Tales from the Butterfly Garden: Lepidoptera Curious

A Visit to the Butterfly Rainforest in Gainesville

2012-01-31T09:00:00.002-05:00

We’re very proud of what we do here at BioWorks. We raise native Florida species from egg to adult on their natural food sources, demonstrating the full life cycle of Central Florida’s butterflies and moths to MOSI visitors. This educational aspect is especially important to us, and we love knowing that we often send people home with a desire to recreate what they’ve seen here in their own backyards.

That being said, we also have great admiration for the other butterfly exhibits here in Florida. Many of them display amazing butterfly species from around the world – species Florida residents just can’t see in their own yards. Last week, we paid a visit to the Butterfly Rainforest in Gainesville to meet with the man who runs the show. We used the time to exchange ideas, learn new things, and just generally admire the gorgeous butterflies.

The Butterfly Rainforest is part of the Florida Museum of Natural History, located on the University of Florida campus. The exhibit is 6,400 square feet (many times larger than BioWorks!) and contains hundreds of butterflies from around the world. (You can learn more by visiting their website.) The album below is just a brief sampling of the butterflies and other wildlife we saw while we were there – click through to enjoy amazing butterflies from Costa Rica, the Philippines, and more!

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A Pond Pick-Me-Up

2012-01-27T09:10:00.000-05:00

In an effort to make our small waterfall pond by the museum front doors easier to upkeep, we have transitioned out all of the annual plantings and have opted for low-care perennials.
Bromeliads: A difficult to plant and narrow strip of soil has been populated with Red Torch Bromeliads (Billbergia pyramidalis). These tough evergreen bromeliads from Brazil need little care and thrive in just about any shady spot.
In the fall, these bromeliads put on a show of crimson blooms that are sure to catch the eye. Planted near this water feature they will also create shelter for the frogs, toads and other small denizens of this water feature.
Calla Lilies: The edge of the pond basin has persistently wet soil and is shady for about three quarters of the day so we were looking for a plant that would be low-maintenance and would thrive in these conditions. It was also important to find a plant species that would be low growing and not block views of the pond.
While wandering through the discount section of a garden center we found several pots of calla lilies that had been deeply discounted after the holidays. Although the plants looks a bit beaten up, we knew this was a challenge we could handle. We brought the potted plants back to MOSI, divided them up and packed the front edge of the small pond.
Calla lilies (Zantedeschia aethiopica) are native to southern Africa where they can be found growing on the banks of waterways and ponds. These tough plants grow from a rhizome which is an underground plant stem that sends out shoots for reproduction.
Heat tolerant and wet-soil loving, these calla lilies will provide great greenery for the front of the pond, should reproduce readily to fill the small area and will bloom throughout the year. We picked up cultivars with blooms of white, white with a blush of pale pink and a purple that lightens to pink as the flower matures. We hope to add other colors like yellow, red and black in the following years.

Time for Herbs!

2012-01-24T09:00:00.000-05:00

Herbs do best in Florida in the cooler seasons, and they positively thrive in late winter and spring. Humans love herbs for cooking, of course, but here at BioWorks we grow several types of herbs just for Eastern Black Swallowtails (Papilio polyxenes). Eastern Blacks host on plants in the Parsley family (Apiaceae), along with Common Rue (Ruta graveolens). Although this time of year you may not see many Eastern Blacks flying, now is the time to establish a healthy herb garden to support them when they’re around. Most herbs are easy to grow from seed, and if you start now, you’ll be in good shape when the Eastern Blacks arrive later in the spring.

Here at BioWorks, we grow parsley, dill, and fennel for our caterpillars to enjoy. Curly parsley especially has become popular in recent years for ornamental growth as well as herb gardens – during last year’s Epcot Flower and & Garden Festival, enormous planters of curly parsley made great impact with their fresh green color and scent. Flat Italian parsley works just as well for the caterpillars though, so there’s no need to be picky on their account.

Dill and Fennel are also great hosts. We’ve had a great deal of luck with Fennel especially – it tends to re-seed and even re-grow from the base far better than dill or parsley. It makes a nice ornamental plant as well, with its tall feathery growth. Plant it at the back of a garden for a backdrop of delicate green, or in a sensory garden to enjoy the licorice smell.

We also use Common Rue as a host plant for Eastern Black caterpillars. Rue has its benefits and its drawbacks – it grows fairly readily and is used by both Eastern Blacks and Giant Swallowtails (Papilio cresphontes). However, it has a fairly unpleasant smell and can cause skin rashes for some. Grow it at your own risk!

Whichever herbs you choose for your Eastern Blacks, here are some growing tips for Central Florida, based on our own trial and error:

Though herbs are generally said to do best in sunny spots, ours seem to do best in partial shade. This allows them to thrive a few extra weeks when the hot part of summer arrives.
Herbs do need regular water. In dry times of the year, like winter and spring, you’ll need to provide some supplemental water to help them do their best.
When herbs begin to produce seed heads (called “bolting”), you should snip these off to encourage the plant to continue leaf production rather than put all their energy into seed production. If you want to collect seed, allow one or two seed heads to develop.

NOTE: We know that some folks may actually consider Eastern Black Swallowtail caterpillars to be pests, rather than welcome visitors. If you’re having trouble with them, consider setting aside a few plants just for the caterpillars. You can move any new caterpillars to these plants when you find them, saving the rest of the plants for yourself.

Host Plants for Cool-Weather Butterflies

2012-01-20T09:00:00.000-05:00

The cooler weather of late winter and early spring brings different butterflies to Central Florida as they make their way back north for the summer. You can expect to see most of these species appear by mid-February and linger until our temperatures really start to heat up in June. These butterflies will stay in your area longer if you provide appropriate host plants on which they can lay their eggs. Plan now to encourage these winter and spring visitors by including the following in your gardens in the months ahead:

Common Buckeyes (Junonia coenia) host on plants in several families including including snapdragon (Antirrhinum), toadflax (Linaria), plantains (Plantago), and acanthus. In Central Florida, they’re commonly found on yard weeds like Plantain (Plantago lanceolata), along with native wildflowers like Blue toadflax (Linaria canadensis) and Carolina Wild Petunia (Ruellia caroliniensis).

Red Admirals (Vanessa atalanta) host on plants in the Nettle family (Urticaceae). This can make their host plants fairly unpleasant to humans, since it includes species like Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica), a fairly common and rather painful weed to encounter. Fortunately, they also host well on harmless plants like False Nettle (Boehmeria cylindrica) and Florida Pellitory (Parietaria floridana). False nettle can often be found at native plant nurseries and definitely has a place in a native wildlife garden. It re-seeds readily but not so badly as to be a nuisance. Pellitory grows in most lawns, and if you learn to identify it, you can leave a patch for Red Admirals to use during the spring.

The Whites (Subfamily Pierinae),including the Cabbage White, Great Southern White, Checkered White, and Great Florida White host on a wide variety of plants in the Mustard family (Brassicaceae). This can include cabbage and collard greens, along with more decorative plants like Spider Flower (Cleome). A more weedy host is Peppergrass (Lepidium virginicum), which can be found in most yards. Consider leaving a patch for the whites to enjoy throughout spring.

Painted Ladies (Vanessa cardui) and American Ladies (Vanessa virginiensis) have a very wide variety of host plants, unusually so for a butterfly species. More than 100 different host plants have been noted. In Central Florida, we often find them on the common yard weed cudweed (Gnaphalium pensylvanicum), but they’ll also consume asters, mallows, and various legumes. American Ladies are also said to host on ironweed and artemesia.

Of course, don’t forget to continue growing host plants for butterflies we see in Central Florida year-round, including milkweed (Asclepias spp.) for monarchs, passionvine (Passiflora spp.) for Gulf Fritillaries, and cassia for sulphurs.

Cool Weather Nectar Plants

2012-01-17T09:00:00.000-05:00

Our first hard freeze has come and gone here at BioWorks, and we’re hoping it will be the last. The weather wasn’t too severe, so anything that was sheltered beneath trees or near buildings generally did fine, as did those plants better adapted to colder weather. We did have some damage to plants out in the open, including lantana, blue daze, and pentas.

So, it’s time to start thinking about replanting, and at this time of year we’ll be focusing on plants that thrive during cooler weather, especially those that provide nectar for butterflies, since there are still plenty of them around. Here are five great cool-weather nectar plants to keep you going from now until June.

Trailing Bacopa (Sutera cordata) – Not to be confused with the wetlands plant Bacopa monnieri, this cool-weather annual thrives in Florida’s winter and spring weather. It looks especially nice in hanging baskets due to its trailing growth habit. It’s available in white and lavender.

Petunia (Petunia × hybrida): Although the deep flowers of petunias aren’t accessible to smaller butterflies, you’ll often see sulphur butterflies stopping by for a sip. Petunias are available in a wide variety of colors and growth habits.

Tampa Vervain (Glandularia tampensis): This outstanding Florida native wildflower has finally started getting the attention it deserves in recent years. It’s endangered in the wild, found in only a few coastal counties in Central Florida, but growers are making it available for gardeners again. It will thrive in your garden from now till the heat of summer, so if you see it, snap it up!

Verbena (Verbena spp.): Though verbenas are often marketing as “great for heat”, we find they do much better in the winter and spring garden here in Florida. They come in an incredibly wide variety of colors and growth habits.

Sweet Alyssum (Lobularia maritima): Ah, the sweet scent of alyssum! It draws bees and tiny butterflies throughout the spring. White and purple are common colors, but there’s a gorgeous mix called ‘Pastel Carpet’ too.

What other cool weather annuals do you plant in your Central Florida garden for wintertime butterflies? Did we miss one of your favorites? Tell us in the comments!

30 Volunteers and a Whole Lotta Mulch

2012-01-13T09:00:00.000-05:00

On Friday, January 6, we had a fantastic group of volunteers from the University of South Florida’s Residence Life program spend the morning in the Historic Tree Grove. With shovels, rakes, and a wheelbarrow brigade, these enthusiastic students spread 17 cubic yards of pine bark mulch, improving the look of the wintertime garden. We’re so thankful to them for the gift of their time and efforts!

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If your volunteer group is interested in joining us for a day in the gardens, email kristeng@mosi.org or jill.staake@mosi.org.

Butterflies of Florida – A Project Noah Mission

2012-01-10T09:00:00.000-05:00

A few months ago, we told you about Project Noah, a citizen science project dedicated to documenting Earth’s organisms wherever and whenever they’re found. The tech-friendly project is somewhat of an addiction for us around here, so we were thrilled recently when Project Noah allowed users to begin creating their own “missions” on the site.

A Project Noah mission is a way to gather more specific data. For instance, one group uses Project Noah to track information on pollinator species in the New York City area. Another mission tracks rare color morphs of species around the world. There are dozens of missions now, both global and local, for Project Noah spotters to contribute to.

On that note, we’re pleased to announce that there is now a Butterflies of Florida mission on Project Noah. This is a great place to post your pictures of Florida Lepidoptera in all its life stages, from egg to caterpillar, chrysalis to adult form. And the great thing is, you don’t even have to be sure of the identity of your organism! As long as you spotted it in Florida, add the picture to our mission and we’ll try to help you ID it.

We hope you’ll drop by Project Noah and join our mission. We look forward to seeing which butterflies you’re spotting in your corner of the Sunshine State!

FAQ: Florida Butterflies and Caterpillars in Cold Weather

2012-01-06T09:00:00.000-05:00

It’s January, and that means its time for Central Florida to expect a cold snap or two. We get a lot of questions this time of year about how the butterflies and caterpillars handle the cold weather, so we’ve rounded up a few of the most commonly asked and provided the answers below.

Should I “rescue” the caterpillars in my garden if we’re expecting a frost or freeze?
If the freezing temperatures will only last for a couple of nights or so, there’s no need to worry about the caterpillars in your garden. Caterpillars, like all insects, are pokilotherms, which essentially means that their body temperature is variable. When the temperature drops for a short period of time, insects enter torpor, a state of almost complete inactivity. Their circulatory and respiratory systems slow down dramatically, and they remain that way until the temperature rises again. Many caterpillars will also seek shelter close to the ground, where the temperature is warmer. Click here to learn more about torpor.

Rather than worrying about the caterpillars, you should take action to protect their host plants. Many are cold-sensitive, and if they die back during a freeze, the caterpillars will have nothing to eat when the temperature returns to normal - and then they will die. Take some time to throw an old sheet over your milkweed, passionvine, and other host plants when freezing temperatures are predicted.

How do butterflies handle the cold?
Short periods of freezing temperatures (or really any temperature below 55 degrees F or so) cause butterflies to react in the same way caterpillars do. In the Flight Encounter on a cold morning, butterflies can be found hanging dormant from nearly every surface. As the sun emerges and temperatures rise, butterflies begin to warm their bodies in several ways. The most important is sunshine: butterflies will spread their wings and absorb solar radiation. Their efficient bodies can use this energy to raise their body temperature many degrees above the air temperature. When they need a little extra help, butterflies – like humans – can shiver their way up a few extra degrees. Click here to see video of a monarch “shivering” on a cool morning.

Butterflies will remain sluggish and incapable of flight until their body temperatures reach about 80 degrees. If you come across a butterfly basking in the sun on a cold morning, resist the urge to pick it up or move it to a “warmer” location. You can damage the butterfly’s wings and do more harm than good. However, this is a fantastic time to take some good close-up pictures of the butterfly, since it’s unlikely to take off and destroy your shot!

This gorgeous shot of a Queen was taken on a 60 degree morning
as the butterfly basked in the sun and ignored me completely.

Do butterflies in Florida migrate?
Yes and no. Most of our monarchs are resident year-round, and do not undertake the massive migration to Mexico many people are familiar with. Other butterflies actually migrate to Florida, like the Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia). And some butterflies undertake short migrations within the state – tropical species like White Peacocks (Anartia jatrophaeis) and Polydamas Swallowtails (Battus polydamas) spend their winters in the more southern parts of the state where freezes are less likely to occur.

If butterflies are in Central Florida year-round, why don’t I see them as often in cooler months?
The answer to that is most likely related to plants and not the butterflies themselves. Like any living creature, butterflies have to move around to find food. Most butterflies drink nectar from plants, and nectar plants can be sensitive to cold temperatures. If the nectar plants in your garden die back or stop producing flowers, you won’t see butterflies in your yard either. However, almost as soon as you add these plants back to your garden, the butterflies will return.

When we suffered the devastating week-long freeze of 2010, all of the nectar plants in my own yard at home were destroyed. The first warm-ish day after, I was at the local nursery, stocking up on cool-weather nectar plants like Tampa Verbain (Glandularia tampensis) and Trailing Bacopa (Sutera cordata). Within less than an hour after planting these in my yard, Gulf Fritillaries were already stopping by to feed.

The host plants in my yard all died, but I still have some caterpillars. How can I help them?
If you can find appropriate host plants at your local nursery, you can buy them and move the caterpillars to them. However, be aware that most nurseries spray plants with pesticides to keep them free of insect damage before selling. You can try washing them well first, but some or all of the caterpillars may still die. Since they’ll probably die anyway without host plants in your garden, this option might be worth a try.

If you’re close to a local butterfly garden, give them a call and ask if any of their host plants survived and if they’d be willing to have you bring your caterpillars to their garden. Here at BioWorks, we receive several calls each winter from folks wanting to know if we can help their caterpillars. If we have appropriate host plants, we’re happy to have them drop off their caterpillars to be raised in our lab and then released as butterflies in the Flight Encounter. Check our Facebook page for contact info.

What’s Flying? – January

2012-01-03T09:00:00.002-05:00

Winter is here, and this year’s warm weather (today's chill notwithstanding!) is keeping butterflies abundant in the gardens. While diversity has dropped, numbers remain high, and as long as we avoid a killing freeze to our nectar plants, we can expect to see lots of butterflies, including the following species:

Notes from the Field:

After a chilly night, the first butterflies seen as the morning warms up are almost always Gulf Fritillaries and Long-Tailed Skippers. On all but the coldest days, these species are always flying in the gardens.
Butterflies require a body temperature of about 80 degrees before they can fly, but that doesn’t mean the outside temperature has to be that warm. Butterflies have many ways to warm their bodies on cooler days, including basking in the sun and “shivering”, which allow them to fly when temperatures are as low as 60 degrees – as long as the sun is out. Learn more here.

Up Close and Personal – The Answers!

2011-12-30T09:00:00.000-05:00

The other day, we challenged you to identify three Florida native species from small fragments of photos. As promised, here are the answers!

#1 – Giant Swallowtail Butterfly

#2 – Pipevine Swallowtail Caterpillar

#3 – Partridge Pea

Did you enjoy this little test of your skills? Let us know in the comments, and we’ll make this a regular feature here on the blog!

Up Close and Personal

2011-12-27T09:00:00.002-05:00

Here’s a little fun for your holiday week… can you indentify these organisms from the partial photos shown here? All are native to Florida and raised here at the MOSI BioWorks Butterfly Garden. Leave your guesses in the comments below and come back later this week for the answers!

Warm Holiday Wishes

2011-12-24T18:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Holidays from the butterflies, caterpillars, and staff here at MOSI BioWorks. We hope you’ll plan to drop by and see us in the new year!

(Poinsettia as a nectar plant? You bet! Click here to learn more.)

The Pines of Florida: Non- Natives

2011-12-23T09:00:00.000-05:00

In addition to all of our cool native pine trees, there are some non-natives that have been planted in Florida.

Some of these species don’t prove very hearty in Florida and our seasonal rain and dry periods can be very difficult for pines that dwell best in moist soil. Most of these are more ‘Christmas tree’ species that have been brought to the state as many of our pines aren’t the sort you hang ornaments on whilst drinking eggnog.

Additionally, a few species from the south Pacific have been given the name of ‘pine’ but they aren’t actually pines at all.

