9:00 pm |
SEPTEMBER 16th: The last in our series of evening walking tours of Stuyvesant Cove Park, will be co-led by NYC Audubon’s Gabriel Willow who will give detailed information about the birds in Stuyvesant Cove Park and how they relate to our native plants.
Refreshments to follow in the park.
TIME: 6 PM
RSVP: melissa@solar1.org
Posted in Education, Food, Native Plants, Solar One Events, Stuyvesant Cove Park | Permalink
Solar One Family Day–Creatures!
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009| August 29, 2009 | ||
| 10:00 am | to | 12:00 pm |
AUGUST 29th: Solar One’s series of events for children and their parents continues with Creatures Day.
Activities include learning about and tagging monarch butterflies, exploring cell structure and microorganisms with the return of the BioBus, worm composting demonstration with Lower East Side Ecology Center and Kevin from Nature’s WILD Encounters who will be bringing native animals for children and adults to learn about.
RSVP: melissa@solar1.org
Posted in Education, Native Plants, Solar One Events, Stuyvesant Cove Park | Permalink
Sun to Stars South Asian Festival
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009| August 22, 2009 | ||
| 3:00 pm | to | 11:00 pm |
Inspired by the traditional all-night concerts along India’s Ganges River, Sun to Stars South Asian Festival presents an eclectic blend of classical, contemporary and folk performing arts powered by solar energy, while evoking the informal setting which performers and audience interact to create a positive artistic experience, as they do in India.
Past performers include: Rajika Puri, Guarav Shah, Preeti Vasudevan, Parul Shah, and Vivek Rudrapatna.
ACCESSIBLE TO ALL AGES!
South Asian food will be available for sale!
Posted in Art, Dance, Food, Music, Solar One Events, Solar Power, Stuyvesant Cove Park | Permalink
Park Volunteer Day!
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009| August 8, 2009 | ||
| 9:00 am | to | 1:00 pm |
Stuyvesant Cove Park Volunteer Days offer people the chance to get their hands dirty while assisting in the maintenance of the park and learning about its history and care! Tasks include weeding, mulching, plant care, tree pruning, cleanup, graffiti removal, and general beautification.
More information: http://solar1.org/park
Posted in Education, Native Plants, Solar One Events, Stuyvesant Cove Park | Permalink
Solar-Powered Dance Series Program B
Monday, July 6th, 2009| July 30, 2009 | ||
| 6:00 pm | to | 8:00 pm |
| July 31, 2009 | ||
| 6:00 pm | to | 8:00 pm |
| August 1, 2009 | ||
| 6:00 pm | to | 8:00 pm |
JULY 30th- AUGUST 1: The Fifth Annual Solar-Powered Dance Series features 14 emerging choreographers in a diverse variety of styles, from African/hiphop to circus to vaudeville/burlesque and beyond.
Performances are accessible to a general audience and are appropriate for all ages!
This week’s dances will include choreography by: Adelka Polak & Larry Hunt, Faye Lim, Julie Troost, Catch Me Bird, Sharon Mansur, Gabriel Forestieri, and Alexandra Joye Houston.
Dances begin at 6 PM!
Rain Date: August 2
Posted in Art, Dance, East River, Music, Solar One Events, Stuyvesant Cove Park | Permalink
Stuyvesant Strolls
Monday, July 6th, 2009| July 15, 2009 | ||
| 6:00 pm | to | 8:00 pm |
JULY 16th: The second in our series of evening walking tours of Stuyvesant Cove Park, will be co-led by NYC Audubon naturalist Don Riepe, who will give detailed information about the birds in Stuyvesant Cove Park and how they relate to our native plants.
Refreshments to follow in the park.
RSVP to melissa@solar1.org
Posted in Education, Food, Native Plants, Solar One Events, Stuyvesant Cove Park | Permalink
Stuyvesant Strolls
Monday, June 15th, 2009
This Wednesday June 17th at 6pm Solar One will be hosting Stuyvesant Strolls, a walking tour on the native flora in the park. Assistant gardener, Daisy Hoyt will lead the walk which will high light plants such as: Carolina Rose, Black Cohosh, Wild Columbine, NJ Tea among many other species. She will also discuss the philosophy behind our sustainable maintenance practices and IPM.
The tour will last about 45 minutes and there will be time at the end for more in depth questions as well as some refreshments.
Please RSVP to melissa@solar1.org
Posted in Native Plants, Stuyvesant Cove Park | Permalink
NYC Wildflower Week Childrens Day
Thursday, April 30th, 2009| April 10, 2009 | to | April 30, 2009 |
Join Solar One as we host our 2nd annual Children’s Day for NYC Wildflower Week.
NYC Wildflower Week is all about celebrating NYC native plants and all things natural. During Wildflower Week May 2-9, there will be many activities to participate in from lectures, garden tours, botanical walks, and childrens events in all 5 boroughs.
Solar One will be hosting a childrens day on May 9th from 10am-2pm. This is also the first event in our summer Family Day Series. There will be many fun hands-on activities related to native plants, insects, and art. Some events you can expect are:
- Make your own seed bomb
- Pot up your very own native plant to take home
- Create beautiful crepe paper flowers
- Learn about butterflies and insects
- LESEC will feature a worm composting bin and information and demonstrations on how it works
- Plant scavenger hunt in Stuyvesant Cove Park
So bring your children down to S1 and join us in celebrating the importance of NYC native plants.
For more information about NYC Wildflower Week and the other events for the week go to
Posted in Education, Native Plants, New York City, Solar One, Solar One Events, Stuyvesant Cove Park | Permalink
