Yesterday, a homeowner visiting my garden told me that her subdivision in Wisconsin has classified milkweed as a 'noxious weed' and thus residents are strictly prohibited from planting it on their properties. I clarified that she did in fact mean asclepias that was used by Monarch larvae for food. This means that milkweed is classified with ragweed...

I do fairly regular interviews concerning butterflies and the common questions of 'Are there less butterflies now than when I was a child? It seems that way'. Is it so shocking?

Humans move in to an area and build their homes, landscape their yards... and then often say they miss the things that drew them to that area. Butterflies, flowers, birds. Yet, we make no provisions for them and in some instances even ban their food plants. So yes, there are likely less butterflies than you can remember as a child... that or they had to wing much farther away to find food and you will never see them.

How very sad.

Just finished with planting all the summer annuals in the garden, which is very hot work for June in Florida. I am very glad to be done with annuals until winter replant in december or january. Today's question came from a young lady called "Sissy" by her much younger and toddler brother.

Sissy asks: What eats butterflies?

The answer: Darn near anything that can catch them at any stage of the game.

( Food for Thought )

An orange barred sulphur butterfly still in chrysalis, but not for long...

( Almost Cooked )

A great article from the New York Times about monarch migration can be found here.

Question: How do I say butterfly in other languages?

Answer: Butterflywebsite.com gives us a list of some 204 words for butterfly in other languages.

Enjoy!

Question: What's the difference between a moth and a butterfly? 

Answer: This is an answer with many parts. Butterflies and moths have many similarities but also a host of differences. Many of the differences have exceptions, but here are some good generalizations. 

Scientists create hybrid butterfly species in lab

Neat article about the Heliconius heurippa, a wild occuring hybrid of two Columbian species.

Here is a much more technical paper about this species.

Can the butterflies bite me? asked by a terrified child this morning.

To bite you, the butterflies would probably need teeth. Good thing they don't have any.
( Read more... )

How fast, high and far can butterflies fly?

I'm still impressed with the answers to this question.
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Which plants are good hosts for butterflies in Florida? What should I plant?

Well, the following list is pretty specific to Florida butterflies, especially those in central Florida... but I had to compile it, so I might as well share. These plants will bring the caterpillars to your yard. Some are easy to find, some are incredibly difficult.

This is a very long list, but here goes.
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From a small child in the garden this morning:

What is the dust that comes off on my fingers when I touch a butterfly?

Ok, that stuff is important to the butterfly, so here is why we should not touch them any more:
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What is the world's smallest butterfly?

A matter of some debate really. Several members of the Blue (or Lycaenidae) family vie for this somewhat coveted title.
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What is the biggest butterfly?

Luckily, this one lives on another continent. I think I would have heart failure if I saw this in the wild.
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How big do they get? Do butterflies grow as they age?

When a butterfly comes out of their chrysalis, they will be their full size.
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When researching Luna Moths, I noticed that pictures of the larvae’s 1st instar vary in color from dark greenish-brown, to variegated green, to the light apple-green color of my larvae. Later instars show variation in the darkness of the little hairy knobs on their bodies from yellow or green, to a dark brownish color. I've also noticed that pictures of the moths themselves show similar variation with some being a light green with few markings, and others being quite decorative, with a beautiful pattern made of various shades of green.

Why is there such variation within the species?

Variations on a theme can be explained by UV exposure, natural color changes, poor photography, food sources, geographical locations, and gender. And yes, there are probably other reasons too.
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How long do butterflies live?

Butterflies usually live around 2 weeks, but there are many exceptions to any rule.
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How far can monarchs fly?

Monarchs can fly an amazing distance when migrating.
( Read more... )

Can butterflies see in color?

Butterflies can see in color, and they can also see in the UV spectrum as well.
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What happens inside the chrysalis?

Not the easiest question to answer, but here we go. Let's talk metamorphosis.
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Why do these caterpillars on my orange tree stink? They look like poo, and smell worse. What are they?

Your caterpillars are Giant Swallowtails, and yes, they do smell bad.
( Read more... )