The Non-Natives

Eastern White Pine ( Pinus strobu) is a North American native tree, but the natural range of this species only extends south to northern Georgia. This species is both long lived with some trees approaching 500 years of age and also very tall with individual trees reaching heights of 160 to 188 feet in height. The photo at the right is from 1 1902 article on pests of white pine and illustrates an Imperial Moth caterpillar eating a needle of this pine.

Virginia Pine ( Pinus virginiana) has a native range from Long Island south into Alabama and west to Tennessee. This species is one of the most often used choices for Christmas trees.

Japanese Black Pine ( Pinus thumbergiana) is native to Japan and is both pollution and salt tolerant. This species can be artfully pruned or trained into growth habits or even kept potted and pruned as a bonsai tree

The Non-Native Non-Pines

Norfolk Island pine (Araucaria heterophylla) Native to the southern Pacific Norfolk Island which lies to the east of Australia, this tree is often sold as a potted table-top ‘Christmas Tree’. Norfolk Island pines actually aren’t related to pines and instead are more closely related to the odd evergreen Monkey Puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana) and Bunya-Bunya tree (Araucaria bidwillii)

Australian pine (Casuarina equisetifolia) is a fast growing and salt tolerant tree native to southern Asia south to northern Australia. The Australian Pine was one of the many quick growing species planted in the Florida land boom after WWII that have caused extensive trouble to the native Florida ecosystems. These trees are prone to blowing over in high winds and also do not tolerate fire well at all. This species is considered a Category 1 invasive species in Florida and sale, trade or planting of this species is prohibited.

Florida Native Pines

2011-12-20T09:00:00.000-05:00

For those who celebrate Christmas, one of the most important symbols of the season is the pine tree. Decorating an evergreen tree for Christmas festivities can be traced back as far as the 15th century, when revelers in Livonia danced around a spruce tree in the town square. Nearly six hundred years later, evergreens are still found in millions of homes around the world this time of year.

Florida has seven native species of pine, but most of them aren’t generally considered suitable for use as traditional Christmas trees due to their size and shape. The one exception is the Sand Pine (Pinus claus), which can be coaxed into the traditional pyramid shape if pruned properly as it grows, according to the Florida Christmas Tree Association. Sometimes called Scrub Pine, this tree grows well in sandy soils and has a strong root system that helps to prevent erosion. It’s generally found from Central Florida north.

Another common Florida native pine is the Slash Pine (Pinus elliottii and its South Florida sub-species (Pinus elliottii var. densa). Few would think of using this tall, spindly tree as a holiday decoration, but the quick growth of this tree make it important to the lumber industry. These trees grow to maturity in about 30 years, and younger trees have value as pulpwood. In the past, the trees were an important source of resin and sap. Today, this could be considered Florida’s most important pine, with a huge economic value (the picture to the left shows a Slash Pine plantation) – but also a huge environmental value; the fast growth habit makes it excellent for restoration of natural habitats.

Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda) is similar in appearance to Slash Pine, and it is the most commercially important species in the southeastern United States. It grows as far north as New Jersey and reseeds so quickly as to be invasive in farming communities. You can tell the two species apart here in Florida by the location – loblolly pines prefer drier soil, while slash pines love moist areas – and by the number of needles, cones, and bark (learn more here).

Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) was historically important to the logging industry, but the huge stands of this slow-growing tree that once dominated the state have now been greatly reduced. This pine takes up to 150 years to reach its mature size (compare to Slash Pine at only 30 years) and did not rebound from the heavy logging of the previous century. It forms an important part of the eco-system, thriving on periodic wildfires and providing habitat for wildlife. In fact, the Red-Cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis) is so dependent on Longleaf Pine forests that the decline of the tree has meant the decline of the bird species – it’s now considered threatened.

Three of Florida’s native pine species are found only in the northern part of the state. Shortleaf Pine (Pinus echinata) is found in Florida only in the panhandle region. It prefers moist, fertile soils and sunny spots. Pond Pine (Pinus serotina) also loves the wetlands. However, its botanical name derives from the fact that Pond Pine also thrives on fire. In fact, it takes the heat from a wildfire to force open the cones of this tree. As wildfires and human habitation don’t generally go hand in hand, controlled burns will probably be required to help this species survive going forward. Pond Pine is found from Gainesville north.

Spruce Pine ( Pinus glabra) is also found from the Gainesville area north and west through the panhandle. This species prefer the shade of taller trees nearby and actually grows poorly in full sun. It’s a pine of the wetlands, thriving in poorly drained or very wet soil. Don’t confuse it with the separate evergreen genus of spruce trees (Picea), which includes the popular Christmas tree species Blue Spruce (Picea pungens).

Haul Out the (Florida Native) Holly!

2011-12-16T09:00:00.003-05:00

‘Tis the festive season, and holly is popping up all over the place! Traditionally, Christmas holly is portrayed as European Holly (Ilex aquifolium), with its shiny sharp-toothed leaves and bright red berries. Here in Florida, we have our own native hollies – 11 of them, in fact. Three of these, shown below, can be found in the MOSI butterfly garden and tree grove.

Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria):
Yaupon Holly is a common evergreen shrub in Florida, found in many environments. With its stiff leaves and bright red berries, it looks enough like “traditional” Christmas holly to use for decorations, but beware – that botanical name was given to this holly for a reason. The leaves can be used as an emetic, while the twigs and young leaves can be boiled into a tea containing caffeine. If you decide to use this holly for decorating, be sure that young children or pets don’t decide to snack on it!

Dahoon Holly (Ilex cassine):
Dahoon Holly is common in wetlands throughout Florida,although it can be grown in drier environments if well-watered during establishment. The leaves are flat and mid-green, with small white flowers in the spring followed by berries in the fall. The berries are red or orange, and will last for several weeks in water as part of holiday decorations. Dahoon can be grown from seed – when berries are completely ripe, crush them and plant immediately.

American Holly (Ilex opaca):
American Holly is more common in Northern Florida, but we have one here at MOSI in the Historic Tree Grove. The original tree can be found on the site of Mount Vernon, where it was apparently a favorite species of George Washington. This holly is used widely in the US for holiday decorations, as the leaves most closely resemble European Holly. The berries ripen to a dark red, although ours must be so delicious that the local songbirds just can’t wait, since ours never seem to be around long enough to reach that color!

BEWARE THE HOLLY IMPOSTER!
When early colonists settled Florida, they longed for the holiday colors of holly, but quickly found our climate was all wrong for the European Holly they tried to grow here. Apparently they didn’t discover (or weren’t satisfied with) our native hollies either, because they instead imported what we now know to be the incredibly invasive Brazilian Pepper. Over 700,000 acres of Florida are infested with this exotic invasive, choking out native eco-systems that support our native species and costing the state of Florida hundreds of thousands of dollars each year in eradication efforts (with only partial success so far). Under no circumstances should this plant be cultivated in Florida – if you already have it, you should make every effort to remove it.

Besides, why would you want an exotic invasive that provides little wildlife value, when you can have native hollies that provide berries for our songbirds and host plants for our butterflies? There’s a Florida holly for every environment – add them to your landscape now and to your holiday decorations as well!

Raising Imperial Moths

2011-12-13T09:00:00.000-05:00

A couple of months ago, a fellow MOSI staff member brought us a gorgeous moth she’d found in her yard. It turned out to be a female Imperial Moth (Eacles imperialis), and to our great delight, she eventually laid us some fertilized eggs. Within a few weeks, they had hatched, providing us with about 50 tiny Imperial moth larvae to raise. In their first instar, they were small and orange with fascinating branched setae all over their bodies.

Fast-forward about six weeks… after gorging themselves on Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) day after day, our tiny little caterpillars were now enormous monsters, 4- 5 inches in length and bigger around than a thumb. Their pine-scented frass filled the bottom of their tanks (they are possibly the most pleasant-smelling caterpillars we’ve raised in awhile!) as they stripped the needles from large branches in no time at all.

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In the wild, Imperial Moth caterpillars climb down from trees and pupate in the leaf litter, so here in the lab we provide a box of leaf litter for them. When the larva are ready to make the transition to cocoon, they stop eating and begin to expel all the extra moisture from their bodies. They shrink down to perhaps a quarter of their size as full-grown caterpillars, growing stiff and nearly motionless. Finally, they shed their skin one last time and become pupae, a bright reddish color at first changing to a darker color as the pupa hardens.

Now that they’ve all gone to cocoon, it will likely be many months before we see them again. Even in Florida, Imperial Moths raise only one brood a year. As members of the silkmoth family, adult moths have no mouth parts and do not eat. When they emerge from cocoon next summer, they will have just a few days to mate and then lay eggs (the females, at least). We will keep the cocoons safely in the lab until then, so when they do emerge, with any luck we’ll be able to gather more eggs and raise another set of these amazing creatures.

For information on the adult Imperial Moths, including pictures, click here to read a previous post.

Blue Mistflower

2011-12-09T09:00:00.000-05:00

Last year, this neat native wildflower started popping up in the Butterfly Garden, even though we’d never planted it. (Who do we thank? The birds? The wind? Who can say?) Although it looks like a small ageratum, it’s actually part of a different genus in the same family (Asteraceae). The botanical name is Conoclinium coelestinum; the genus name refers to the cone-shaped nodding flower heads while the species name means “sky blue”. The colors of the blooms can actually vary from white to lavender, and seem different on different days and in different lights.

Blue Mistflower is native to the eastern part of the United States, from zones 5 – 9. Once established, it spreads by underground rhizomes to quickly colonize large areas, leading some to consider it an invasive pest plant. A cold winter will kill it to the ground, but it comes back in the spring, blooming throughout the year.

Butterflies and bees are known to love this plant, visiting it in droves. It’s a nice addition to a native butterfly garden as a nectar plant, provided the garden isn’t overly formal. You can buy seeds for Blue Mistflower from the Florida Wildflower Growers Cooperative. Be aware that they require some cold to germinate properly, so for best results sow outside in the fall to take advantage of winter’s cooler, wetter weather. Another option is to store the seeds in the refrigerator for a few months before planting.

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Regardless of how the Blue Mistflower came to us, we’re glad to have it in the butterfly garden. This plant has been said to have medicinal properties in treating colds and coughs, so at some time in the future, we may try to establish some in the medicinal garden under the Clara Barton Redbud tree. In the meantime, find this wildflower on the MOSI grounds around the Wild Lime tree behind the Butterfly Flight Encounter enclosure.

From the News Desk

2011-12-06T09:00:00.000-05:00

Butterflies and moths making headlines around the world

Colors from the Eocene Epoch: A 47 million year old moth fossil from Germany is so delicately preserved that the wing structures can be carefully observed to determine what colors shone on its wings.

Story at Wired Science.
Extended story at Science Daily.

Monarch Migration: It’s Fall and Monarch butterflies are winging their way south to Mexico. This migration is truly fascinating.

Video from New York Times.
Population decline story at New York Times.

Nabokov was right!: Russian author and self-taught expert on butterflies Vladimir Nabokov proposed a theory in 1945 that Polyommatus blue butterflies migrated from Asia to the new world in a series of waves. As a self-taught expert he wasn’t taken very seriously by scientists of his day and his theory was dismissed. His theories were recently proved correct!

Story at New York Times.
Slide show from New York Times.

Color on the Wing: The colored scales on the wings of butterflies have their color because of the structure of each scale rather than from pigments.

Story at New York Times.
Story at MSNBC.
Story at Wired Science.
Slide show at National Geographic.

New Species: New butterfly species have been found in China, Ireland and even in the vast collection of the London Natural History Museum.

Zebra-like ringlet (Splendeuptychia mercedes) discovered in museum collection. Story at Wildlife Extra News.
Xiushan's Large Blue (Phengaris xiushani ) found in China. Story at Science Daily.
Magdalena valley ringlet (Splendeuptychia ackeryi) is a species from Columbia found in the vast collection on the Natural History Museum in London. The butterfly even has a moustache. Story at Science Daily.
Cryptic Wood White (Leptidea juvernica) is a new species found hiding in plain sight among another species in Ireland. Story at Guardian UK.

What’s Flying? - December

2011-12-02T09:00:00.002-05:00

The holiday season is here, and so are the welcome cold fronts of winter in Florida. Cooler days and nights mean fewer species of butterflies are around, but those that are still here are present in great numbers. Here’s what you might see in our garden during December.

Gulf Fritillary

Cloudless Sulphur

Orange Barred Sulphur

Sleepy Orange

Polydamas Swallowtail

Monarch

Duskywing

Tropical Checker Spot

Painted Lady / American Lady

Notes From the Field:

After last month’s surprise early Buckeye spotting, this month our unexpected early spottings were of Painted Ladies. These butterflies are ostensibly found year-round in Florida, but we tend to think of them as spring and early summer butterflies. Still, we’ve spotted several over the last couple of weeks, nectaring on lantana in the front garden.
Zebra Longwings are never as abundant in this part of the state as in others, but they can be found fairly reliably this time of year around one particular firebush in the Backwoods here at MOSI. For some reason, this bush is a big draw for our local population.
Our enormous Imperial Moth caterpillars are beginning to enter cocoons for the winter. Look for a detailed post on them in the weeks ahead.

Butterfly, Insect and Garden Blogs

2011-11-29T08:00:00.000-05:00

Here at BioWorks, we like to read anything that will stand still long enough to be read. Here are a few of the butterfly, insect, botany and garden blogs from around the world that we enjoy and we think you might enjoy them as well.

Ben the Butterfly Guy is written by Benny Bolet and covers the butterflies of the Amazon.
My Florida Backyard is written by MOSI’s own Jill Staake who turned her tiny suburban 1/10th acre lot into a wildlife oasis.
Butterflies of Singapore is the blog of Butterfly Circle, a group of butterfly enthusiasts located mostly in Singapore and Malaysia
Bug Eric is a professional writer and entomologist, principal author of the Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America. Eric has built a loyal following as a volunteer for AllExperts.com, Bugguide.net, and WhatsThatBug.com.
What’s That Bug? is written by Daniel Marlos who has been identifying insects for homeowners and gardeners since 1998.
Milkweed Gardens is written by a Central Florida mom and Master Gardener named Eileen who writes about her backyard gardening adventures.
Living with Insects is written by Jonathan Neal, an Associate Professor of Entomology at Purdue University and author of the textbook, Living With Insects (2010).
Botany Professor is a rather new blog blog that comes to us from an unnamed USF botany professor but we look forward to seeing what he has to say.
Eat the Weeds is written by a gardener in Maitland Florida who keeps over 12 dozen sorts of edible plants in his own yard.
Florida Native Plant Society blog gives us lots of information about preserving and restoring the native plant communities in Florida.
Hawthorne Hill Wildflowers is written by Craig Huegel who is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to Florida native wildflowers.
Beetles in the Bush is written by Missouri entomologist Ted MacRae is is packed full of deliciously buggy information.
The Medieval Garden enclosed is one of my personal favorite blogs on the internet. Written by the intrepid gardening staff at the Cloisters Museum in New York, these gardeners write extensively about their plants and how they were used in times long ago.

If we missed a blog you think we should know about, please drop us a line! We always need more to read so that we can keep our already swollen book purchasing budgets in check.

An Autumn Walk in the Backwoods

2011-11-25T09:00:00.000-05:00

Temperatures are down in the Backwoods here at MOSI, but the mosquitoes are just as active as ever! Fully covered in bug spray, we set off to see what was going on in the Backwoods on a recent still and humid morning, and found lots of fall wildflowers in bloom. Some we know, like the Narrowleaf Silkgrass (Pityopsis graminifolia), Hammock Snakeroot (Ageratina jucunda), and Paintedleaf (Euphorbia cyathophora). Others we’re still working to identify. Click through the albums below, and if you can offer us an ID on any of the pictures, please let us know!

Jill’s Album:

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Kristen’s Album:

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An Autumn Walk in the Historic Tree Grove

2011-11-22T09:00:00.000-05:00

Though we don’t get fantastic leaf colors here like they do up north, our seasons definitely do change in Florida. Many of the trees in MOSI’s Historic Tree Grove are deciduous, which means they lose their leaves each winter. The George Washington Carver Persimmon is nearly always the first to go, with the Chickasaw Plum, Clara Barton Redbud, and various Sycamores soon to follow. But while some trees are losing their leaves, shrubs and flowers nearby are putting on their best displays of the year, like the Winter Cassia’s bright yellow blooms. Our seasonal changes are perhaps more subtle and gradual than those up north, but they still bring plenty to look forward to (without the threat of months of snow!), as you can see by clicking through our albums below.

Jill’s Album:

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Kristen’s Album:

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An Autumn Walk in the Butterfly Garden

2011-11-18T09:00:00.000-05:00

Fall is a busy time in the garden. When temperatures drop, spending time outside gets a lot more bearable. And that’s a good thing, because fall is major cleanup time in the garden. We spend days on end pulling large stands of dead beach sunflower, Spanish Needle past its prime, and much more. It’s nice to be able to take a break and appreciate the beauty that’s still left in the garden, including the special blooms of autumn like asters, cassia, and goldenrod. Click through our albums below to see what’s going on in the Butterfly Garden, and drop by next week for our albums featuring the Historic Tree Grove and the Backwoods.

Jill’s Album:

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Kristen’s Album:

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Lantana – Love It or Leave It?

2011-11-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

One of the most popular nectar plants in the Flight Enclosure and throughout the gardens is lantana. The tiny clustered flowers on lantana are great nectar producers, and it’s both easy to grow and drought-tolerant. It comes in a variety of colors and growth habits, and is widely available at nurseries throughout Florida and beyond.

Lantana is an easy-to-grow nectar plant that butterflies love. So what’s the problem? It’s this: Lantana camara, the most commonly-available species, is not only non-native to
Florida, it’s invasive. It's listed as a Category I invasive exotic species by the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council, meaning it's known to be "invading and disrupting native plant communities in Florida". (Click here to learn more about invasive species.) This species is native to the American tropics but has actually managed to spread nearly world-wide due to its popularity in the nursery trade. It's nearly impossible to eradicate in climates with minimal frost impacts (like Florida) - it thrives on fire and benefits from being cut back to the roots.

