Tag Archives: Monarch butterfly

Wild Lime

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A few years ago, I purchased a wild lime tree, which has tripled in size, and is finally blooming for the first time. I added this plant to the garden because it is a host plant for the giant swallowtail butterfly, and Schaus’ swallowtail butterfly.

According to the Florida Wildflower Foundation, this plant is a shrub to small tree that grows naturally in hammocks in Central and South Florida. The peak flowering season, although blooms year-round, is in the winter and spring. The fruit, the foundation states, provides food for both small wildlife and birds.

The flowers appear in clusters that are yellow to yellowish green on the leaf axils. The fruit are round and yellowish green, the foundation stated, and when mature turn to a “dark brown husk” that when splits show one, or two tiny black shiny seeds. The wild lime has tons of thorns on the branches.

It’s growth habit is 5-20′ plus and 3-10′ wide. My wild lime is in direct sun, therefore produces a “fuller crown.”

Yesterday while wandering the garden I noticed that a monarch butterfly was enjoying the nectar from the flowers. A double win!

Surpassed 600 raised & released

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We had nine monarch butterflies emerge this morning in the butterfly house, taking our grand total to 605 monarchs raised and released over the past few years.

The lifecycle is always amazing to watch. The release even better. But, honestly what tops it all is watching how excited my kiddo remains all these years later of releasing a butterfly.

Never gets old

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With so many monarch butterfly chrysalis showing off its brilliant dark colors – the green chrysalis becoming translucent- showcasing its time to emerge, I am glued to the butterfly house waiting for their arrival. It’s such a thrill to watch nature at its finest.

The butterfly emerges headfirst with small and shriveled wings. As it pumps body fluid through its wings they grow in size. The butterfly will remain in the same spot for up to two hours drying its wings, hardening them getting ready for flight. According to Arizona State University School of Life Sciences, during the two hours it is also waiting for air to replace some of its fluids.

An abundance

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My garden recently has had a huge influx of monarch caterpillars. We usually have caterpillars throughout the year, but they seemed to have taken a break this year, as I did not begin to find them again until last month.

There are four stages in the life cycle of a monarch butterfly: the egg, the larvae (caterpillar) the pupa (chrysalis) and the butterfly. I have a few caterpillars left still chomping away from the influx, with more than two dozen chrysalis.

After the butterfly lays a cream colored egg on the bottom of a milkweed leaf, it takes anywhere from three to five days to hatch. The larvae chews a small hole in the egg to wiggle free. Once it emerges it consumes the rest of the egg before moving onto the leaf.

According to “Florida Butterfly Caterpillars and Their Host Plant” (Marc C. Minno, Jerry F. Butler and Donald W. Hall), the milkweed plant has latex within that sticks to the mouthparts of herbivores. The caterpillars will cut the leaves near the base of the milkweed blade to drain out that latex before they begin eating.

As the yellow, black and white stripped caterpillar eats the milkweed leaf it continues to grow and molts its old skin, splitting it in half. The caterpillar often consumes the skin before continuing eating the milkweed leaf. It can grow in length to 2″.

The caterpillar will molt four times, going through “instars” before its last molt.

Once they reach two inches they are ready for their pupa stage. The caterpillar finds the perfect destination to form its chrysalis and weaves a silk mat. The caterpillar grabs the silk with its legs to hang upside down in the “J” form, according to Arizona State University School of Life Sciences.