Good for the soul

In May 2020, my daughter and I brought home our first nectar and host plants, which ignited a passion that keeps growing our oasis, known as our butterfly garden. Since then, the species we have attracted have increased as new butterflies have found their way to our dedicated space, as well as the continued addition of host plants. We hope the addiction grabs a hold of you, pulls you in, and allows you to slow down enough to watch the incredible transformations happen right before your eyes.

– Meghan

A little about butterflies

The butterfly belongs to the group lepidoptera, which translates to scaly wings in Greek, according to the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture. The butterfly has thousands of tiny scales overlapping in rows to create its colorful design. Its body consists of the head, thorax, abdomen, six legs, two antennae and exoskeleton.

Did you know that butterflies can perceive the widest range of colors within the animal kingdom? These remarkable insects can spot ultraviolet to the red end of the color spectrum. According to the book, “Florida’s Fabulous Butterflies,” by Thomas C. Emmel, the butterflies eyes are comprised of individual facets, allowing them to see objects as a mosaic with each facet seeing a portion of the total picture. The author said this is comparable to pixels making up a photo on the computer, or television screen. Some species can see up to 17,000 facets, enabling them to see finer details. In addition, some butterflies also have 360-degree vision and are great at viewing moving images, which helps when in flight.

The ultraviolet light is pronounced during the daylight hours. According to Emmel, some broad petal flowers have spots on its rim that appear bright to the butterfly in this light, as they reflect UV light. The center part of the flower absorb the UV light casting a darker, or even black color to the butterfly’s eye. The dark helps the butterfly land in the right spot quickly to drink its nectar. This is a great ability for the butterfly, as it becomes more vulnerable when drinking, than flying.

The caterpillar eyes (Gulf Fritillary caterpillar shown above) on the other hand, have two sets of six simple eyes. The oval-shaped clusters are located on each side of its head. Caterpillars can only see light and dark, and only a few inches away.

Our garden visitors

So far we have had the following butterflies visit our garden, either leaving behind eggs, or enjoying some nectar:

~ zebra longwing (host plant: maypop passionvine and corky stem passionvine)
~ gulf fritillary (host plant: maypop passionvine and corky stem passionvine)
~ monarch (host plant: milkweed)
~ queen (host plant: milkweed)
~ polydamus swallowtail (host plant: Dutchman pipe)
~ cloudless sulphur (host plant: Candlestick cassia)
~ orange-barred sulphur (host plant: Bahama cassia)
~ giant swallowtail (host plant: wild lime)
~ great southern white (host plant: pepperweed)
~ dainty sulphur (host plant: aster family)
~ eastern black swallowtail (host plant: dill)
~ tropical checkered skipper (host plant: mallows)
~ white peacock (host plant: frogfruit, water hyssop)
~ cassius blue (host plant: plumbago)
~ atala (host plant: coontie)
~ painted lady (host plant: thistles, hollyhock, aster, various legumes)

We are now introducing the Julia butterfly to the garden after bringing home some eggs on Nov. 12, 2022.

Mating Ritual

The mating ritual is often species specific to how the male approaches the female. According to the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, the male will either fly behind, or above the female while releasing chemicals called pheromones while it flutters its wings at a faster pace when nearby. This is referred to as the male’s dance. If the male captures the female’s attention, they will join together at their abdomens, providing the male with the opportunity to pass sperm to the female, according to the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment.

Each butterfly has its own host plant they prefer for their egg laying. According to the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, although a butterfly can recognize its host plant by the leaf color and shape, she may use her feet to beat on the leaf, which scratches its surface letting out a specific odor. Once she is certain, she will lay an egg, which passes through her egg-laying tube and has already been fertilized with sperm stored in her body since mating. The egg has a sticky substance enabling it to remain on the surface after she leaves.

The life cycle

There are four stages of the butterfly life cycles:
~ the egg,
~larva (caterpillar),
~ pupa (chrysalis)
~ the adult butterfly.

The caterpillar typically goes through multiple stages before reaching the correct size to start its pupa stage. According to the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture the tougher outer skin, exoskeleton, does not grow or stretch, instead is shed during its molting, which gets rid of the old and replaces it with a larger exoskeleton.

When the caterpillar reaches its final stage, the chrysalis, the caterpillar transforms and is rearranged into the wings, body and legs of the butterfly. All of the food the caterpillar consumes provides enough energy for the final transformation to take place – the butterfly.

Southwest Florida is a great area to create your butterfly garden oasis as they favor the warm temperatures we experience year round. Since they are cold-blooded, they cannot regulate their own body temperature. In other words, their body temperature changes to its surroundings. If they are too cold they are unable to fly. They prefer temperatures between 82 to 100 degrees. Sometimes you will see butterflies, mostly males, stop at shallow mud puddles where they sip the mineral-rich water, which help with successful mating, as well as cooling them down.