Florida does have some native Lantana species, including the pale yellow Pineland Lantana, Lantana depressa. And here’s where Lantana camara is causing problems: introduced lantana species have hybridized so extensively with the native species that some scientists theorize you can't really find pure L. depressa these days. The species shown below, which was being sold by a native plant nursery as L. depressa, is most likely actually a L. camara hybrid called 'Cream Carpet'.

Another Florida native lantana, Lantana involucrata, is also known as Button Sage. This lantana has a shrubby growth habit, with white flowers followed by purple berries, as shown to the right. This is available at some native plant nurseries, and is very easy to grow in almost any habitat.

One more non-native lantana you may come across commercially is Lantana montevidensis. This is often sold as “Trailing Lantana”, due to its growth habit, and generally has purple (shown below) or white flowers. When crushed, the leaves have a fairly unpleasant smell, unlike the sweeter citrus scent of crushed L. camara leaves. The good thing about L. montevidensis is that it is not considered invasive in Florida, so it’s a better choice in the butterfly garden.

With all these options, some good and some bad, what should a responsible Florida butterfly gardener do? Here are some suggestions:

Familiarize yourself with lantana species by reviewing the guide found in the very informative article The Lantana Mess, by Roger L. Hammer.
Many of the Lantana camara cultivars are so hybridized that they no longer produce viable seeds, and can be planted safely in a controlled environment. The "New Gold" lantana (shown to the right) is considered by many to be just such a species, making it a better choice in Florida gardens. It doesn't hurt to ask nursery staff if they happen to know if the lantana they offer is sterile.
The trailing lantana species (L. montevidensis) are not on the invasive species list, so look for low-growing plants with white or purple flowers and leaves that smell fairly unpleasant when crushed.
If you already have L. camara plants in your garden, help control the spread of this invasive species by removing the berries before they can be carried off by birds and small mammals. Dispose of these seeds in your regular trash, as opposed to what you put out for yard waste collection - yard waste is often recycled and used as mulch, so putting the berries into this collection will only spread them further. (Bear in mind that the berries are very toxic when unripe, and should be kept away from children and pets.)

Canna Skippers

2011-11-11T08:00:00.000-05:00

Gardeners who grow Cannas are most likely familiar with their most common pest – the caterpillars of the Canna or Brazilian Skipper (Calpodes ethlius). These leaf-rolling larva do serious damage to the look of Canna foliage, although they rarely damage the plant so badly as to kill it.

Canna leaves are huge and don't give caterpillars much of a place to hide, so the caterpillars create their own shelters by cutting along the leaf in two places and then spinning silk threads from side to side. As the silk dries, it shrinks and pulls the leaf pieces together, creating a nice little hidy-hole for the caterpillar. The caterpillars nest in there during the day and emerge at night to feed. As they outgrow one nest, they create another.

Canna skipper caterpillars have an unusual characteristic – their bodies are transparent. The green you can see in the body of the caterpillar to the left is actually the leaf matter being digested in the caterpillar’s gut. The transparent body also makes it easy to see some other parts of the caterpillar’s anatomy, like the spiracles they use for breathing. (Click here to read more about caterpillar anatomy and to see a close-up picture of a canna skipper caterpillar showing off its spiracles.)

Perhaps the most beautiful part of the canna skipper life cycle is the chrysalis. The light green chrysalis is speckled with black spots, and seems waxy and delicate, although it does wiggle when you touch it.

Interestingly, the canna skipper chrysalis has a protruding tube where the butterfly’s proboscis forms. This is a more common characteristic of moths in cocoon (sphinx moths also do this), and rarely seen in butterflies. In the picture below, the small tube pointing to the left contains the developing proboscis of the canna skipper butterfly within.

After the interesting stages of caterpillar and chrysalis, the canna skipper butterfly is somewhat dull in comparison. It’s a small brown skipper (about 2 inches) with some white marking on the wings. Click here to see pictures of the adult butterfly.

If you grow Canna and find the caterpillars to be a pest, you can control them in several ways. Watch the leaves for eggs (they’re small and white) and scrape them off when you find them. Once the caterpillars appear, you can either pick them off and drop them in a bucket of soapy water, or spray them with insecticidal oil or a weak solution of dish soap and water. Be sure to coat the caterpillar directly and completely if you spray – the oils and soaps work by clogging the spiracles (breathing holes) of the caterpillars. If you don’t like the idea of killing the caterpillars, considering growing a canna or two in a patch by itself where you can move caterpillars when you find them on the rest of your canna.

Saltbush in bloom

2011-11-08T09:00:00.000-05:00

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Saltbush (Baccharis halimifolia) is a woody shrub that grows throughout Florida and is often found on the edges of marshes, old fields and disturbed sites.

There are three similar varieties of Saltbush species that occur in Florida and each plant is either male or female. You can distinguish Saltwater False Willow (Baccharis angustifolia) with its needle-like leaves that attach directly to branches without a leaf stalk. Silverling (Baccharis glomerulifolia) has flowers that attach directly to branches without a flower stalk. Saltbush (Baccharis halimifolia) is most common in inland, disturbed sites. Flowers on female plants, like the one pictured, have hair-like bristles that extend beyond the leafy bracts and the end of the flowers which gives the plant a silver, cottony appearance. Male flowers are greenish and rounded.

The tiny flowers of Saltbush are wonderfully attractive to bees and small butterflies.

When in bloom, these shrubs hum with activity and seem to be covered in hundreds of busy bees and tiny butterflies like blues, hairstreaks and skippers. The flowers have a sweet, light fragrance that makes them appealing to gardeners as well.

Saltbush is a wonderful coastal and wetland plant that tolerates a high level of salts. The foliage of these species are toxic to foraging cattle and thus should be avoided in grazing areas.

Muhly Grass

2011-11-04T09:00:00.000-04:00

If you're a fan of ornamental grasses, Muhly Grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris) is one you simply must have. A foolproof Florida native that is drought-tolerant and happy in full sun or part shade, Muhly Grass is green and full most of the year. For about six weeks each fall, though, Muhly Grass puts on an amazing display as it goes to seed.

This is a very overlooked Florida native that should be more readily available outside native plant nurseries. You'll find it planted in medians and even parking lot dividers at places like Lowe's, but the big box nurseries are more likely to offer fountain grass species (Pennisetum) instead, some of which are beginning to appear on the invasive plant lists. However, this time of year, it is sometimes available commercially. If you find it, we recommend you snap it up, because it’s a true bargain at any price.

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Muhly Grass is wonderful for wildlife. Planted in groupings, it creates shelter for small creatures including butterflies, who like to hang from grasses in a rainstorm or at night for protection. Songbirds love the seeds produced in the fall, and may even pluck dead stems to use in building their nests. Find Mulhly Grass at MOSI throughout the parking lot areas, where it’s an easy, no-fuss addition to a Florida-Friendly landscape.

What’s Flying? - November

2011-11-02T13:52:00.001-04:00

The end of October brought some unexpected but welcome rain as the remnants of Hurricane Rina drifted over Florida and our first real cold fronts of the season arrived. The gardens are full of fall color, like Winter Cassia, Muhly Grass, Saltbush, and Beautyberry. Butterfly numbers remain high, although the variety of species has dwindled somewhat. As long as nectar plants are flowering, though, butterflies will be around, so November is still a great month for spotting them in the MOSI gardens. Here’s what we’ve been seeing recently:

Gulf Fritillary

Cloudless Sulphur

Orange Barred Sulphur

Sleepy Orange

Spicebush Swallowtail

Polydamas Swallowtail

Pipevine Swallowtail

Monarch

Duskywing

Tropical Checker Spot

Blues

Buckeye

Tiger Swallowtail (Female)

Notes From the Field:

We were quite startled to see a lone Buckeye (Junonia coenia) one afternoon, as this is a butterfly we usually associate with spring here in Central Florida. The colder weather up north must have driven this one down a little early this year.
Skippers continue to be super-abundant, both in caterpillar and adult form. The Desmodium tortuosum is just about done for the season as a host plant, but the Creeping Beggarweed (Desmodium incanum) is still going strong.
The Tiger Swallowtail we caught recently was easily identifiable as a female, since in Florida they generally appear in a black form that mimics the Pipevine Swallowtail. Tiger Swallowtails should become more common during the cooler months ahead.
The amount of small butterflies of the Blue family has skyrocketed recently. They can often be seen in small “clouds” around plumbago, where they both nectar from the flowers and lay eggs for their caterpillars. Sulphurs are also very common, and as the cassia is now in bloom, their caterpillars have begun to turn a fun fluorescent yellow (as shown above).
Our Imperial Moth eggs have hatched in the lab and the caterpillars are happily eating Longleaf Pine. At about .75 inches long, they are still quite a ways from being full size, but their branched setae are fascinating nonetheless.

Walking Iris

2011-10-28T09:00:00.000-04:00

The blooms of Walking Iris can take you by surprise. Unlike other plants that send up obvious flower stalks and bloom heads that slowly emerge, Walking Iris flowers suddenly appear one day on what just seems to be another leaf of the plant. They bloom for a short time, usually less than a day, but they flowers are spectacular while they last. Here at BioWorks, we have yellow Walking Iris, known botanically as Neomarica longifolia.

Though not a true iris, this plant is a member of the same family, Iridaceae. The name Neomarica comes from the Greek “neo” meaning “new”, and “Marica”, a Roman nymph said to be the goddess of the swamp and the mother of Faunus, god of the forest. The common name Walking Iris is due to the unique way the plant propagates itself. After the flower is pollinated and dies back, a new plantlet emerges at that site. As it grows heavier, it bends the stalk over to the ground, where it takes root and begins a new plant. This makes Walking Iris very easy to divide and spread around your garden or share with friends.

Grow Walking Iris in almost any light exposure, from full sun to full shade. It likes well-drained soil but does best when watered regularly. Native to Central and South America, it’s hardy to zone 9 but must be brought inside for the winter in colder regions. New plants may flower the first year, or may take up to two years to produce blooms.

How to ID Your Bug

2011-10-25T09:25:00.000-04:00

We get lots of requests here from people who would like help identifying a caterpillar, moth or butterfly that they have found. We honestly don’t know everything or even a large portion of everything there is to know about lepidoptera, but we have learned some handy tricks for identification.
First if you are looking at a moth or butterfly then determine which you are looking at. We posted a guide a while ago about how to identify the differences between moths and butterflies. Go through the checklist and find out what sort of creature you are dealing with.
Here are some great sites that help us to identify butterflies and moths in North America:

Discover Life Caterpillar Identification Guide: This handy guide lets you plug in the main features of the caterpillar you are trying to identify and then narrows the list down to a more manageable size.
Discover Life Butterfly Identification Guide: This interactive guide lets you plug in basic features like color and wing shape and then further refine your search by region and even tiny characteristics.
Discover Life Moth Identification Guide: This guide helps to narrow down moths based on color, wing shape, range and time of year observed. Adding details like wing spots and types of wing edging helps to narrow the field further.
Butterflies and Moths of North America provides regional checklists that can be narrowed down by state and then county. These lists will show butterflies, moths or both with links to information pages about each species.
Florida Wildflowers and Butterflies website allows you to search butterflies by their color and location.
InsectIdentification.org allows you to search a huge database of insects based upon features you have observed in your insects. Unfortunately their butterfly and moth database is still pretty small.

If you are totally lost then you can try submitting an image of your bug to these sites

Bug Guide ID Request page allows you to post and image of your insect after you have created an account and logged in.
What’s That Bug allows you to mail in an image of your insect to the folks that run the website and they will have a go at identifying it for you.
Project Noah is a social networking site that lets you upload wildlife images via your computer or a smart phone application. Just click the box that reads “Help me ID this species” and perhaps someone in the friendly Project Noah community might have an answer for you.

If you want to have some good books on hand, we can recommend the following books as helpful identification guides. The sources listed here mostly pertain to Florida or the eastern portion of North America.

Florida Butterfly Caterpillars and Their Host Plants by M. Minno, J. Butler, D. Hall
Caterpillars of Eastern North America by David Wagner
Florida’s Fabulous Butterflies by T. Emmel and B. Kenney
Butterflies of North America (Kaufman Field Guides) by J. Brock and K. Kaufman
A Field Guide to Eastern Butterflies (Peterson Field Guide) by P. Opler and R Peterson
Butterflies through Binoculars: The East A Field Guide to the Butterflies of Eastern North America (Butterflies Through Binoculars Series) by J Glassberg
Florida Butterflies and Wildflowers Brochures can be found at lots of location like MOSI, or you can print out your own at home. This handy fold-out brochure shows clear images of lots of Florida butterflies.

Autumn Butterflies

2011-10-21T09:38:00.001-04:00

In the Fall we start to see different species of butterflies in greater numbers than in summer and some species will seem to completely disappear. Here is a quick guide to some of the common autumn butterfly species for west central Florida and the plants that help attract them to an autumn garden.
Butterfly gardens need to be planted with both host plants and nectar plants to best serve the needs of your butterfly population. Having nectar plants means you have a butterfly garden. Adding host plants almost guarantees you a butterfly factory.

Butterflies of Autumn and their Larval Plants

The Milkweed Butterflies: Monarch and Queens are just as common in the fall as in summer and sometimes fare better with the slightly lower temperatures. Monarchs and Queens both host on milkweeds. Scarlet Milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) is the most common commercial milkweed to be found in stores and both species will host on it. Aphids can be a problem on milkweeds but instead of using a pesticide, try using your hose nozzle at close range to knock the aphids loose.

Monarch caterpillars have fleshy antenna-like tubercles at both ends of their bodies and Queen larvae have three sets of tubercles, one at each end and an extra pair near their head end. You’ll also notice that Queens eat slower than Monarchs who are defiantly the dining champs among the butterflies.

The Heliconians: Zebra Longwings and Gulf Fritillary are both abundant during Autumn in the Tampa Bay Region. Gulf Fritillary butterflies begin to migrate southward during the Autumn months and become even more common in West Central Florida.

Plant passionvine (Passiflora) to attract these species to lay eggs in your garden. I recommend planting at least two plants, one in the sun and one in the shade. Zebra Longwings tend to prefer shaded plants for egg-laying. Avoid red passionvines as their glossy leaves are inedible to these caterpillars and stick with passionvine that have purple or purple and white flowers. Maypop (Passiflora incarnata) is a Florida native variety that is much beloved of these species.

The Sulphurs: Orange Barred Sulphurs, Cloudless Sulphurs and Sleepy Oranges are just a few of the common Autumn sulphur species.

These species all host on various plants in the cassia family. In the Fall when these plants flower with bright yellow blossoms, caterpillars that eat the flowers turn yellow instead of their usual green color! Winter Cassia (Cassia bicapsularis) can become a very large shrub, so plant it in a place it can spread or be prepared for pruning. However, the blooms on cassia make it worth the effort every year.

The Whites: There are several species of white butterfly that can be found in the Autumn such as the Cabbage White, Checkered White and Great Florida White. These species host on greens in the mustard family like cabbages, mustard greens and collard greens. Try picking up a few of these greens not for food but for the butterflies.

These butterflies can often be seen on roadsides and medians throughout Florida and host on a common weed called Peppergrass (Lepidium virginicum) or Poor Man’s Pepper that you may already have growing in your yard. If you have a fenced yard that your neighbors won’t complain about, consider letting a small patch of peppergrass go wild by mowing around it. It is amazing how many butterflies are drawn to common weeds.

Black Swallowtails: Black swallowtails begin to decline in the autumn but you can still find them through November and early December. Plant parsley, fennel or dill to attract them to lay eggs. Their eggs are tiny whitish globes that will often be found on the freshest growth of the hosts.

When you buy plants from a nursery, even kitchen herbs, they have likely been treated with a biological insecticide which will render them inedible to caterpillars for a few weeks. If you have a green thumb, try growing some parsley or dill from seed to ensure that it will be pesticide free.

Polydamas Swallowtails: Polydamas Swallowtails will continue right through Autumn and into Winter and will be found so long as we don’t have a hard freeze. These caterpillars are voracious eaters that host on pipevines (Aristolochia).

Pretty much any species of pipevine will satisfy their hunger and you’ll likely find clusters of golden yellow eggs in no time. Pipevines are in a vine and will need somewhere to grow but they are a great cover on a chain link fence and also work well on arbors or trellises. The flowers are really neat too.

Giant Swallowtail: Giants can still be found throughout the Fall. They host on a variety of Citrus like lemon and sour orange and also on Wild Lime (Zanthoxylum fagara) and Hercules Club (Zanthoxylum clava-herculis) , two Florida native trees that can be tricky to find. Both trees have spines so care should be taken when working around them. Giant Swallowtail eggs are orange spheres and their caterpillars look like shiny bird poop.

Skippers: Skipper butterflies of the family Hesperidae come in lots of shapes and sizes. In general they tend to be smaller butterflies who are quick in flight and tend to be somewhat dull in color. Throughout the summer and fall, many species of Skippers are numerous in Tampa Bay. Although many people confuse these tiny creatures with moths, they are indeed butterflies.

Especially look for the Long Tailed Skipper and Fiery Skipper. You can lure Long Tailed Skippers to your yard by planting beans so the adults will lay eggs. Fiery Skippers can often be seen at clusters of small flowers like lantana and salvia.

Autumn Nectar Plants

Try these Florida native Autumn nectar plants: Aster, Beach Sunflower, Black-Eyed Susan, Blazing Star, Blue Porterweed, Dalea, Firebush, Florida Paintbrush, Garberia, Goldenrod, Hibiscus, Lantana, Lobelia, Milkweed, Mistflower, Phlox, Sage, Spanish Needles, Stoke’s Aster, Sunflower, Tick-seed, Verbena
Try these non-native options for nectar plants: Buddliea, Golden Dewdrop, Heliotrope, Marigolds, Mexican Flamevine, Moss Verbena, Penta,

Some are easier to find than others, but take that list with you to the nursery and see what you can come up with. Some nurseries specialize in Florida native plant species and these are often preferred by butterflies. Ask at your nursery for recommendations because if it is blooming this season, chances are butterflies might enjoy it. Also, make sure to watch for which plants are drawing butterflies at your nursery. Those are sure to be winners.

