I found a monarch butterfly hiding in our lantana plant before moving on to a penta flower. I have learned from creating three butterfly gardens, that if you sit long and quiet enough the butterflies will come. I have felt their wings flutter against my shoulder before when sitting in their beautiful space, my breath of fresh air.
This monarch was hiding in my morning glory vine while I was watering. The colors caught my eye against the beautiful green of the vine, luckily, so I was able to move it before watering that section of the garden. It sat on my hand for a little bit before it dove into the red penta for a drink and then searched for more food in the lantana. It’s definitely sad when I find a butterfly whose wings are not quite right. But, it makes me proud to have a space where they find some refuge. Needless to say after filling up on nectar I brought him into our butterfly house for the night to rest.
Honestly there is nothing better than looking out the windows of our home to see the burst of colors among our butterfly gardens. My front garden is nearing completion as the spots to plant more are running very low. The best part is I have finally found the right plants that can take direct sun almost all day. Here’s just a few of the many plants that grace the front garden.
Plumbago Dune sunflower. This flower grows extremely well in my garden. Dune sunflower Blue porterweed. There are so many blooms right now. white sage milkweed milkweed
We had six more gulf fritillary butterflies hatch in our butterfly house this morning, creeping our number up to 13 successes. They were beyond ready to be released this afternoon. Many started digging in right away, taking long sips from the sweat nectar, after I placed them on the penta. Five of them stuck around giving me a chance to try out my new camera. I forgot how much fun it is to take pictures with a good quality camera. So . . . needless to say there is picture galore today of the gulf fritillary, a true favorite of mine.
And of course a few beauties hung out for a little while before climbing onto the penta.
Interesting fact: a butterfly usually does not have more than five distinct colors on its wings. According to author Thomas C. Emmel in “Florida’s Fabulous Butterflies,” each scale on the butterfly’s wing has one color. The intensity of the color is a result of the overlapping of scales, as well as the light’s reflection off those scales, Emmel wrote.
Furthermore, there are only two types of colors, pigmented, which are chemical compounds, which may come from the organic dyes in the plant the caterpillar eats, according to Emmel. The second is called structural, which comes from the reflection of the light.
The gulf fritillary is among the most common butterflies found in Florida. Since the species cannot handle any kind of freezing weather, Southwest Florida is a perfect location for them to be. They frequent our garden daily.
According to Emmel, the brown and red areas are pigmented scales, while the silver spots appear through the light, as it refracts through prisms in the scales of the wings.
It is so incredibly fascinating to learn more about these beautiful insects. I have grown a new appreciation for them and enjoy the many species even more fluttering in our garden.
Another successful morning in the butterfly house with three new beauties, two males and one female monarch butterfly emerging from their chrysalis.
There is such a calmness that washes over me when I watch these butterflies enter the world, climbing onto my fingers and taking its first flight after their wings are dry.
