BUTTERFLIES AND PELICAN BAY’S BUTTERFLY GARDEN_2020
By Josanne Sabourin
Florida Master Naturalist
I am dazzled by the whirlwind of circling, darting and floating color pageantry displayed by butterflies in the sunshine amidst splashes of vivid pigments from blue porter weed, scarlet milkweed, firebush, ruby red penta, firespike and magenta butterfly bush! Several blue-gray gnatcatchers flicker and a Rufus hummingbird hovers. Where am I? Visiting your very own Pelican Bay Butterfly Garden.
Although we have year-round butterfly residents, March begins butterfly migration season in South Florida as nectar and host plants bloom full. Exceptional sightings will continue through late summer and fall, the best time to see Florida’s butterflies on the wing. Numbers of butterflies migrate from Atlantic coastal states to Florida every fall to overwinter here, returning northward with the arrival of warmer weather in the spring. Butterflies such as monarchs, white peacock, zebra longwing, red admirals and long-tailed skippers often migrate more than a thousand miles.
Florida claims the highest butterfly diversity of any state east of the Mississippi River. The Pelican Bay Butterfly Garden provides a grand opportunity to observe the delightful creatures, contribute to their conservation, increase the population lost with destruction of natural habitat….and, benefit these important pollinators.
You may view a variety of butterflies abuzz while fat caterpillars concentrate on feeding in this carefully planned ecosystem. Host and nectar plants attract butterflies. Hosts are the plants female butterflies deposit their eggs on and the food for the new larvae (caterpillars). Some butterflies have one single host plant, while others have several. A butterfly garden requires a mass of host plants as the caterpillars are hungry feeders. Examples of butterfly/hosts include monarch/milkweeds, red admiral/nettle and zebra longwing/passion vine.
Nectar plants are the plants adult butterflies feed on. Their uv sensing eyes and feet pads detect/taste nectar flowers. Adults feed or “sip” on generic nectar plants sized to their proboscis, long tongues for long flower tubes. The proboscis normally measures about two-thirds of the body length and is coiled-up like a garden hose when not in use. The garden’s ruby red penta, fire bush, firespike, porter weed, magenta butterfly bush and lantana are excellent examples of nectar plants, especially since red is a favorite of butterflies. Hummingbirds are often attracted by the nectar plants as well. A variety of sunlight intensities, good drip to root irrigation and a pesticide-free environment are also required.
Butterflies are indeed intriguing insects. Their life cycle consists of an egg stage (approx. 4-14d), followed by a caterpillar or larvae stage of 4-5 molts or instars whereby a growth of 100x its size is not uncommon (approx. 2-4 wks), and then a chrysalis or shell is formed where the newly formed pupa will metamorphize (approx 7-14d) into the adult butterfly, which will reproduce and lay fertilized eggs on plants (approx. 1-6wks). Exceptions to this short-lived adult stage include the zebra longwing (Florida State butterfly) with a life span of often 6 mo; a protein-rich pollen diet provides more nutrients than nectar alone and is credited as the reason for this longevity. Also, the population of monarchs traveling the last long segment of their migration frequently live 9 mo.
As you examine the butterflies, look for 6 legs, a body consisting of head/thorax/abdomen, and 2 pairs of wings. They like warm weather and require at least 60oF to take flight but hide in extreme heat. Cruising at 12mi/hr tops, they are quite the navigators. Although they cannot hear your ooh’s and aa’s, they are adept at feeling vibrations.
Butterflies can be masters of defense. Zebra longwings’ host plant, passion vine, contains toxins that are absorbed and tolerated by this butterfly but produce an unpleasant taste and make it poisonous to predators. Additionally, the zebra longwing is known to roost communally, emitting a foul smell which helps protect the group from predators. Although monarchs are immune to the cardiac glycoside toxins from milkweed that are incorporated into their tissue as they feast on their host and nectar plant, birds and other vertebrate predators avoid the poisonous monarchs per color recognition as they are distasteful and emetic. Specific butterflies may mimic colors of toxic butterflies for their own false defense.