Mexican Sage

2011-10-18T09:00:00.000-04:00

It’s no secret we’re a big fan of salvia here at the Butterfly Garden. With the exception of Salvia splendens, this genus of plants offers fantastic nectar sources for butterflies. Salvia leucantha, also known as Mexican Sage, is a late-season bloomer that fills the garden with purple blooms that bring butterflies and pollinators like bees in droves.

Native to Central American and Mexico, Mexican Sage has silvery green foliage that grows into almost shrub-like proportions by the end of summer (3 feet high and tall), when the flower stalks emerge and add another foot or so to the height. The stalks and calyxes are purple and fuzzy, while the blooms themselves are a soft white color.

As you might expect from a plant native to more tropical climates, Mexican Sage is frost-sensitive, and is generally killed back to the ground in a hard freeze. Fortunately, it returns quickly from the base, putting on lush silvery growth all spring and summer until the blooms emerge in the late summer/early fall. The blooms continue until a killing frost. It’s drought-tolerant and prefers full sun to grow best. You can usually find Mexican Sage for sale starting in late summer at most plant nurseries, making it an easy and excellent addition to the southern butterfly garden.

A corner of the gardens

2011-10-17T09:32:00.000-04:00

A good lunch is made better by a beautiful place to eat. So many museum staff and guests use this one particular picnic table beneath the spreading bows of a huge double trunked live oak that we like to make this area special. With the ‘nice weather’ season about to start, we decided to work on this area as our prelude to the rest of the Historic Tree Grove end of summer tasks.

On Friday we added border of coral colored impatiens along with some blue daze, indigo spires salvia and a few donated pink begonias. These all mix in nicely with the bedding plants that include flax lily, African iris, ferns, gingers, coleus and artemisia.

The last addition for the day was a frilly species of hibiscus commonly known as Japanese lantern (Hibiscus schizopetalus). This quirkily botanical-named hibiscus is still young but produces gorgeous and unlikely looking blooms.

The picnic area can be found beneath the Dr. Richard T. Bowers Sand Live Oak in the Historic Tree Grove at MOSI. Next time you visit the museum we invite you to bring your lunch outside and watch the butterflies play.

We’ll be doing lots of work in the outside gardens for the next few weeks. Please feel free to ask us your questions or tell us what you like about the gardens.

Green Leaves: Selecting Good Host Plants for Caterpillars

2011-10-14T09:13:00.000-04:00

Caterpillars of butterflies are specialists when it comes to eating. Each species is generally limited to one type of host plant or maybe even a small family of plants. For instance, caterpillars of the Monarch butterfly eat milkweed. The type of milkweed may vary based upon where the caterpillar is located and what sort of milkweed grows there but you can bet that if you find a monarch caterpillar, it will be on a milkweed plant.

Good host plants for caterpillars have to be more than what the caterpillar can possibly eat. You must also consider which species of a host plant will do best in your yard. A northern species of milkweed is sure to attract Monarchs in Pennsylvania, but if planted here the plant with be overwhelmed by the heat and even rains of a Florida summer. You must look for a species that will thrive in your yard.

Buying seeds and bare root plants online can be a great way to save money on butterfly gardening, but make sure to research that the seeds you are planting will grow well here. Take a look at the Plant Files section of the Dave’s Garden website. There you can search for plants by name and read reviews by other readers all over the country. These other gardeners will note how the plant is growing in their local area and may help to give you some clues on how a species might do in your garden.

One last important factor to consider is that plants purchased for the butterfly garden should be pesticide free. Ask a lot of questions about the use of pesticides when you purchase plants, especially if you intend to feed them to caterpillars right away. Some plants listed as pesticide free will still be toxic to caterpillars. Biological pesticides like bacteria that harm insects but not humans are commonly employed to keep nursery plants looking healthy. If you can, quarantine new plants for 2-3 weeks before you expect caterpillars to eat the leaves and water and wash the leaves of the new plants often.

Attract This Butterfly With This Caterpillar Host

Monarch caterpillars eat Milkweed
Queen caterpillars eat Milkweed
Zebra Longwing caterpillars eat Passionvine
Julia Longwing caterpillars eat Passionvine
Gulf Fritillary caterpillars eat Passionvine
Orange Barred Sulphur caterpillars eat Cassia
Cloudless Sulphur caterpillars eat Cassia
Dainty Sulphur caterpillars eat Spanish Needles
Polydamas Swallowtail caterpillars eat Pipevines
Pipevine Swallowtail caterpillars eat Pipevines
Giant Swallowtail caterpillars eat Hercules Club / Wild Lime / Citrus / Rue
Spicebush Swallowtail caterpillars eat Camphor / Spicebush
Palamedes Swallowtail caterpillars eat Red Bay
Tiger Swallowtail caterpillars eat Sweetbay Magnolia
Zebra Swallowtail caterpillars eat Pawpaw
Eastern Black Swallowtail caterpillars eat Parsley, Dill, Fennel / Rue
Red Spotted Purple caterpillars eat cherry
Red Admiral caterpillars eat False Nettle / Pellitory
Phaon Crescent caterpillars eat Frogfruit
Question Mark caterpillars eat Elms
Carolina Satyr caterpillars eat grasses
Buckeye caterpillars eat Plantain
Painted Lady caterpillars eat Cudweeds
White Peacock caterpillars eat Water Hyssop

Sweet Nectar: Selecting Good Nectar Plants for your Butterfly Garden

2011-10-11T09:24:00.000-04:00

To attract butterflies to your yard you will need nectar. Nectar is a sugary water substance found inside of many flowers and is a mainstay for butterflies. Butterflies extend their proboscis and insert it into flowers to drink the nectar found within. Nectar is mainly sugar and contains very few nutrients. Butterflies subsisting upon nectar have fairly short life spans usually about 2 to 4 weeks.
Not all plants produce good amounts of nectar so just planting a bush with flowers in your yard may not bring the butterflies that you seek. Here are some tips for choosing good nectar plants for your garden.

Butterflies like choice: By providing lots of different flower options you can attract more species and greater numbers of butterflies. Plants of differing heights, various colors and with long bloom seasons can make your garden more attractive to butterflies.

Sometimes a weed is not a weed. Try leaving a small section of backyard to go wild and find out what wildflowers are already growing in your garden. Some of these flowers, like Spanish needles may not be the most attractive to us but butterflies enjoy them a great deal.

A riot of color: Butterflies can perceive color and some species are drawn to particular colors. Planting multiple species of flowers that bloom in an array of colors will help to attract more species of butterflies.

Size Matters: Butterflies come in all sorts of sizes and will need flowers that range in size from tiny to fairly large. Little butterflies can often be found at tiny flowers while larger butterflies often select flowers that are larger and contain more nectar. Tiny flowers of the scorpion tail will draw little blue butterflies and diminutive hairstreaks while the larger blooms of firebush attract swallowtails and sulphurs.

Clusters: Butterflies are often drawn to flowers that grow in clusters. These provide more nectar in a small area and allow butterflies to feed without having to do a lot of work. Milkweeds, salvia, firebush, pentas and lantana all provide clusters of flowers that make speed eating easy for butterflies.

Shop smart and research: While wandering around a plant nursery, pay attention to what the local butterflies are using for nectar there. Each time I shop I make sure to check out the plant species that have the most butterfly attention and then use my smart phone to learn more about the plants if I am not familiar with the species. This helps me make sure that the delicious nectar plants will thrive in the conditions already present in my yard or in the MOSI gardens. When looking at new plants, try some research on the front end. A simple web-search on a particular plant will probably let you know if it is attractive to butterflies.

Florida Friendly: Make sure to buy plants that will do well in your garden’s sun, soil and water conditions and check out this list of Florida native nectar plants that attract butterflies. Some native plants can be hard to find but many are worth the effort.

Seasonal changes: Each season should see different plants blooming in your gardens just as each season brings lows or highs for various butterfly populations. If all of your nectar plants bloom in the spring, your garden may not attract butterflies in the summer, fall or winter. Try to pick an array of nectar plants that will provide year-round nectar.

BEWARE! Flannel Moth Caterpillar

2011-10-07T09:00:00.000-04:00

Guests frequently drop by BioWorks with “mystery bugs” for us to identify. Not too long ago, I answered a knock at the lab door and found a boy and his mom, holding this caterpillar and looking for an ID.

My immediate thought was: “DON’T PANIC. You don’t want to scare this boy and his mom!” You see, I was pretty sure that the fuzzy little caterpillar he was holding so precariously on a small jar lid was in fact one of the most toxic caterpillars out there – the Flannel Moth Caterpillar (Megalopyge opercularis), also sometimes called the Puss Moth or Puss Caterpillar. Lurking in those hairs covering the body are spines that inject venom upon the slightest touch.

The first symptom of a Flannel Moth caterpillar sting is most frequently described as “searing pain”. The pain radiates up from the sting site and can cause nausea, swelling, vomiting, chest pains, and other horrifying-sounding symptoms. In severe cases, the victim may begin to experience difficulty breathing and will need to seek immediate medical attention. There’s no antidote for this sting – the only thing you can really do is apply appropriate first aid and wait it out.

Risk-takers that we are, we decided to keep this caterpillar in a tank in the lab and try to raise it to adulthood, as the adult moth is very unusual and completely harmless. We are feeding it live oak, the most common host plant, and handling it only when absolutely necessary, wearing gloves and taking all possible precautions.

A face only a mother could love?

Children are often the victims of this caterpillar, since it looks so soft and inviting to pet. Other toxic caterpillars, like Io Moths and Saddlebacks, are just as toxic but their bright colors provide better warning. We’re relieved that the local boy who found this creature wasn’t stung. He was very lucky, since even the slightest contact is said to cause extreme pain. Fortunately, now he’ll know what to look out for, and so will you.

What’s Flying? – October

2011-10-04T09:00:00.000-04:00

October came in on a breath of fresh air, as the first weekend of the month brought the first cool front to Tampa. With the approach of cooler weather and changes to some of the blooms in the gardens, butterfly habits and appearances will start to change, This month brought several species we hadn’t seen in awhile, including an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and several Viceroys. Here are the species we’ve been seeing in the gardens recently:

Notes from the Field:

Since the extremely cold winter of 2010, White Peacock butterflies have been scarce in the gardens. In the last month or so, we’ve seen a big uptick in their numbers, and just last week we were pleased to find larva on the water hyssop in the small pond. More than 20 small caterpillars are being raised in the lab now, and should be making their appearance as butterflies in the Flight Enclosure in the weeks ahead.
A new sighting in the last few weeks was an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, a female in beautiful condition. While northern gardens are filled with these large butterflies in the summer, they seem to be a little more rare down south. The cooler weather will likely bring more to the area in weeks ahead.
Hummingbirds are occasional visitors to the garden. A female was seen several days in a row recently, feeding on firebush behind the Flight Enclosure. We haven’t seen her since, so she may have been passing through as she migrated south for the winter.
After a slow start to the season, Polydamas butterflies are now abundant and laying hundreds of eggs each week on our Pipevines.

Guest Bloggers Wanted

2011-10-03T16:35:00.000-04:00

Like the blog?
Like to write?
Can you visit the museum grounds once monthly and then write about your findings?

If you answered yes above, would you like to be a guest blogger on the Lepcurious blog?

We are looking for a few people with specific interests to write a monthly article for the BioWorks Butterfly Garden blog on topics including bird sightings, the Back Woods Forest Preserve and other guest observations. If you have another topic idea, just let us know. Your time spent making observations and writing will be recorded as volunteer hours.

If you are interested, just drop me an email at kristeng@mosi.org. You can also include a writing sample or a link to a blog you write to give us an idea of your writing style.

Garden for Wildlife: Water and Sustainable Gardening

2011-09-30T09:00:00.000-04:00

So far in our series on wildlife gardening, we’ve looked at the ways BioWorks provides food and shelter. In this last post, we’ll look at our water sources, along with the sustainable gardening practices we apply.

The National Wildlife Federation suggests these sources of water in a wildlife garden: Birdbath • Lake • Stream • Seasonal Pool • Ocean • Water Garden/Pond • River • Butterfly Puddling Area • Rain Garden • Spring

Although the Back Woods at MOSI offers several ponds in the wetlands, we also have a small pond surrounded by vegetation in the butterfly garden itself. To make the water more inviting, our pond has waterfall features that keep the water moving, something many animals prefer. We see lots of frogs and snails in the pond, and small mammals likely visit it for drinks at night.

We also frequently offer water by providing puddling places for butterflies and small birds. Many times these puddles are just natural by-products of rains or irrigation, but they provide a valuable place for smaller creatures to get the water they need.

We help to keep these puddles and other water sources clean and free of unnecessary chemicals by following sustainable gardening practices. This means gardening in ways that make an impact on the environment in positive ways, keeping the ecosystem as close to native and natural as possible. Native wildlife flocks to areas that resemble their native environments, even if you’re in the middle of the city.

Some of the things we do keep our gardens environmentally friendly include: water-wise landscaping, soaker hoses for irrigation, rain barrels, mulching and composting, focus on native plants, reducing lawn areas, and eliminating chemical pesticides and fertilizers whenever possible. Wildlife that visit our gardens find an environment planned for them, so they enjoy visiting a healthy ecosystem and we enjoy watching them!

Garden for Wildlife: Shelter

2011-09-27T09:00:00.000-04:00

In a previous post, we began taking a look at how BioWorks gardens for wildlife. We learned that good wildlife gardens provide food, shelter, and water, as well as using sustainable gardening practices. Our last post covered the food sources we provide at BiowWorks. Today, we’ll talk about shelter.

The National Wildlife Federation recommends providing at least two types of shelter in your wildlife habitat: Wooded Area • Bramble Patch • Ground Cover • Rock Pile or Wall • Cave • Roosting Box • Dense Shrubs or Thicket • Evergreens • Brush or Log Pile • Burrow • Meadow or Prairie • Water Garden or Pond

BioWorks and the Historic Tree Grove, along with MOSI’s Back Woods, offer plenty of shelter options. We have lots of mature trees and dense ground cover growth. The Back Woods has protected areas for the dens of the Gopher Tortoises that live there. Our small pond is surrounded by thick vegetation for frogs and other water creatures, and we have clusters of shrubs like coontie to provide cover on the ground.

Shelter is also important for raising young. The National Wildlife Federation suggests the following as good places for wildlife to engage in courtship behavior, mate, and then bear and raise their young: Mature Trees • Meadow or Prairie • Nesting Box • Wetland • Cave • Host Plants for Caterpillars • Dead Trees or Snags • Dense Shrubs or a Thicket • Water Garden or Pond • Burrow

Obviously, we have plenty of host plants for caterpillars in the BioWorks Butterfly Garden. However, we also have mature trees and shrubbery for bird nests, so each spring we watch as cardinals, mockingbirds, thrashers, and more raise their young onsite. Our pond is a sheltered site for frogs to breed, and the Back Woods has wetlands for water birds and others.

Coming up next in the Garden for Wildlife series: Water and Sustainable Gardening Practices.

Refreshing the Butterfly Garden for Fall

2011-09-23T09:00:00.000-04:00

It’s the first day of fall! We’re anxiously awaiting the cooler temperatures soon to arrive, and getting ready to refresh the gardens for the beautiful autumn weather ahead. Once all the overgrowth of summer is cleared away, there’s often not much left behind for butterflies and other wildlife to enjoy. It’s time to add some fresh new nectar plants to the beds, but the plants we can find in fall are often different than the ones available in spring. While mums are pretty popular at nurseries this time of year, they don’t add much to a butterfly garden.

However, there are four plants you can find pretty much year-round in Central Florida, and these are the ones we’ll be looking for when we bring the gardens back to life this fall. If you live in the area, you can do the same and help out butterflies in the months ahead.

Pentas or Star Flower (Pentas lanceolata): All colors of this annual are a draw for butterflies, but red seems to be especially popular. We’ll have to water well during any remaining hot days – Pentas don’t really tolerate drought until they’re very well established.

Milkweed (Asclepias curassavica): This is well-known as a host plant for Monarchs, but the flowers provide valuable nectar too. Plant as much as you can get your hands on to help monarchs arriving from the north for the winter.

Lantana (Lantana spp.): These tiny clusters of flowers never fail to bring butterflies to the garden. Remember that in some places, non-native Lantana camara is considered invasive. Plant less troublesome cultivars like “New Gold” to avoid potential problems later.

Mealycup Sage (Salvia farinacea) and Tropical Sage (Salvia coccinea): Almost all salvia types are great nectar providers (except ornamental Salvia splendens), but S. farinacea is probably the easiest to find. We have plenty of S. coccinea, but there’s always room for more of this fantastic native that reseeds like crazy.

Garden for Wildlife: Food

2011-09-20T09:00:00.001-04:00

Gardening for wildlife is a popular choice in gardening today. This method of gardening focuses on providing the elements that local wildlife need to survive and thrive, often in suburban and urban environments where the wildlife might otherwise struggle. A wildlife habitat provides food, water, and shelter for animals, along with using sustainable gardening practices to protect the quality of those things.

Today, we’ll take a look at the food options provided in MOSI BioWork’s Butterfly Garden and Historic Tree Grove. In upcoming posts, we’ll cover the water and shelter we provide as well. You can do these things in your own yard too, and even certify your wildlife habitat through the National Wildlife Federation (NWF).

The NWF recommends including at least three of the following in a wildlife habitat: Seeds from a plant • Berries • Nectar • Foliage/Twigs • Nuts • Fruits • Sap • Pollen • Suet • Bird Feeder • Squirrel Feeder • Hummingbird Feeder • Butterfly Feeder

Here in the gardens, we provide many of these. For birds, we have a bird feeder, along with a bird garden planted nearby with millet and sunflower. Many of the shrubs in the garden provide berries, including Simpson Stopper, hollies, Beautyberry, duranta, Red Bay, pokeweed, and so much more.

