Many of us think of deserts as foreign and severe. But regularly we encounter scenes of lush beauty or reminders of home.
Some developed unique characteristics such as the gigantism of the San Esteban giant chuckwalla or the rattlelessness of the Santa Catalina rattleless rattlesnake (Crotalus catalinensis). Conservation of these islands is of critical importance because such isolated habitats are invaluable to biologists as laboratories of evolution and because they are nice places for early morning walks.
Queen caterpillars not only tolerate the sap's toxins, but sequester them. Later, the adults advertise their toxic qualities with the bold colors we so much enjoy.
Whether in the hues of a butterfly's wing, or in the intricate ecological relationships between species, beauty abounds in Baja California.
