Meet our Butterfly Keeper, Adam
What butterflies are we seeing in the Garden this summer?
We’ve seen tiger swallowtails, red admirals, painted ladies, and fetterlings.
Pictured: Eastern tiger swallowtail
(Source: birdsandblooms.com)
Why haven’t we seen the Monarchs this summer yet?
The Monarchs come up from Mexico and based on what’s left there, this year is already looking bleaker than years past. Normally, we should see the Monarchs in mid-June, but I still have no Monarch eggs. We are planting more milkweed to give Monarchs what they need.
Pictured: Monarch butterfly
(Source: Britannica)
Why is there a new cage for the butterflies this year?
The cage I was using last year was actually a lizard cage. Flies and other predators would get in, so I’m stepping up the cages this year by using one specifically for butterflies.
Are there any plants the butterflies like the most?
Coneflowers, bee balm, zinnias, Black-eyed Susans, salvia, and the butterfly bush.
Pictured: Coneflower
(Source: Seed Savers Exchange)
Can you touch butterflies?
I try not to because they’re fragile, so the only time I touch them is to coax them out of the cage when I release them.
Why do and how do butterflies pollinate?
They’re good pollinators and the flowers are a good source of food for them. When a butterfly lands on a flower to drink nectar through their long tongues, the flower’s pollen becomes attached to the butterfly. As a butterfly moves through the Garden from flower to flower, one flower’s pollen transfers to another in the process called pollination.
What is the lifecycle of a butterfly?
After a female lays the eggs, the eggs take anywhere from three to seven days to hatch, and then they start feeding on a host plant as larva. When the caterpillar has grown enough, they form a chrysalis in order to metamorphose. As adult butterflies, they will break out of their shell, crawl out and fly off, and the average adult lifespan is two weeks.