We also (obviously) have plenty of food for butterflies. Our nectar plants dominate the garden, with salvia, penta, lantana, firebush, ironweed, and many more in abundance. Our butterflies have plenty of choice, with some nectar plants in full sun and others in full shade – some butterflies actually prefer that. Many nectar plants also provide pollen for bees and other pollinators too.

We also have plenty of food for squirrels and other mammals. Our favorite resident squirrel loves to sit in the winged elm near the lab door, nibbling twigs and throwing the remnants down at us. The squirrels also love the nuts from live oaks and other nut producing trees.

Insect-eaters are welcome too. Our gardens bring plenty of insects, including grasshoppers and ladybugs, which are food for birds and others. The smaller insects like mosquitoes are food for larger insects like dragonflies.

A good wildlife garden includes food for as many types of wildife as possible. We’re always looking for new ways to provide food for the animals and insects that visit BioWorks throughout the year.

Monarch Migration is Underway!

2011-09-16T09:00:00.000-04:00

Folks up north in places like Minnesota are already seeing lots of signs of the beginning of monarch migration. Large numbers of monarchs are seen roosting in trees and bushes overnight. A patch of nectar flowers might see 60 monarchs visiting at a time. And groups of monarchs are seen flying together, at the same height and speed, in a southerly direction. Yes, the fall migration of monarchs has begun.

Most of these monarchs will be headed to Mexico, to roost by the millions in the trees of places like Michoacán, Mexico. They’ll rest there during the cooler temperatures of winter after flying hundreds and, in some cases, thousands of miles. They’ll remain there until spring, when the warming sun will wake them and encourage them to journey back north again.

The fall migration is made by a single generation of monarchs, meaning the butterflies that leave Minnesota and other northern states will be the same ones that arrive in Mexico several months later. These same butterflies will rest during the winter, then mate in the spring and begin flying north. They will stop along the way, perhaps in Texas, where they will lay eggs and die. Their offspring will continue the journey north when they emerge as butterflies, stopping somewhere a bit further along the route to repeat the process. It takes several generations of butterflies, each living only a few weeks, to make the spring migration.

But the fall butterflies are different. They live as many nine months to complete their extraordinary journey. Somehow, in their genetic code perhaps, they pass along the signals to their offspring to tell them where to fly in the spring. Much of this is still a mystery, as it is often is with the phenomenon of migration.

Here in peninsular Florida, we have a year-round resident population of monarchs that don’t migrate. This is both good and bad. We enjoy these butterflies every month of the year, which is great for us. But if a disease or weakness makes its way into the population, it’s likely to become widespread very quickly, without the advantage of outside breeding with other butterfly populations to strengthen the resident population again.

Some butterflies do migrate to and from Florida, though, and you may see an increase in monarchs in the months ahead. You can help these butterflies by planting milkweed, their host plant. Click here for directions on creating a Certified Monarch Waystation.

If you live in northern states, look for monarch festivals and activities in your community as the butterflies pass through. You can track migration by visiting and contributing data to Journey North, which features detailed maps of spottings and weekly updates. Monarchs are beloved across the country, so you’re sure to find a way to learn about and celebrate these amazing fliers!

Roosting Monarch Photo Credit: Judith Finley via Journey North

Project Noah and Citizen Science Projects

2011-09-13T09:00:00.000-04:00

We admit it… we have an addiction. It’s called Project Noah and it’s a citizen science project that we seem to spend all our free time contributing to these days.

Citizen Science:
First – what is “citizen science”? The Encyclopedia of Life defines it as "projects in which volunteers, such as students, the general public and nature enthusiasts partner with scientists to collect information and answer real-world questions”. These projects are basically a chance for anyone who’s interested to help scientists gather data on things like bird nesting, migration, weather spotting, and a whole lot more. Check out ScienceforCitizens.net to find projects that appeal to you.

Project Noah:
Project Noah is a citizen science project dedicated to using mobile technology to document Earth’s organisms wherever and whenever they’re found. Project Noah is designed to take advantage of the plethora of smart phones out there, but you can easily participate using your computer as well.

Once you sign up, start by browsing other sightings from around the world, seeing wildflowers from Asia and monkeys from India, birds from California and butterflies from Maine. See what people are submitting, and mark some as your favorites.

Then it’s time to take things a step further and check out the listings that “Need ID”. Perhaps someone has posted a picture of a Giant Swallowtail caterpillar, but didn’t know what it was. Click the “Suggest ID” button and make your suggestion, including links to any relevant websites. The original submitter can review your suggestion and see if it makes sense to them, and others can agree with your ID or offer comments of their own. In this way, the community works together to ID sightings from across the globe. (We admit, we just love this part, helping to solve puzzles from around the world. Kristen frequently helps ID butterflies in places like Germany, while Jill found the ID for a very unusual caterpillar from South Africa the other day.)

Finally, be sure to participate in the most important way – uploading your own sightings. The Project Noah app allows you to upload pictures and descriptions right from your smartphone. You can also upload pictures from your computer. If you know what your spotting is, be sure to provide that information. If you’re not sure what you’ve seen, just mark your post “Help me ID this spotting”, and others will give you suggestions. People are always on the site viewing and responding to new postings, and you could have an answer in just a few minutes – how cool is that?

You’ll find both of us on Project Noah – Kristen is KristenGilpin and Jill is Florida33Girl. Drop by and see what we’ve been spotting and identifying, and then make some contributions of your own!

The Incredible, Edible… Caterpillar?

2011-09-09T09:00:00.002-04:00

The idea of eating bugs is enough to give many people the heebie-jeebies, but in many parts of the world insects are an important part of a daily diet. Entomophagy is the consumption of insects as food, and in 80% of the world’s nations, insects like mealworms, ants, and cicadas provide an inexpensive source of protein and other nutrients. (Angelina Jolie’s kids apparently can’t get enough dried crickets.) Several types of caterpillars are common food sources and even delicacies in places around the globe.

Mopane Worms:
In South Africa, the larva of a moth called Gonimbrasia belina is one of the main sources of protein for the indigenous people. This caterpillar is frequently found on the mopane tree (Colophospermum mopane), giving it the common name Mopane Worm. Women and children gather these worms, sometimes bringing very small ones to trees closer to home to make it easier to harvest them when they are the proper size. Once the caterpillars are fully-grown, they are squeezed to expel the contents of their gut and then dried in the sun. They can be eaten dried and crispy, or rehydrated and fried in oil. Though not generally considered to be very flavorful, these caterpillars are 60% protein and also contain calcium and iron. Learn more about one woman’s experiece eating Mopane Worms here.

Silkworms:
Silk production is a huge industry in parts of Asia. The larva of the domesticated silkmoth (Bombyx mori) are raised for the cocoons they spin. However, these caterpillars cannot be allowed to finish metamorphosis and exit the cocoon naturally, as they will destroy much of the valuable silk. The cocoons are generally boiled and then unwound to preserve the silk, eventually exposing the pupa inside. In countries like China that have always been very populous, no food source can be overlooked, and so silkworm pupae have been eaten for centuries. They’re served boiled or fried, and are a common street food in China and Korea. One hundred grams of giant silkworm moth larvae provide 100 percent of the daily requirements for copper, zinc, iron, thiamin, and riboflavin.

Piagi or Piuga (Pandora Pinemoth Larva):
Caterpillar consumption isn’t confined to far-off places. Here in the US Pacific Northwest, members of the Native American tribe Paiute historically ate Piagi (other sources call it Piuga), the caterpillars of the Pandora Pinemoth (Coloradia pandora). They dug trenches around Pandora moth’s favorite host plant, the Jeffrey Pine, knowing that the full-grown caterpillars would climb down from the trees when they were ready to pupate. Older tribe members still harvest and eat these larva, roasting them in hot sand and cooking them into a vegetable stew.

Many other caterpillars are eaten as food around the world, and are considered by many to be far more “green” than eating beef, chicken, or other first-world meats. Existence of these insects in the wild, where they best benefit indigenous people, actually depends on the preservation of the land in its natural state. The caterpillars can only thrive in places where their host plants exist in abundance, so those who count on these insects as important part of their diet are especially willing to help conserve the forests and foliage the caterpillars need. Even when cultivated or farmed, caterpillars and other insects can be grown using less money and resources than the protein sources we in the US generally consider “normal”.

As the world’s population begins to grow, entomophagy will undoubtedly become more common in all parts of the world. Want to give it a try? Check out the Eat-A-Bug Cookbook by David George Gordon.

Photo Credits:
Mopane Worms: Arne Larson via Wikipedia
Fried Silkworms: Wikipedia

Anoles

2011-09-06T09:00:00.001-04:00

Lizards of the anole family (pronounced ah-no-lee) are a common sight in and around BioWorks. As in most of Florida, the most populous species is the exotic Brown Anole (Anolis sagrei sagrei), an invasive species that is driving out our native Green Anole (Anolis carolinensis).

The Green Anole, sometimes called the Carolina Anole, is fairly cold-tolerant and can be found as far north as Tennessee. The Brown Anole, also called the Cuban Anole, is not cold-tolerant and lives mainly in peninsular Florida. The Brown Anole came here as part of the exotic pet trade, and was accidentally or carelessly introduced into the wild. It’s sometimes easy to confuse the two species, especially in winter, as Green Anoles often turn brown when the temperature is below 70. They also can turn brown when they need to blend in, or their systems are stressed. Additionally, when two males fight for a female, the winner takes on an even brighter shade of green, while the loser turns brown.

Both species of anoles have a dewlap, a brightly-colored flap of skin on the underside of the neck that can be extended and withdrawn. The dewlap plays an important role in mating, as male lizards attract the attention of females by extending the dewlap and bobbing up and down (sort of like lizard push-ups). The dewlap also serves as a warning signal to other lizards that they’ve strayed too far into one lizard’s established territory.

Once the anole has attracted a mate, he clasps her from behind and they remain locked together for some time. The female will begin to lay her eggs around 2 weeks later a few inches down in soft sandy soil or compost. The eggs hatch in 30 – 60 days, resulting in tiny baby lizards that rather seem to be all eyes and tail in the beginning. These babies must fend for themselves, as anoles take no interest in their young once the eggs have been laid.

Anoles are an excellent form of pest control as they feed on all sorts of insects, including mosquitoes. Larger anoles can take down fairly large insects, and it’s not an uncommon sight in the BioWorks Flight Encounter to see a Brown Anole in the process of eating a small butterfly, especially an older butterfly nearing the end of its life cycle.

Another fairly common sight is that of a lizard missing its tail. Anoles have the ability to release their tails when they feel threatened (i.e. when a cat or small child reaches out and grabs it). The tail itself continues to twitch for a minute or so, distracting the predator while the lizard makes its escape. The lizard will grow a new tail over the next few weeks to replace the one it has lost. This act of self-amputation is known as autonomy.

Like other reptiles, anoles molt (shed their skin), several times a year. During this time, the old skin begins to flake off, and you will see the lizard rubbing against bark and other rough surfaces to help remove the skin. Anoles frequently then eat this old skin, as it is a good source of nutrients like calcium.

What’s Flying? - September

2011-09-02T09:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the wonderful month of September! This is probably my favorite month of the year, not just because it is the month that contains my birthday (and a yearly beach getaway) but also because the tail end of this month often brings us the first break from the unrelenting summers. Out in the gardens, we long for that at present.
With my favorite month comes a new blog feature: What’s flying? We’ll let you know what butterflies are out and about in the gardens here at MOSI and perhaps these are the same species you can sight in you own yard (for our central Florida readers).

What’s flying in the MOSI gardens?

Notes from the field:

Gulf Fritillaries: This species is super abundant! There are scads of these butterflies out in the gardens right now, so many that it sometimes seems like they are swarming.
Cloudless Sulphur: These are abundant. This is sulphur season and you can see these pale yellow butterflies laying eggs on nearly every species of cassia.
Orange Barred Sulphur: These are abundant laying eggs on cassia and often taking nectar from Firebush.
White Peacock: Sadly, we have only seen one or two of this species that is usually abundant on our site.
Spicebush Swallowtail: Jill snapped this amazing photo of Spicebush Swallowtails mating, nestled inside a white duranta.
It’s really hot outside. Ugh.

Collecting Butterflies

2011-08-30T09:42:00.000-04:00

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In 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, world exploration was exploding. Return voyages from far postmarks and lands with strange names yielded curious specimens of plant and animal. Naturalists rushed to collect and name these species, working to figure out how one might be related to another. The cabinet of curiosities became the manner of exhibition for the collections of naturalists. Tiny museums of the strange, these cabinets housed butterflies and corals, snakes preserved in alcohol and pressed flowers, shells of all manner and species like the platypus that confounded the naturalists of the day.
The collection of butterflies was all the rage in the Victorian era. With bicycle and train, the average person could take off for the county and armed with a net, a killing jar and some pins, return with a box of mounted butterflies. In the mid 19th century there were some 3,000 avid butterfly collectors in England alone.
In recent times, a stigma has become attached to those who would collect and kill butterflies. The collecting and killing of butterflies is not illegal, with the exception of a selection of protected and endangered species whose numbers in the wild are already concerning low. Butterfly collection in the past seems to have played no significant role in the declines of butterfly populations, rather habitat loss is often cited as the cause.
Today, butterfly collecting is more often done in the form of photographs taken by butterfly enthusiasts who scour empty urban lots and virgin forest for the chance to site and digitally capture the beauty of a butterfly. For those who would still collect mounted butterflies, specimens are readily available from butterfly farms around the world rather than collected from the wild.

Great Collectors and Huge Collections

Walter Rothschild, the brother of Charles Rothschild, obsessively collected more than two million butterfly specimens before his death in 1937, nearly bankrupting his family. His collection forms a significant portion of the largest butterfly collection in the world, housed at the Natural History Museum in London. This amazing collection is still yielding new information on butterflies and moths and new species are still being found within the collection. Walter’s younger brother Charles Rothschild gifted his entire butterfly collection of 3,500 specimens to his alma mater, the Harrow School in 1900.
Dr. William and Nadine McGuire donated their collection of some two million butterflies specimens to the Florida Museum of Natural History. The donation of this collection brings the number of butterflies in the museum’s collection to about nine million. The butterfly collection at the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity is now considered the second largest in the world.
The U.S. National Entomological Collection houses some four million specimens of Lepidoptera from around the world.

Read more about collections, collectors and cabinets of curiosities:

Albertus Seba Cabinet of Natural Curiosities by Irmgard Müsch, Jes Rust and Rainer Willmann
The Species Seekers: Heroes, Fools, and the Mad Pursuit of Life on Earth by Richard Conniff
Dry Storeroom No. 1: The Secret Life of the Natural History Museum by Richard Fortey
Stuffed Animals and Pickled Heads: The Culture and Evolution of Natural History Museums by Stephen T. Asma
Mr. Wilson's Cabinet Of Wonder: Pronged Ants, Horned Humans, Mice on Toast, and Other Marvels of Jurassic Technology by Lawrence Weschler
The Dangerous World of Butterflies: The Startling Subculture of Criminals, Collectors, and Conservationists by Peter Laufer
The Aurelian Legacy: British Butterflies and Their Collectors by Michael A. Salmon
Winged Obsession: The Pursuit of the World's Most Notorious Butterfly Smuggler by Jessica Speart

A Summertime Walk in the Back Woods

2011-08-26T09:00:00.000-04:00

The 25 acres of MOSI’s Back Woods is an unexpected oasis of nature in the middle of a heavily urban area. The Back Woods offer wetland habitats, upland forest and sand hill habitats, and more, with a shell trail, boardwalk, and sand trails throughout. Its a quiet place to look for small mammals, butterflies and other insects, and interesting native plants as you enjoy a peaceful stroll. Enjoy the pictures from our recent walk, and feel free to stop by and take a walk in the Back Woods yourself one day soon!

Jill’s Photo Album:

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Kristen’s Photo Album:

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A Summertime Walk in the Historic Tree Grove

2011-08-24T09:00:00.000-04:00

MOSI’s Historic Tree grove is filled with trees tied to famous people, places, and events. A stroll through the gardens allows you to visit an American Redbud descended from one outside Clara Barton’s office, a magnolia from the grounds of the infamous Civil War-era Andersonville prison camp, a sycamore whose ancestors have been to the moon, and many more. Learn more about the Historic Tree Grove here, and click through the albums below to see what’s going on in the gardens around the trees this time of year.

Jill’s Album:

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Kristen’s Album:

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A Summertime Walk in the Butterfly Garden

2011-08-22T09:00:00.000-04:00

Here at the MOSI BioWorks Butterfly Garden, our small staff size means we’re pretty constantly busy, especially in the summer months when weeds grow like… well, weeds. We do our best each day to stop and admire what’s around us, though. Here are pictures from each of us from a recent stroll through the Flight Encounter and outside Butterfly Garden. (Click the links to view the full albums with captions.) Look for more pictures later this week of our walks through the Backwoods and the Historic Tree Grove.

Jill’s Album:

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Kristen’s Album:

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Carolina Wild Petunia

2011-08-19T09:00:00.001-04:00

Carolina Wild Petunia (Ruellia caroliniensis) is found in wild woodlands from Virginia to Texas. As you might expect from a forest wildflower, this plant does best in part to full shade. Several patches grow beneath the trees in the Butterfly Garden behind the BioWorks Flight Encounter here at MOSI.

Wild petunia is very drought-tolerant. It begins flowering in spring and, under the right conditions, will continue to flower throughout the summer and fall, although not quite as robustly during the hottest summer months. It’s a small bushy plant, growing to a height of about 18 inches. A perennial in zones 6 – 10, it’s generally killed to the ground in a freeze but quickly returns. It spreads freely by seed, but small seedlings are easy to remove by hand so it’s unlikely to take over a space.

It’s a great wildflower in a wildlife garden. The pretty purple flowers are pollinated by bees and visited by butterflies, and the leaves themselves are a host plant for the Buckeye butterfly caterpillar, a common visitor to our area every spring.

