Butterfly Memoirs
Butterfly Memoirs
By: Christine Scheer
My first experience with butterfly gardening happened quite by accident. Several years ago we were living in Florida and had planted a few citrus trees. It was not long before I noticed very large caterpillars that looked like crawling bird droppings on the trees. I must admit that few of these precious caterpillars never made it to see the world as a butterfly. I was very uneducated and truthfully not much of a gardener at the time. I have since learned one of the cardinal sins as a gardener is to kill something without first finding out what it is. I also learned that butterfly gardening is probably one of the most fascinating, relaxing, rewarding and uplifting past times you can engage in as a gardener.
With a little education and a few simple observation skills anyone can soon enjoy the company of several different types of butterflies in their own backyard. Through educating myself, I learned that those large bird dropping-like caterpillars would eventually become Giant Swallowtail butterflies. I also learned that if I planted the right plants, the butterflies would soon find their way to my yard and lay eggs on those plants. My butterfly garden started out as a small larval food source (caterpillar food) for the Giant Swallowtail and the Monarch. I soon had many butterflies hatching out. I also soon discovered that adult butterflies need nectar if they are going to be loyal to your yard. My garden soon expanded to a complete habitat that would support the butterflies from egg to adult.
This article will provide a brief overview of a typical butterfly life cycle. Happy gardening!
A butterfly starts out life as an egg. When the female butterfly is ready to lay eggs she seeks the right plant food through a combination of sight and "taste." At this time you may notice a butterfly touching the plants as she passes through the garden. After finding what looks like the right plant she touches the plant with her feet and is able to "taste" or detect whether the plant is actually what she wants. When she finds the appropriate food source she is ready to lay her eggs or "ovadeposit." At this time the butterfly will appear to hover over the plant part she is depositing the egg on (usually the underside of a leaf). The eggs may be laid in clusters or singly depending on the butterfly. You may notice the butterfly returning again and again to the plant before the job is done.
After several days the tiny caterpillars hatch by munching their way out of the encasement. They will usually finish eating the eggshell before going to work on the plant food. These little critters have a lot of growing to do in a short amount of time. They waste no time in beginning their almost constant feeding until pupation. It is wise to remember that any poison applied to the plant will be ingested by the caterpillars. Another principle learned early in gardening is that there are more than enough predators out there for whatever insects that may attack my plants. If I am patient and observant I will usually find that if I cannot pick it off myself something else will do it for me. My purpose in butterfly gardening is to encourage nature to do what it does best. If I interfere by using pesticides I will upset the balance. My garden may not look like a magazine layout but it is a beautifully functioning safe habitat.
The caterpillar will progress through several instars or growth stages before reaching the point where it searches for a perfect spot to pupate. With each instar the caterpillar sheds its skin somewhat like a snake does and in this way allows for growth. Usually the shed skin will be eaten by the caterpillar soon after shedding. A new instar may produce a caterpillar that looks different than the one it just shed.
Pupation is a significant event. The caterpillar must choose a safe location where its chances of survival will be greatest. Many times this means leaving the larval food source and finding a place less likely to be noticed and more structurally sound. One may find a butterfly pupa (chrysalis) on a fence, a mailbox, a branch or any other stable structure sometimes far away from the larval food source.
Forming a chrysalis or a pupa requires an entire restructuring of the caterpillar. This process can take up to many hours. This is a time of high vulnerability as the caterpillar is no longer able to crawl away. By attaching itself it has started in motion a chain of events. The caterpillar inside will become a liquid-like substance and the outer last remnant of chrysalis takes shape. The chrysalis will in most cases take on some characteristic of its surroundings. It may appear to look like a leaf or a bark. After several days a butterfly will emerge. Once emerged it has many tasks to perform over the next hour or two. Initially it will be wet and shriveled looking. It will immediately begin to pump fluid out of its plump body into its wings. It will zip together the two halves of its proboscis (the drinking straw it uses to gather nectar and nutrients). Finally, it will eject any left over fluid. By now the wings have hardened and the butterfly is ready for its first flight.
In addition to flowers for nectar many adult butterflies enjoy very ripe juicy fruit such as bananas or peaches set out in a sunny location. An area of mud or ashes and mud for "puddling" is also attractive (see sidebar, right). Dung is also something a butterfly may find attractive. These are all sources of nutrients. Another activity a butterfly enjoys is "sunning." A rock in the sun can provide a suitable surface. A butterfly is unable to fly in cool temperatures and may be found clinging to the undersides of a leaf or branch. A butterfly box can be helpful in the yard. Butterflies prefer nectaring in full sun so this is something to keep in mind when planting flowers.
Many naturally occurring wildflowers such as bluebonnets, clovers, nettles, thistles and mallows (the list goes on) will provide larval/nectar food source for a variety of butterflies. Trees are also a larval food source. Some are the Cottonwood, Hackberry, Texas Persimmon, and willows.
Butterflies cannot crawl into a tubular flower like a bumblebee. Nor can they reach farther than their proboscis allows. Therefore, they prefer flowers they can land on and conveniently sip from.
Now that you have seen how simple it is, do not be afraid to get started. It really only takes a small area to make a big difference in how a butterfly sees your yard.