Conservation efforts should help offset current issues with butterfly propagation. A survey of monarch populations in North Central Florida shows that butterflies have been declining since 1985 and have dropped by 80 percent from 2005-2018. Researchers believe shrinking native milkweed populations and a boost in glyphosate herbicides use are part of the problem. Often applied to agricultural fields to eliminate weeds, it is lethal to milkweed, the monarchs’ host plant. Climate change can skew plants’ springtime schedules and could disrupt the delicate balance of migration and food supply. Florida is an important stopover for monarchs returning north from Mexico as they rely on Florida for its abundance of milkweed and warm climate to lay the eggs that will help replenish the eastern population.
We may thank Tom and Marcia Cravens, Pelican Bay residents and naturalists, for initiating the Pelican Bay Butterfly Garden in 2005 after developing a plan and obtaining Pelican Bay Foundation approval. Their mission, to afford better use of a horseshoe pit found abandoned on their daily walk, steered their remarkable idea of opening the space to sunlight and color for all to enjoy. Mike Malloy “the butterfly guy of Naples” was keen to help select appropriate plants. Maintenance was first turned over to Pelican Bay Services and is currently the responsibility Pelican Bay Foundation.
When asked to share a special story, Tom relayed his surprise one day to find his search to identify a strange hummingbird in the butterfly garden actually led him to confirm the creature as a hummingbird moth, a master of disguise; its appearance and behavior commonly leads to it being confused with a hummingbird. Several have been verified since Tom’s first sighting.
The garden boasts viewing areas to relax and spot a diversity of behaviors: monarchs chasing off intruders, cloudless sulphurs spiraling upwards in their mating ritual, white peacock males alighted to find females and defend host plants, zebra longwings creaking with body wiggles if disturbed, long-tailed skippers roosting upside-down and red admirals using humans as perches.
Come, visit and enjoy! The Pelican Bay Butterfly Garden is located off the berm behind Tram Station 4 and the Pelican Bay Foundation Commons Building.
Photographs from the Pelican Bay Butterfly Garden courtesy of Mary Lucas-Hertzfeld, Florida Master Naturalist and Pelican Bay resident.
Photographs by Mary Lucas-Hertzfeld (see slide show below)
1. Monarch
2. Zebra longwing and blue porter weed
3. Monarch caterpillar munching a crown flower (giant milkweed)
4. Pelican Bay Butterfly Garden
5. White peacock
6. Red admiral with ruby red penta and a butterfly bush
7. Long-tailed skipper sipping blue porter weed nectar
By Josanne Sabourin
Florida Master Naturalist
I am dazzled by the whirlwind of circling, darting and floating color pageantry displayed by butterflies in the sunshine amidst splashes of vivid pigments from blue porter weed, scarlet milkweed, firebush, ruby red penta, firespike and magenta butterfly bush! Several blue-gray gnatcatchers flicker and a Rufus hummingbird hovers. Where am I? Visiting your very own Pelican Bay Butterfly Garden.
Although we have year-round butterfly residents, March begins butterfly migration season in South Florida as nectar and host plants bloom full. Exceptional sightings will continue through late summer and fall, the best time to see Florida’s butterflies on the wing. Numbers of butterflies migrate from Atlantic coastal states to Florida every fall to overwinter here, returning northward with the arrival of warmer weather in the spring. Butterflies such as monarchs, white peacock, zebra longwing, red admirals and long-tailed skippers often migrate more than a thousand miles.
Florida claims the highest butterfly diversity of any state east of the Mississippi River. The Pelican Bay Butterfly Garden provides a grand opportunity to observe the delightful creatures, contribute to their conservation, increase the population lost with destruction of natural habitat….and, benefit these important pollinators.
You may view a variety of butterflies abuzz while fat caterpillars concentrate on feeding in this carefully planned ecosystem. Host and nectar plants attract butterflies. Hosts are the plants female butterflies deposit their eggs on and the food for the new larvae (caterpillars). Some butterflies have one single host plant, while others have several. A butterfly garden requires a mass of host plants as the caterpillars are hungry feeders. Examples of butterfly/hosts include monarch/milkweeds, red admiral/nettle and zebra longwing/passion vine.
Nectar plants are the plants adult butterflies feed on. Their uv sensing eyes and feet pads detect/taste nectar flowers. Adults feed or “sip” on generic nectar plants sized to their proboscis, long tongues for long flower tubes. The proboscis normally measures about two-thirds of the body length and is coiled-up like a garden hose when not in use. The garden’s ruby red penta, fire bush, firespike, porter weed, magenta butterfly bush and lantana are excellent examples of nectar plants, especially since red is a favorite of butterflies. Hummingbirds are often attracted by the nectar plants as well. A variety of sunlight intensities, good drip to root irrigation and a pesticide-free environment are also required.