Like many natives, Carolina Wild Petunia is hard to find outside of nurseries specializing in natives. Thought it grows fairly easily from seed, seeds are rarely available for purchase. If you know someone who grows this plant, you can ask if they have seeds or seedlings they’d be willing to part with.

Be careful when asking for this plant at nurseries. Another ruellia species, non-native Ruellia brittoniana, is commonly available for sale and is VERY invasive. Known as Mexican Petunia, it spreads by deep runners that are nearly impossible to get rid of. (Learn more here.) As for true petunias (Petunia x hybrida) which are available in a range of colors and sizes, they are native to South America and not closely related to our wild petunia. Though not invasive, they are generally treated as an annual in the U.S., rarely returning the following year.

Butterflies in Bad Weather

2011-08-17T10:12:00.000-04:00

When skies begin to darken before a rainstorm, just like when the sun sets at evening, butterflies seek shelter. This may be clinging to the underside of a leaf like the Julia Longwing in the photo. Other butterflies can be found deep within a stand of grasses or perhaps tucked under a man made overhang on a building. Rain is a big deal to a butterfly.
If you are a butterfly, rain is not a great deal of fun: The average monarch butterfly weighs in at around 500 milligrams. The average raindrop weighs a bit more than 1/7th of that, around 70 milligrams. Scientific American suggested that the impact of a raindrop on a butterfly would be similar to a human being hit with a water balloon with twice the mass of a bowling ball. Ouch.
During periods of high winds, butterflies will also seek shelter. Sturdy shrubs and trees become great butterfly shelter during strong storms and hurricanes. As soon as the rain has quit, the wind died back and the sun has returned, butterflies leap from their hiding places to continue patrolling, courting, egg laying and nectar sipping. What a life.

Metamorphosis

2011-08-15T09:48:00.000-04:00

Precisely what happens during metamorphosis? It is not the easiest question to answer, but here we go. Let's talk metamorphosis.
The picture here is of an Orange Barred Sulphur chrysalis about one day before the butterfly emerged. Looking closely at the greenish leaf-shaped pod you can see some of the wing markings of the butterfly within, which are some of the last details of a butterfly to form during metamorphosis. Prior to this, a lot is happening in that tiny pod.
From the outside it appears as though the pupa, also known as the chrysalis, is resting. In reality the larval tissues completely break down and reorganize rapidly within the pupal skin.
The first thing that happens is that a lot of the caterpillar’s old body dies. It is attacked by the same sort of juices the caterpillar used in its earlier life to digest its food and it would not be wrong to say the caterpillar digests itself from the inside out. This process is called ‘histolysis'. Not all the tissue is destroyed and some of the insect’s old tissue passes on to its new self.
There is one particular sort of tissue left after histolysis. In a number of places in the insect's body are collections of special formative cells which have played no part in the insects larval life and have stayed hidden or protected during this partial death. Each of these groups of cells is called an ‘imaginal disk' or a ‘histoblast'. The imaginal disks begin to reproduce rapidly and develop into wings or legs or antennae, from the largest structure to the most tiny detail of a single hair or scale, building a new body out of the soup that the insect’s digestive juices have made of the old larval body. This they do using the same biochemical processes that all insects use to turn their food into part of their bodies.
This rebuilding process is called ‘histogenesis' which is the formation of different tissues from undifferentiated cells. During this time the insect is very vulnerable because it cannot run away, and this is why insects try to choose somewhere safe to hide away when they are going through this incredible change.
For more information, check out this article written by Dr Lincoln Brower.

Caterpillar Anatomy: Senses and Defenses

2011-08-12T09:00:00.000-04:00

Vision:
The caterpillar’s head contains the mouth parts along with eyes and antennae. Caterpillars have poor vision. Though many appear to have large eyes, these are actually false eyes designed to fool predators. (Click here to see great examples.) A caterpillar actually has six pairs of very simple eyes called ocelli, which provide a general picture of the world around it. Instead of using their eyes to find food, the caterpillar relies on its antennae, which once again can fool the casual observer.

Antennae,Tentacles, and Tubercles:
Most people assume the spiky projections they see sticking out from a caterpillar’s head are antennae. In fact, a caterpillar’s antennae are very short projections found close to the caterpillar’s mouth, as shown in the drawing above. Along with the maxillary palp, these small projections are used to find and identify food.

Many caterpillars also have one or more pairs of tentacles, which are also used as sensory organs. These fleshy tentacles are often found at the front and back ends of a caterpillar, but several more pairs may be found along a caterpillar’s body.

Some caterpillars also have tubercles along their bodies. These fleshy knobs are sometimes topped with spikes, providing a caterpillar with protection from predators. The Pipevine Swallowtail caterpillar (Battus philenor) to the right has both long tentacles and short, light-colored tubercles.

Setae:
In addition to tentacles and tubercles, caterpillars also have setae, short hairs covering all or a part of their bodies. These hairs are very sensitive to touch. They can also serve as a form of protection, as the setae can come off and irritate membranes around the eyes and mouth of an attacker. On the Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) caterpillar to the left, notice the tubercles topped with black spikes. Each spike is further covered in tiny hairy setae.

Caterpillar Defenses:
Caterpillars are food for almost anything larger than themselves: birds, lizards, even wasps will prey on these creatures. Caterpillars have a variety of defenses, including camouflage, toxicity, and mimicry.

Camouflage allows caterpillars to blend into their surroundings. Sulphur caterpillars are often the exact color of the leaf they are eating, and they lie along the center of the leaf, blending into the mid-vein. Other caterpillars, such as the Long-Tailed Skipper (Urbanus proteus) shown to the right, roll leaves around themselves to hide as they eat.

Host plants can also help caterpillars by making them toxic to predators. Some caterpillars isolate toxins from the plants they eat, causing the predators who eat them to become sick or even die. Caterpillars in the swallowtail family use these toxins to coat their osmeterium, a fleshy organ that is extended from the head and emits a foul smelling liquid. (Click here to learn more.) Toxic caterpillars, including monarchs (Danaus plexippus), are often brightly colored to warn predators to stay away. This behavior is known as using aposematic signals.

Caterpillars use several types of mimicry for defense as well. If a caterpillar is not toxic itself, it may mimic aposematic signals to make predators think that it is. Caterpillars may also mimic less-appetizing objects to trick predators. Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes) caterpillars, shown to the left, are camouflaged not as leaves, but instead to resemble bird droppings.

Illustration Credit: Caterpillar Head Drawing via MonarchLab.org

Caterpillars and Silk

2011-08-10T09:00:00.000-04:00

Caterpillars of both moths and butterflies have the ability to produce silk, much like a spider. They lose this capability once they transition to butterflies and moths, as it is no longer needed. As caterpillars, they use their silk in a variety of ways, some of which are truly startling.

How Caterpillars Produce Silk:
Like spiders, caterpillars produce silk through a “spinneret”. This tube-like structure is located on the lower side of the caterpillar’s mouth. Silk is generated as a liquid in the salivary glands and excreted through the spinneret; as it makes contact with air, it turns into a solid silk strand. Silk is one of the strongest natural fibers – it’s said that pound for pound, silk is stronger than steel.

A monarch caterpillar uses its spinneret to create silk.
Copyright © 2006 Hannah Nendick-Mason via BugGuide.net

How Caterpillars Use Silk:
Silk is important to caterpillars from the time they emerge from the egg to the time they enter their pupal state. Many kinds of caterpillars use a single strand of silk as a “safety line” to anchor them to the plant they are eating. If disturbed or dislodged, the caterpillar can drop down and hang from the silk line, almost seeming to rappel away from danger. When the danger has passed, the caterpillar draws the silk back in and makes its way back to the leaf to continue its meal.

Some caterpillars use silk to help create protective shelters. The “leaf-roller” caterpillars attach silk to both sides of a leaf and then draw the silk tight, pulling the leaf around them, as shown in the picture to the right of a canna skipper. This hides them from predators and creates a safe haven for dining in peace. Other silk shelters are more obvious, such as those created by tenting caterpillars. In that case, large groups of caterpillars create large protective “tents” of silk, in which all the caterpillars can live and eat in relative safety. (Learn more about tent caterpillars here.)

The most well-known use of caterpillar silk is, of course, in preparing to pupate. Moth caterpillars and butterfly caterpillars use the silk differently in this process. Moth caterpillars use silk extensively to spin a cocoon, a protective shelter in which they will shed their skin one final time and form a pupa. This process is especially obvious in the Silkmoth family, including the Polyphemus moths we raise here at BioWorks. These moth caterpillars spin hundreds of feet of unbroken silk, sometimes incorporating nearby leaves and twigs, in a process that can take hours or days. Click here to see time-lapse video of this process.

Butterfly caterpillars do not spin a protective cocoon. Instead, they use their spinnerets to create a small pad of silk to which they attach a hook at the end of their abdomen, known as a cremaster. Some caterpillars also produce a strand of silk about mid-way down their bodies, as an additional anchor to hold them in place while in chrysalis.

In the picture to the right, notice the Eastern Black Swallowtail caterpillar is attached at the end of the abdomen to the stick. (You can click the picture to enlarge it.) Though difficult to see, there is a pad of silk there. Note that the caterpillar has also slung a silken string around its midsection, holding it in place. The string remains even when the caterpillar pupates into chrysalis. If the tail end of the caterpillar should become detached, the center line will still be there to keep the chrysalis safe until the butterfly emerges.

One uncommon use of silk by caterpillars is for hunting. A select few caterpillars around the world are carnivores instead of herbivores, and use silk to catch their prey, much like spiders. One such species is Hyposmocoma molluscivora, a moth found in Hawaii. This caterpillar uses silk to trap snails, after which it climbs inside the shell, backs the snail into a corner, and eats it. Learn more about this unusual caterpillar here.

What About Silk Cloth?
Commercial silk is generally produced by the Domesticated Silkmoth caterpillar, Bombyx mori. This silkworm was domesticated thousands of years ago in Asia from the Wild Silkmoth, Bombyx mandarina. B. mori does not live in the wild, and in fact could not survive in the wild because the adult moth is flightless. The caterpillars are raised in large factories where they are fed White Mulberry (Morus alba) leaves up to eight times a day. Once in cocoon, most of the pupae are not allowed to survive to adult moths, as they would destroy much of the silk when breaking out of the cocoon. The cocoons are generally boiled, which kills the caterpillar and loosens the silk for unwinding. To learn more about the process of producing silk commercially, click here.

Caterpillar Anatomy: Digestion, Respiration, and Locomotion

2011-08-08T09:00:00.000-04:00

Though a caterpillar’s anatomy is somewhat simpler than that of a butterfly, there’s more to a caterpillar’s body than meets the eye. While much of the body is taken up by the digestive tract, appropriate for a creature whose main task in life is eating, a caterpillar’s body also needs to breathe, move, sense the world around it, and defend itself. (Note that caterpillars lack reproductive organs; mating takes place only as adult butterflies.) This week we’ll take a closer look at caterpillar anatomy; look for posts later this week on Caterpillars and Silk and Caterpillar Senses and Defenses.

Digestive Tract:
A caterpillar’s body is basically a long tube. The mouth, with mandibles for chewing, is at one end. The digestive tract runs the length of the body, ending in the anus, where the caterpillar excretes waste. (Learn more about caterpillar waste, called frass, by clicking here.)

This digestive tract is especially easy to see on the Canna Skipper caterpillar (Calpodes ethlius), as it is essentially transparent. The green color on the caterpillar to the right is actually the plant material inside its gut. As it travels through the gut, the caterpillar extracts the nutrients, expelling only that which it cannot use. Caterpillars are extremely efficient digesters.

Legs:
While caterpillars may appear to have many sets of legs, they actually only have six true legs, like all insects. The legs on the three segments of the thorax, toward the front of the body, are the true legs, jointed and ending in hooks. On the abdomen, the caterpillar has sets of prolegs, which are stumpy and end in sticky suction-cups called crochets. These prolegs allow the caterpillar to cling to surfaces even when upside-down.

In the photo of a Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) caterpillar to the left, note the true legs held close to the head, pulling the parsley stem close to the mouth. The prolegs are further down the body, clasping the stem.

Respiration:
Caterpillars also need to breathe. They take in air by means of spiracles, tiny holes along the sides of their bodies that deliver oxygen directly to their body tissues via tracheae, eliminating the need for lungs. Spiracles can be opened and closed to control water entering or exiting the body. Once again, spiracles and their web-like tracheae are easy to see on the transparent body of the Canna Skipper caterpillar below.

The Senses of Butterflies: Hearing

2011-08-05T09:14:00.001-04:00

Some butterfly families have a specialized organ on their wings that works somewhat like an ear. This organ is a fluid filled sac covered with a thin membrane. High frequency sounds will cause the membrane to vibrate and send signals to the butterfly’s brain.

Some butterflies are even able to differentiate between high and low pitch sounds which may help them with locating other members of their species or to avoid predators. The wide veins at the base of the fore wings contain nerve cells similar to those found in the hearing organs. Some species have good enough hearing abilities that they will react to the crunch of leaves under your feet as you approach them or will take flight in response to the click of a camera shutter.

The first butterfly ear structures were discovered in 1912 but it is only in recent years that scientists have begun to study the physiology of these organs. The ear structure on a butterfly wing is known as a Vogel's organ. This structure is made up of a thin tympanum bordered by a ring of rigid chitin and the inner surface of the tympanum has several sensory organs.

Hamadryas: The genus Hamadryas, also known as Cracker Butterflies, are known to emit clicking sounds when they are disturbed. The Blue Cracker (Hamadryas feronia) of Venezuela emits shorts trains of clicks and also double click sounds.

Morphos: Research at the University of Bristol in England has focused on the study of wing ears of the Blue Morpho (Morpho peleides) butterfly. Scientists used a tiny laser beam to scan the surface of the tympanal membrane of the wing ear and determined that different areas of the membrane vibrated with different frequency sounds. Lower frequency sounds vibrated only an area on the outer membrane while higher frequency sounds could vibrate the entire membrane. This means that not only can the butterflies hear sound, but they are likely able to distinguish between different sounds.

Heliconians: In 2004, a UF researcher named Mirian Hay-Roe noticed that the Blue & White Longwing (Heliconius cydno) butterflies that she was studying were making clicking noises. Observation showed that the butterflies made clicking sounds when chasing rivals out of their territory, encountering members of their own species, flying with members of their own species and also while roosting at night. Mirian Hay Roe recoded the clicking sounds of this species and recordings of the noise are available here.

Hedyloids: This superfamily of nocturnal butterflies is often known as the American moth-butterflies. This group of butterflies has been found to possess a Vogel’s organ on their wings that may help them detect and avoid bats, a predator of these nocturnal butterflies.

The Senses of Butterflies: Touch

2011-08-03T10:04:00.002-04:00

Butterflies and other insects experience touch through hairs called tactile setae that grow in flexible sockets much like a ball and socket joint. Beneath the exoskeleton, each tactile setae is attached to a nerve cell which will relay information about the movement of the setae to the brain of the butterfly.

Tactile setae can be found all over the body of the adult butterfly. The proboscis, legs, thorax, abdomen, head, and palpi are all covered in these tactile sensing hairs.

On the wings of an adult butterfly there are several groups of specialized setae and nerves. These groups of setae help the butterfly to sense gravity, wind, changes in air pressure and the position of the wings. Other tactile setae detect the position of the butterfly’s head, legs, antennae and body.
Seta (plural setae) is derived from the Latin for ‘bristle’.

The Senses of Butterflies: Taste and Smell

2011-08-01T09:59:00.001-04:00

Chemoreceptors: Specialized sensory nerve cells or sense organs that respond to chemical stimuli. Etymology: Gk, chemeia + L, recipere, to receive

Butterflies experience taste and smell in much the same way as humans, through the use of chemoreceptors on the body. In humans chemoreceptors can be found on our tongues in the form of taste buds and in specialized sensory cells found in our noses.

The sense of smell in butterflies is experience mainly through their antenna. Butterfly and moth antennae are covered in densely packed chemoreceptors. Depending upon the species of butterfly, these chemoreceptors are utilized to smell the pheromones of the opposite sex of their species so butterflies can find each other to mate. Chemoreceptors may also smell the honey scent of flower nectar and the scents of other food sources.

Tasting with your feet: The butterfly body is covered in chemoreceptors. On the butterfly tarsus (foot) contact chemoreceptors can sense the presence of dissolved sugars like those found in flower nectar. When the taste sensors are activated, the butterfly will uncoil its proboscis to consume the nectar it has detected. By just landing on a surface, a butterfly can taste if something to eat is available.

Female butterflies have specialized chemoreceptors to help them find the right host plant. Female butterflies have tiny spines on the backs of their legs that are used to drum against a plant leaf and release juices from the plant. These juices or the plant surfaces are tested or tasted by chemoreceptors at the bases of the tiny spines and can determine if the female butterfly has found the right host plant for her eggs. Some species of butterfly like the Monarch will test a host plant with all six legs before beginning to lay eggs.

What if you experienced taste through your feet? Here at BioWorks we often ask that question of visiting school children and receive a bunch of frowns and exclamations of “Yuck!” or “Gross!” in response. We often utilize that opportunity to suggest they keep their shoes clean.

Christmas in July!

2011-07-30T08:44:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago, American Meadows (one of our favorite seed catalog companies) posted a message on Facebook offering to donate end-of-season stock to deserving non-profit organizations. We contacted them and were almost immediately rewarded with an amazing shipment of dozens of great plants perfect for growing in the gardens at BioWorks!

Though they may not look very exciting in their plastic bags, these bulbs and bare-root plants promise an amazing riot of color and bloom in the gardens in the months and even years to come. Included in our boxes were:

Dahlias (Spanish Fiesta Mix and Biltmore Estate Marble Ball)
Asclepias incarnata ‘Cinderella’ (the monarch caterpillars will be so happy!)
Daylilies (Congo Coral and Berrylicious)
Astilbe Youngique Pink
Pink Tiger Lilies and Asiatic Lilies
Agapanthus

We’ve been planting like mad, and many of these plants are already beginning to sprout and put on new growth. Look for pictures of these blooms in forthcoming posts as they begin to fill the gardens at BioWorks with vivid colors. Thank you so much, American Meadows!

Planting dahlias in the Tree Grove

The Senses of Butterflies: Vision

2011-07-29T09:47:00.001-04:00

Compound Eyes: Butterfly eyes are composed of thousands of image forming tiny eyes called ommatidia. Each ommatidium is a sensory structure with a lens, cones and retina cells. The ommatidia are arranged in the compound eye so that each individual eye is set at a slightly different angle from the next. This arrangement allows the butterfly eye to simultaneously see in all directions at the same time with a mosaic of individual images that form a whole picture. This type of vision is known as Omni-vision.

Seeing in Color: Cones in the butterfly ommatidia perceive color with different types of color receptors that form Tetrachromatic vision. Tetrachromancy involves four types of higher-intensity light receptors that allow the eye of a butterfly (or birds, some fish, some reptiles and very rare humans) to see a larger spectrum of colors than the normal human eye.

Humans have trichromatic vision. Our eyes perceive a different and smaller set of colors than those of the butterfly. Butterflies can see in many of the colors that we can, but they can also see higher frequency colors beyond violet. To get an idea of how a butterfly sees, take a look at the photography of Dr. Klaus Schmitt of Germany which shows how the same field of flowers is seen by the human eye, the butterfly eye and the eye of a bee.

Different species of butterflies may see different colors. Some species are red-green colorblind while other species have evolved to differentiate between reds and greens. Differences in the ability to perceive various colors likely impact how each species sees and interacts with their environment. One butterfly may have an easy time seeing a particular colored flower while another species may not.

Ultra Violet on the Wing: In 2010, researchers from UC Irvine released information that some butterfly species have specially developed photoreceptors in their eyes for detecting UV colors and that these same species also express a UV-yellow pigment on their wings. Invisible to the human eye, this pigment may help butterflies detect appropriate mates so they have more time to eat, rest, lay eggs and thrive. Species that look very similar to us likely look very different to butterflies who can use the UV markings to quickly determine if another butterfly is of their same species or not.

The Big Picture: Hollywood movies often depict butterfly or insect vision as dozens of copies of a single image, like what you might see through a kaleidoscope. Right before its demise, a movie fly is often depicted as seeing dozens of images of the same flyswatter coming in for the kill. Let’s take a look at how an insect with compound eyes really sees.

Each ommatidium of insects with compound eyes sends a signal to the insect’s brain at the same time and the effect is like that of a mosaic. The picture is quite a bit like an overly pixilated image would appear to human eyes. The vision of butterflies allows these insects to see colors and the rough shape of things but not the fine details that the human eye can distinguish. Each ommatidium sees a part of the whole, but unlike human eyes, these tiny individual eyes are unable to focus.

Take a look at the photograph above which shows a selection of flowers from the gardens. In the photograph to the left you see blurred images much like the type of vision a butterfly might perceive.

Butterflies can see in amazing color and their eyes reveal a nearly 360 degree views of the world around them, even if the picture isn’t entirely clear. They are able to look at the flower they are probing with their proboscis, a butterfly flying to their right and the approaching predator behind them at the same time.

Gaura angustifolia

2011-07-27T09:00:00.000-04:00

Gaura is popular with many wildlife gardeners for its ability to attract bees and butterflies. Plants bought in nurseries are generally of the species Gaura lindheimeri, often sold as Butterfly Gaura. G. lindheimeri is native to Southern Texas and Mexico, but Florida has its own native species, Gaura angustifolia, which is also native to much of the Deep South.

G. angustifolia, also known as Southern Beeblossom and Wild Gaura, grows in dry sandy soils and is frequently found along roadsides. As a single specimen viewed from a distance, the plant seems weedy and the flowers inconsequential. Up close, though, the flowers are delicate and lovely, and when a large area like a median strip fills with hundreds of these plants, the effect can be breathtaking.

Part of the Evening Primrose family (Onagraceae), gaura flowers open as white blooms in the evening, turning a soft rosy pink overnight before fading the next afternoon.These plants can grow up to 5 feet tall, and are covered in flowers along the graceful stems. Bees are especially drawn to these blooms, although butterflies are known to visit them as well.

Wild Gaura was identified by André Michaux, a French explorer and botanist who spent a great deal of time in the Merritt Island area in 1788. Michaux came to America to find species of trees that might be used to re-forest France’s depleted woodlands. He was close friends with William Bartram and helped to identify several new plant species that even the Bartrams had missed in their travels, such as Gaura angustifolia, which literally means “Narrow-leaved Gaura”.

Passiflora and Friends

2011-07-25T08:59:00.000-04:00

Probably no bloom in the MOSI gardens gets as much as attention as the Passionvine. Passiflora incarnata, also called Maypop and Passion Flower, is more than just a pretty face, though – this plant serves as a host for a variety of butterfly caterpillars.
In Central Florida, you’re most likely to find Gulf Fritillary caterpillars chomping on your vines, along with Zebra Longwings, Florida’s state butterfy. You may also come across the occasional Julia Longwing, which are more common further south, and Variegated Fritillary, which are more common further north. Learn more about each of these butterflies and their caterpillars by clicking their names below.

Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae)

Zebra Longwing (Heliconius charithonia)

Julia Longwing (Dryas iulia)

Variegated Fritillary (Euptoieta claudia)

Dragonflies and Damselflies

2011-07-20T09:00:00.000-04:00

Butterflies aren’t the only colorful insects in flight in the BioWorks gardens. Dragonflies and damselflies of every size and color fill the air as well, helping to keep mosquito populations in check. Both dragonflies and damselflies are members of the order Odonata, and there are literally hundreds of different species of these insects in Florida alone.

What’s the Difference?
Dragonflies and damselflies are very similar at first glance, but there are a few ways to tell them apart. The easiest is to look at how the wings are held when at rest. Dragonflies rest with wings held out from their bodies, while damselflies fold their wings together over their backs. If you’re up close, you can also see that dragonfly eyes touch, while damselfly eyes are separated. Damselflies are generally smaller than dragonflies, though this of course varies by species. The pictures to the right show a damselfly on top and a dragonfly on the bottom.

Life Cycle:
Like butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies begin life as an egg, but these eggs are laid in water. When the egg hatches, the creature that emerges is known as a “nymph” (shown at left). Like a caterpillar, a nymph spends its time eating and growing, molting (shedding skin) several times as it grows larger. Unlike caterpillars, though, dragonflies and damselflies do not enter a pupa stage. Instead, they progress directly from nymph to full-grown adult in the final molt. This type of metamorphosis is called “Hemimetabolous” or incomplete metamorphosis. Click here to see amazing video of a dragonfly making the final molt from nymph to adult.

As adults, dragonflies and damselflies are incredibly strong fliers. Unlike butterflies, they are able to move their wing pairs separately, allowing for amazing control in flight. They also fly at very fast speeds, with some species nearing a top speed of 40 miles per hour, making them the fastest insects on earth.

Like many insects, dragonflies and damselflies live only a few weeks as adults, and they spend their time eating and mating. Mating is a very complicated process, with mating dances, courtship rituals, and some interesting acts of contortionism. (Click to learn more about mating rituals and the process.) Ultimately, the insects end up in what is called a “mating wheel”, often resembling the shape of a heart.

Nymph Photo Credit: L. Shyamal via Wikipedia
Mating Damselflies Photo Credit: Karrackoo via Wikipedia

Lubber Grasshoppers

2011-07-18T09:00:00.004-04:00

Lubber grasshoppers (Romalea microptera*) are a common sight in Florida gardens, but their large size and bright coloration still draw plenty of attention. Lubbers are the largest grasshoppers in the United States, growing up to 3 inches as adults. They are native to the Southeastern U.S. as far north as Georgia and the Carolinas and west to Eastern Texas.

Lubbers begin life in late fall as eggs laid in a foamy mass a few inches below the surface of the soil. They spend the winter buried there, emerging in late winter (around mid-March in Central Florida) as “nymphs”. These nymphs are much darker in color and smaller in size than they will be as adults (click here to see a picture). Like other insects, lubber grasshopper nymphs molt (shed their skin) several times as they grow, changing their appearance slightly with each molt. After the fifth molt, the grasshopper reaches its adult form, generally by mid-July.

Adult grasshoppers spend the rest of the summer eating and preparing to mate. As adults, lubber grasshoppers have wings that are less than half the length of their abdomen and so are unable to fly. They also are unable to jump long distances, so their main form of locomotion is a slow, clumsy stroll along the ground.
Their lack of flight and minimal jumping abilities make lubber grasshoppers an easy target for predators. In defense, lubbers have developed several strategies. Like many other brightly-colored insects, lubber grasshoppers taste bad and are in fact toxic to many predators. Birds have been known to die after eating a lubber grasshopper, although some species like shrikes apparently seek out and successfully feed on them.

If the bright warning colors aren’t enough to scare off predators, lubber grasshoppers have the ability to create several forceful secretions. Like other grasshoppers, they can produce “tobacco spit”, a mixture of partially digested plant material mixed with toxins. They can also emit a foamy irritating spray from their thorax along with a fairly startling hissing noise.

Lubber Grasshoppers mating. Note that the male (top) is much smaller than the female.

For their size, lubbers are not as destructive to plants as some other species of grasshoppers. However, in large numbers – such as a hatching of nymphs – they can do a decent amount of damage in the home garden, especially to plants like lilies and amaryllis. Lubbers are easiest to control in the nymph stage, when you can remove them by hand and throw them in a bucket of soapy water. For particularly large infestations, you can resort to pesticides, but remember that in their adult form they are not easy to kill - it takes direct contact with some very nasty chemicals. For more information on controlling infestations of lubber grasshoppers, click here.

*There seems to be some confusion over the scientific name of lubber grasshoppers. Some sources use Romalea microptera, which is considered an older name, while others use Romalea guttata. In any case, these two are the same species.

Butterfly Extinction

2011-07-15T09:26:00.003-04:00

Many butterfly species are currently imperiled, threatened or endangered. The end result of dwindling populations, if no action is taken to assist a population or if a population cannot recover is that the species will become extinct. Sadly, extinction is forever.

At current, more than 20 species of butterflies and moths are federally listed as endangered in the United States. An endangered species is considered to be in danger of extinction in all or a large part of its range. 50 North American species of butterfly and moth are currently considered at risk of extinction by the Xerxes Society.

As of May, 2011 the Imperiled Butterflies of Florida Work Group considers the Florida Zestos Skipper (Epargyreus zestos oberon) and the Rockland Meske’s Skipper (Hesperia meskei pinocayo) to be extinct (Minno and Minno 2009, 2010). The loss of these species represents the first known extinction of butterflies in Florida. Sadly, several other species and subspecies of butterfly are in such drastic population decline that, without management, they are likely to become extinct.

The large and showy Jamaican Giant Swallowtail Butterfly (Pterourus homerus) is found only in two small populations on the island of Jamaica. The Madeira Brimstone, found only on the island of Madeira,(Gonepteryx madeirensis) is in grave danger from habitat loss. Wallace's Golden Birdwing (Ornithoptera croesus) of Maluku is threatened by habitat destruction and widespread use of pesticides meant to control mosquitoes.

Of the 435 species of butterflies in Europe, 1/3 of those species are experiencing a population decline. The Mountain Apollo (Parnassius apollo) was once abundant in Sweden and Finland but now is often found only in a single valley in the Alps.

Also facing threat of extinction is the Queen Alexandra's Birdwing (Ornithoptera alexandrae). Found only in 100 square kilometers of costal Papua New Guinea, this largest species of butterfly in the world has a wingspan over 12 inches. The eruption of Mount Lamington in the 1950’s destroyed a large portion of the butterfly’s habitat and remaining habitat is regularly converted to palm oil plantations which do not support a suite of species needed to keep this butterfly alive. Remaining butterflies face capture in the wild as part of the illegal trade in specimens of endangered animals around the world.

Butterflies Considered Extinct

The following species of butterflies are currently considered to be extinct. Small populations of these species could, in theory, remain but these species are no longer observed in the wild. Some 120 species and 5 subspecies of insects are believed to have gone globally extinct in recent times.

Mbashe River Buff (Deloneura immaculata) – South Africa
Xerces Blue (Glaucopsyche xerces) – USA
Morant's Blue (Lepidochrysops hypopolia) – South Africa
British Large Copper (Lycaena dispar dispar)– subspecies of Large Copper – UK
British Large Blue (Maculinea arion eutyphron)– subspecies of Large Blue – UK
French Scarce Large Blue (Maculinea teleius burdigalensis) – subspecies of Scarce Large Blue – France
Massey's Silver-studded Blue (Plebejus argus masseyi) – subspecies of Silver-studded Blue – UK
Antigua Polydamas Swallowtail (Battus polydamas antiquus) – Antigua
Madeiran Large White (Pieris brassicae wollastoni) – Madiera
Dutch Alcon Blue (Phengaris alcon arenaria) – Netherlands
Atossa Fritillary (Speyeria adiaste atsaos) – USA
Strohbeen's Parnassian (Parnassius clodius strohbeeni) - USA
Florida Zestos Skipper (Epargyreus zestos oberon) - USA
Rockland Meske’s Skipper (Hesperia meskei pinocayo)- USA

Learn More

Wired magazine posted a gallery of endangered butterflies in 2009. Take a look at pictures of some beautiful butterfly species on the brink of extinction.

Named for the Xerxes Blue, the Xerces Society works worldwide to reverse the declining trends of native pollinators and help bolster populations through land management and conservation.

CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) works to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.

Red List of Threatened Species International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) assesses the conservation status of species on a global scale in order to highlight species threatened with extinction and therefore promote their conservation. IUCN currently is tracking populations of some 120 species of butterflies worldwide.

Endangered Species International is committed to reversing the trend of human-induced species extinction, saving endangered animals, and preserving wild places.

Dead Butterflies

2011-07-13T09:03:00.001-04:00

A regular question we hear around the garden is “Why are there dead butterflies on the ground behind the plants?”. The answer: butterflies live very short lives and the plant pots are heavy. Here at BioWorks our butterflies are able to live a comfortable life without many of the dangers of the wild. Nothing is trying to eat them and there is plenty of food and mates, but still they will eventually die.

After just a few weeks, the adult butterfly has reached the end of its life and they will struggle with flight or just be unable to fly. At the end of their short lives, butterflies quietly pass away. In the wild, scavengers will go to work on the remains of the butterfly and in a few days there will be no trace left of the body.

Here in BioWorks we have a massive concentration of butterflies with multiple dozens or even hundreds of adult butterflies depending upon the time of year. Each one of those butterflies will eventually die and without the scavengers of the wild and the moisture of the ground, they break down very slowly. Any time you have a lot of butterflies, you will eventually have a lot of dead butterflies.

When we find dead butterflies we either place them into the base of a plant pot so they can break down naturally or, if the butterfly is in good condition, use the dead butterfly for educational programs. In the BioWorks Classroom, we always have dead butterflies available under the microscope you you can look closely at their wings and bodies.

Every few weeks we drag all of the pots away from the screen walls and sweep behind them which takes care of any dead butterflies we could not previously reach. Until someone invents lighter dirt, this process will remain a great deal of heavy work often done by two women under five feet in height.

I am happy to assure anyone who asks that the butterflies of BioWorks are very well provided for and live comfortable lives longer than they would in nature. When these butterflies die, it is only because they have already mated, laid eggs and then reached the end of their lives.

The Short Lives of Butterflies: Lifespan of butterflies is determined by a combination of species longevity and by environmental factors. Each species will live anywhere between a day and their maximum lifespan in what is referred to as their “expected lifespan”. After emerging from chrysalis in the wild, butterflies must contend with a host of predators, weather factors and environmental conditions which all may serve to shorten the life of a butterfly.

The maximum lifespan for a butterfly is about ten to forty days but some species can live as few as three to five days or as long as a year. In captivity, butterflies can live closer to their maximum lifespan. With the best of environmental conditions, abundant food, plentiful choices in mates and the removal of predators, butterflies can live a great deal longer than they would in the wild.

The Karner Blue (Lycaeides melissa samuelis) lives between 3 and 5 days.
The Great Southern White butterfly lives about 5 to 10 days with males living shorter life spans than females.
Black Swallowtails live about two weeks as adult butterflies.
Many species of butterflies live about 2 weeks to a month on average.
Monarch butterflies usually live 1 to 4 months.
Zebra Longwing butterflies can live 3 to 9 months.
The Mourning Cloak butterfly can live 10 to 11 months.
A migrating Monarch butterfly can live up to 12 months.

Brush Feet

2011-07-11T10:08:00.001-04:00

Insects have 6 legs, so why do some butterflies like Zebra Longwings seem to only have 4 legs?

Zebra Longwings is a species of butterfly belonging to the Nymphalidae family of butterflies. Also known as brush-footed, these adult butterflies have a first pair of legs that is very reduced in size giving them the appearance of having only 4 legs instead of 6. They also have caterpillars that tend to be spiky and chrysalids with shiny spots.

The Nymphalidae family is broken into 5 clades. Greek for "branch", clades are a taxonimic group for species that derive from a common ancestor. The 5 clades of the Nymphalidae family are libytheine (Snout butterflies), danaine (milkweed butterflies like the Monarch and Queen), satyrine (which includes Morphos), heliconiine (such as Zebra Longwings) and nymphaline (a sister group to heliconiine that includes Emperors). This family includes about 5,000 individual species that bear the four-footed look of Nymphalidae.

Population Extirpation

2011-07-08T09:03:00.002-04:00

Local extinction occurs when a plant or animal once found in an area ceases to exist in that area but is still found elsewhere. This local extinction is referred to as extirpation.