Butterflies are indeed intriguing insects. Their life cycle consists of an egg stage (approx. 4-14d), followed by a caterpillar or larvae stage of 4-5 molts or instars whereby a growth of 100x its size is not uncommon (approx. 2-4 wks), and then a chrysalis or shell is formed where the newly formed pupa will metamorphize (approx 7-14d) into the adult butterfly, which will reproduce and lay fertilized eggs on plants (approx. 1-6wks). Exceptions to this short-lived adult stage include the zebra longwing (Florida State butterfly) with a life span of often 6 mo; a protein-rich pollen diet provides more nutrients than nectar alone and is credited as the reason for this longevity. Also, the population of monarchs traveling the last long segment of their migration frequently live 9 mo.
As you examine the butterflies, look for 6 legs, a body consisting of head/thorax/abdomen, and 2 pairs of wings. They like warm weather and require at least 60oF to take flight but hide in extreme heat. Cruising at 12mi/hr tops, they are quite the navigators. Although they cannot hear your ooh’s and aa’s, they are adept at feeling vibrations.
Butterflies can be masters of defense. Zebra longwings’ host plant, passion vine, contains toxins that are absorbed and tolerated by this butterfly but produce an unpleasant taste and make it poisonous to predators. Additionally, the zebra longwing is known to roost communally, emitting a foul smell which helps protect the group from predators. Although monarchs are immune to the cardiac glycoside toxins from milkweed that are incorporated into their tissue as they feast on their host and nectar plant, birds and other vertebrate predators avoid the poisonous monarchs per color recognition as they are distasteful and emetic. Specific butterflies may mimic colors of toxic butterflies for their own false defense.
Conservation efforts should help offset current issues with butterfly propagation. A survey of monarch populations in North Central Florida shows that butterflies have been declining since 1985 and have dropped by 80 percent from 2005-2018. Researchers believe shrinking native milkweed populations and a boost in glyphosate herbicides use are part of the problem. Often applied to agricultural fields to eliminate weeds, it is lethal to milkweed, the monarchs’ host plant. Climate change can skew plants’ springtime schedules and could disrupt the delicate balance of migration and food supply. Florida is an important stopover for monarchs returning north from Mexico as they rely on Florida for its abundance of milkweed and warm climate to lay the eggs that will help replenish the eastern population.
We may thank Tom and Marcia Cravens, Pelican Bay residents and naturalists, for initiating the Pelican Bay Butterfly Garden in 2005 after developing a plan and obtaining Pelican Bay Foundation approval. Their mission, to afford better use of a horseshoe pit found abandoned on their daily walk, steered their remarkable idea of opening the space to sunlight and color for all to enjoy. Mike Malloy “the butterfly guy of Naples” was keen to help select appropriate plants. Maintenance was first turned over to Pelican Bay Services and is currently the responsibility Pelican Bay Foundation.
When asked to share a special story, Tom relayed his surprise one day to find his search to identify a strange hummingbird in the butterfly garden actually led him to confirm the creature as a hummingbird moth, a master of disguise; its appearance and behavior commonly leads to it being confused with a hummingbird. Several have been verified since Tom’s first sighting.
The garden boasts viewing areas to relax and spot a diversity of behaviors: monarchs chasing off intruders, cloudless sulphurs spiraling upwards in their mating ritual, white peacock males alighted to find females and defend host plants, zebra longwings creaking with body wiggles if disturbed, long-tailed skippers roosting upside-down and red admirals using humans as perches.
Come, visit and enjoy! The Pelican Bay Butterfly Garden is located off the berm behind Tram Station 4 and the Pelican Bay Foundation Commons Building.
Photographs from the Pelican Bay Butterfly Garden courtesy of Mary Lucas-Hertzfeld, Florida Master Naturalist and Pelican Bay resident.
Photographs by Mary Lucas-Hertzfeld (see slide show below)
1. Monarch
2. Zebra longwing and blue porter weed
3. Monarch caterpillar munching a crown flower (giant milkweed)
4. Pelican Bay Butterfly Garden
5. White peacock
6. Red admiral with ruby red penta and a butterfly bush
7. Long-tailed skipper sipping blue porter weed nectar