Local extinctions often are caused by changes in a local ecology. For instance, when natural lands are developed into a housing development, gold course, or shopping area the local suite of species is often pushed out to make way for development. For proper building, changes must be made to level out the ground and sometimes amend the type of soil found there. Once a building is erected, parking areas and roads must be created and landscaping is often planted that does not reflect the plants that once existed in that area.

Larger scale versions of ecology change have occurred when humans have moved into an area en masse and the area has become urbanized. Cities and large towns take up vast amounts of space and can drastically reduce open areas for plants and animals. When ecology changes, local populations of plants and animals may no longer have conditions in which they will thrive which causes these species to become extinct in that local.

Extirpation of species, especially butterflies is very common in urban and developed areas. Butterflies are specialists and often have larvae that can eat only one or a very few species of host plant. When their host plant is no longer available, there is way that a butterfly population can sustain itself. Butterflies without a host plant will either travel in search of host plants elsewhere or will die without creating another generation.

Additional challenges may occur if habitats are fractured and butterflies cannot easily pass from one sustainable habitat to another, if butterflies are collected in large numbers for display by collectors or is widespread use of pesticides further reduces a population. There are many reasons why a species can become extirpated from a local area and once they are gone it becomes exceptionally difficult to make that area suitable for a species again. Even if new habitat is created, repopulating an area may be costly, difficult or even impossible.

San Francisco

In San Francisco, the native sand dune habitats were home to several unique species and sub-species of butterflies. First described in 1852, the Xerces Blue (Glaucopsyche xerces) population dwindled as the city of San Francisco spread and overtook the sand dunes. This species first disappeared from the San Francisco peninsula and then was last recorded in the wild in 1941.

Sthenele Satyr (Cercyonis sthenele sthenele) disappeared from the city’s westerly dunes by 1880 and the two small populations of Pheres Blue butterflies (Icaricia icarioides pheres) had disappeared from the San Francisco peninsula by 1950. The Myrtle's Silverspot (Speyeria zerene myrtleae), Quino Checkerspot (Euphydryas editha quino) and Bay Checkerspot (Euphydryas editha bayensis) are now mostly or entirely gone from the area.

Several species in the San Francisco peninsula are currently considered endangered including the Mission Blue (Aricia icarioides missionensis) and San Bruno Elfin butterfly (Callophrys mossii bayensis).

Florida

The peninsula of Florida and the Florida Keys contain a variety of unique habitats that contain vast numbers of species. Agriculture and development have shrunk available habitats for our native butterflies and have also reduced availability of host plants for these species. Pine Rockland and sand dune habitats continue to dwindle as land with higher elevations and beach front property is prized by development.

Due to habitat loss and scarcity of host plants, population of Miami Blue Butterfly (Cyclargus thomasi bethunebakeri) plummeted in recent years. In peninsular Florida and the Florida Keys populations decreased in size and range and many populations died out. Despite attempts at captive breeding and reintroduction to the wild, populations of the Miami Blue have not re-established in the wild. Now extirpated in most of it’s range, small populations of the Miami Blue can be found in the Key West National Wildlife Refuge.

The Zestos Skipper (Epargyteus zestos) is now considered to be entirely extirpated from the Florida Keys. Remaining populations of this species can now be found only in the West Indies. Many other species of imperiled Florida butterflies face extirpation from the Florida Peninsula and even the Florida Keys.

As populations of rare Florida butterflies continue to extirpate from portions of their former range, the overall numbers of their populations dwindle. Small numbers of live adults creates smaller pools of available breeding partners and populations become even more unstable. For each creature a Minimum Viable Population is needed to ensure survival of the species. When a population drops below this minimum only human intervention in the form of captive breeding and reintroduction programs are likely to keep a species from becoming globally extinct.

Learn more about current efforts in education, research and species recovery by the Butterfly Conservation Initiative.

Read more about research in Florida at the Florida Butterfly Monitoring Network website.

On the Wings of Butterflies

2011-07-06T09:25:00.001-04:00

Butterflies each have four wings, two fore wings and two hind wings that are attached to segments of the butterfly thorax.

Veins: Wings are composed of two fine chitonous or membrane layers which are supported and nourished by veins that run throughout the wings. The pattern of these veins is different for every genus of butterfly and this difference is used by entomologists to help classify and recognize butterflies that may look similar but are actually not closely related.

Butterflies and moths belong to the order Lepidoptera. This name means "scale- wing" in Latin and refers to the scale cell structures found on the wings.

Scales: These tiny scales are not very noticeable to the eye when looking at a whole butterfly wing, but if the wing is touched you will find a fine colored dust left behind. That dust is actually the tiny scales that cover the wings of the insect.

Tiny sockets in the membranes hold in the individual wing scales which give further support to the wings. In butterflies, these scales overlap in orderly rows just like shingles on a roof. Much like shingles, removing a bunch of them is a bad idea. Without the support of the wing scales, butterfly wings are not as structurally sound and are more likely to break. They are already delicate creatures, so losing that kind of support to their mode of transportation isn't so good for them.

The ridges in our fingerprints and the oils in our skin are more than enough to pry these wing scales loose with even the lightest of touch. If the scales are removed from both sides of the wings, you will find yourself with a somewhat brittle and transparent wing. Yes, you really can see right through it when the scales are rubbed off. Once removed, these scales will never grow back. Older butterflies will often lose scales to natural attrition, and their wings will appear duller or as if they have tiny pinpoint holes covering them just from the loss of scales.

These tiny wing scales plug into equally tiny sockets on the wings and are individually colored to create the incredible wing patterns which are so appreciated by human observers. The shapes, pigmentation and structures of each wing scale differ greatly. Some scales are structured in such a way that they refract light rays and can appear iridescent or as different colors from different angles which is very similar to LED lights.

Special Scales: Lastly, some butterfly scales are very specialized. Androconia are a specialized scales on male butterflies that are scented to help attract mates during courtship. The tiny hairs that can be seen on a butterfly's head are actually scale that stand straight up and just look like hairs.

The many uses of wings:

Patterns: The patterns on the wings of a butterfly serve several purposes. The colors and shapes help butterfly to identify members of their species as possible mates or even as intruders in the territory of a particular male butterfly. Bright colors can warn predators that a butterfly species may be toxic when ingested. Some species have coloring and patterns on their wings that help them to camouflage in their surroundings and hide from prey.

Thermo-regulation: Dark colors on a butterfly wing can act a bit like solar panels, absorbing heat and warming the haemolymph (blood) of the butterfly. When a butterfly needs more warmth they will rest in a sunny place with their wings open and bask in the sunlight. Butterflies can also use their flight muscles to shiver their wings to help them warm up.

Flight: Different wing shapes help butterflies fly in different ways. Skippers have triangular fore-wings which help them spring quickly into flight. Larger rounder wings make for a flight that involves a lazier style and gliding. Some butterflies can fly up to 10,000 feet and around 3,000 miles in their lifetime, using only their incredibly delicate wings.

Hearing Organs: Some butterfly families including Heliconius butterflies, known also as Longwings, have a specialized organ on their wings that works somewhat like an ear. This organ is a fluid filled sac covered with a thin membrane. High frequency sounds will cause the membrane to vibrate and send signals to the butterfly’s brain.

Some butterflies are even able to differentiate between high and low pitch sounds which may help them with locating other members of their species or to avoid predators. The wide veins at the base of the fore wings contain nerve cells similar to those found in the hearing organs. Some species have good enough hearing abilities that they will react the the crunch of leaves under your feet as you approach them or take flight in response to the click of a camera shutter.

Butterfly Anatomy – The Abdomen

2011-07-04T09:00:00.000-04:00

The abdomen is made up of multiple segments made of a hard material called chitin. They are connected by flexible tissue, allowing the butterfly to move the abdomen as needed for flying and mating.

Digestion:
Butterflies are extremely efficient at digestion, leaving little behind for waste. Liquid enters through the proboscis and passes into an organ called the crop, where it is stored until digested by the midgut. During digestion nutrients from food are either absorbed into the blood or are stored as fats. Any solid waste is then excreted as frass. (Click here to learn more about frass.)

Respiration:
Butterflies breathe by drawing air in through microscopic holes called spiracles. Tiny tubes called tracheae take oxygen directly to the body tissues.

Reproductive System:
The male butterfly has a pair of claspers at the end of the abdomen used to hold onto the female abdomen during mating. The genitalia of the male and female lock together at the ends of the abdomens, and butterflies may stay attached for hours, even in flight. The genitalia of each species has a specific shape, meaning that cross-breeding between species is not physically possible.

During mating, most males provide a spermatophore, a package of sperm and nutrients the female needs to produce and lay eggs. The female butterfly then uses the ovipositor at the end of her abdomen to release the fertilized eggs onto a host plant. (Click here to learn more about mating.)

Imperiled Butterflies: Klot’s Palatka Skipper

2011-07-01T09:07:00.001-04:00

The Klot’s Palatka Skipper (Euphyes pilatka klotsi) is a subspecies of the Palatka Skipper found only in the Florida Keys. This species hosts on Sawgrass (Cladium jamaicense) and caterpillars use bits of silk to roll the blades of sawgrass around their bodies to create a leaf shelter. The adult butterfly is a large skipper with a wingspan about 1 3/4 - 2 1/8 inches. The underside of the wings are an unmarked tawny color and the topside of the wings are dark brown marked with orange. This species has historically been a resident of the lower Florida Keys.

In October of 2005, Hurricane Wilma made landfall in Southern Florida and dramatically affected the Florida Keys. The most intense hurricane ever recorded in the Carribean basin, Wilma reached wind speeds of 185 miles per hour. Wilma made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane. High winds and two cycles of storm surge flooding devastated portions of the Keys. In Key West and other low lying areas of the lower Keys were inundated with up to three feet of salt water.

The Pine Rockland habitats on Big Pine Key and several other islands were dramatically disturbed by this storm. The Pine Rockland habitats have a broad range of plant and animal diversity that are especially suited for the habitat and occur no where else in the world. Suring Hurricane Wilma, trees were toppled and salt water washed across the rocky ground. In Pine Rocklands like Big Pine Key, plants grow in soil deposits found in limestone rock fissures and are often surrounded by areas of bare rock. Portions of these areas were swamped with salt water that permeated the soil, killing plants and salting the soil and forced endangered Key Deer to swim to safety in mangroves and on higher ground.

By 2007, studies showed a marked decline in several species of already rare plants. As Pine Rockland plants were affected, so have been species of butterflies which hosted on those plants. Among those plants that decreased in number was the host of the Klot’s Palatka Skipper, Sawgrass (Cladium jamaicense). Already imperiled, this species and several other species of butterfly fell into further decline. By the fall of 2006, the Cuban Crescent, Tropical Buckeye, Eufala Skipper, Twin-spot Skipper, Amethyst Hairstreak, Nickerbean Blue, and Florida Leafwing seemed to be gone from the Lower Keys.

Low numbers of the Klot’s Palatka Skipper are now found only in National Key Deer Preserve on Big Pine Key. Populations of this species and others that depend on the fragile remains of Pine Rockland habitat may be just a hurricane away from extinction.

Butterfly Anatomy – The Thorax and Legs

2011-06-30T09:00:00.001-04:00

The thorax is the middle section of a butterfly’s body, and basically serves as the muscular foundation for the legs and wings. The thorax is made up of three segments. Each segment has one pair of legs attached, while the second and third segments each have a pair of wings attached as well.

A butterfly, like all other insects, has six legs. (Butterflies in the family Nymphalidae, which include Monarchs, appear to have only four legs, as their two front legs are very small and kept pressed close to the thorax.)

Each leg has six segments and ends in a tarsus (foot) that the butterfly can use to grip flowers and plants for security. Tiny olfactory sensors cover the legs, allowing butterflies to “taste” with their feet. By landing on a plant, butterflies can judge whether it offers nectar or (in the case of females) a suitable place to lay eggs.

Look for a detailed post on butterfly wings soon as part of the continuing series on Butterfly Anatomy.

Butterfly Anatomy – The Head

2011-06-29T09:00:00.006-04:00

Eyes:
A butterfly’s compound eyes are made up of thousands of ommatidia, each of which senses light and images and provides the butterfly with a mosaic view of the world around them. Butterflies can see a nearly 360 degree radius without moving their heads.
Butterflies see in color and in ultra-violet light, making their view of the world very different from ours. For instance, they can detect patterns on a flower’s petals that human eyes cannot, allowing them to easily tell a yellow flower that is a good source of nectar from a different kind of yellow flower that is not.

Proboscis:
The proboscis is a straw-like tube that curls up when not in use. The butterfly can extend the proboscis deep into a flower to sip nectar. Butterflies also use the proboscis to drink water and juice from rotting fruits. Some species, like Zebra Longwings, also use their proboscis to collect pollen, from which they obtain extra sustenance.

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Antennae:
Butterfly antennae are segmented and can be moved and positioned to help the butterfly sense their surroundings. Butterflies can use their antennae to detect pheremones, or scents that help butterflies locate mates. They also use them to test the chemical qualities of plants or soil. It is even conjectured that butterflies use their antennae for communication.

Johnston’s Organ:
At the base of the antennae is the Johnston’s Organ, which helps a butterfly maintain balance and orientation in flight. This organ senses the position of the antennae and detects how they may be affected by outside influences like wind. This allows the butterfly to make fine adjustments to its wings and maintain balance while flying.

Volunteer Roll Call

2011-06-28T14:46:00.001-04:00

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New Volunteers: We have some new volunteers from USF and they are great! Welcome to Ben, Danielle, Elisa, Jaeson, Jonelle, Justina and Shenique from the Bulls Serve program. We are happy to have you and welcome your enthusiasm for the gardens.
Returning Volunteers: A big welcome back for the summer to returning volunteer Jelena! Any time Jelena has a break in her studies she can be found back here working with the caterpillars and gardens!
All Through the Year Volunteers: Lastly, a big thank you for continuing volunteers Patti Telander Wilson and Carol Loibl! Congratulations are also due for Patti on the birth of her first grandchild, Nathan Anthony. In about 16 years we hope to see him here in the gardens with grandma.
Retiring Volunteers: This spring, Ms. Naomi May retired from our butterfly garden volunteer program, at least for the duration of the summer. Naomi had put in over 2,000 hours of volunteer service during her years at MOSI and work in the gardens was tireless and dedicated. This spring we also bid farewell to Melanie and Claire. Thank you ladies for your long hours of service and we wish you well in all of your future projects! The butterfly garden is better because each of you helped to make it that way.
Thanks to all of our volunteers for making the garden look great!

Butterfly Anatomy

2011-06-27T09:25:00.001-04:00

200 million years of lepidoptera evolution has created an incredibly complex insect. There are some 15,000 species of butterflies with specially developed sensory organs, feeding abilities, complete metamorphosis and for some species, the ability to fly some 3,000 miles that are all the work of countless adaptations to the environment. These fantastic and fascinating creatures are even more fantastic and fascinating when one looks even closer at their anatomy.

For the next several posts we’ll take a look at how a butterfly is put together and uniquely adapted for the challenges of their environments.

A butterfly body is composed of three main segments: the head, the thorax and the abdomen. We’ll cover each of these sections as a separate post and include all of the body parts that are attached to that segment. After that we will focus on other topics relating to butterfly anatomy.

If we haven’t answered a question you might have, please drop us a comment along the way and tell us what you would like to know more about.

Imperiled Butterflies: Schaus Swallowtail

2011-06-24T08:38:00.002-04:00

About 150 butterfly species are found throughout Florida. 15 of those species are found only in extreme southern Florida and the Florida Keys. Continued expansion of urban development and widespread use of pesticides used to control mosquito populations have put many of these species in jeopardy.

This is part six of a multi-part series covering Florida’s imperiled butterflies.

Schaus Swallowtail

The Schaus Swallowtail (Heraclides aristodemus ponceanus) was first discovered at the turn of the last century in the Miami area and just 76 years later it was first listed as a threatened species. By 1984, the drastic reduction of this species’ habitat caused it to be upgraded to endangered. Once found from Miami south to Lower Matecumbe Key, this butterfly is now found only from Key Biscayne Park to northern Key Largo and Upper Matecumbe Key. The last Schaus Swallowtail was observed on the Florida mainland in 1924.

In 1992, Hurricane Andrew gravely impacted the remaining habitat of this butterfly and there were as few as several dozen Schaus Swallowtails left in the wild. A captive breeding and release program was undertaken and the species reached a high of 1,200 to 1,400 individuals in 1996 and 1997. In 1998, Hurricane Georges struck the areas where this population resided, followed by several years of drought. By 2002 the population was estimated to be about 190-230 adults in the wild.

The Schaus Swallowtail resides only in hardwood hammocks and their larvae feed on hop tree (Ptelea trifoliata) , torchwood (Amyris elemifera) and wild lime (Xanthoxylum fagara). Adult butterflies nectar on flowering plants such as guava, wild tamarind, and cheese shrub. Ongoing projects in the Florida Keys and Miami area seek to create new habitat for this species by planting larval hosts and adult nectar sources on private and public lands.

Currently, the Schaus Swallowtail has a conservation status of T1- Critically imperiled globally because of extreme rarity (5 or fewer occurrences, or very few remaining individuals), or because of some factor of its biology making it especially vulnerable to extinction. (Critically endangered throughout its range).

Magnolia

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Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) are native to the Southeast region of North America. Growing to 20-30 meters in height, Southern Magnolia have large and fragrant white blossoms in the late Spring. The tree has a leathery evergreen leaf with an under-side that is yellowish-brown and slightly furry to the touch.

Magnolia is an ancient genus of flowering trees that evolved before bees and have flowers designed to be pollinated by beetles. The flowers of these trees have tough carpels that can resist damage done by beetles walking and crawling through the flowers. Found throughout the Americas, southeast Asia and the West Indies, magnolias were named for the French Botanist Pierre Magnol (1638-1715) who introduced the concept of grouping plants by family based upon common combinations of morphological characters.

Our Historic Tree Grove at MOSI is host to two magnolia trees and others can be found planted around the MOSI property.

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