Flutterby News Spring 2008 - Panhandle Butterfly House

Spring 2008
Flutterby
News
Mariposa of the Month
in southern regions.
BlackSwallowtail
Wing span: 3 1/4 - 4 1/4
inches (8 - 11 cm).
Papilio polyxenes
Attributes of Papilio polyxenes
Caterpillar hosts: Leaves of
plants in the parsley family
(Apiaceae) including Queen
Anneʼs Lace, carrot, celery and
dill. Sometimes plants in the
citrus family (Rutaceae) are
preferred.
Family: Parnassians and
Swallowtails (Papilionidae)
Subfamily: Swallowtails (Papilioninae)
Adult food: Nectar from flowers including red clover, milkweed, and thistles.
Identification: Upper surface of wings mostly black;
on inner edge of hindwing
is a black spot centered in
larger orange spot. Male
has yellow band near edge
of wings; female has row
of yellow spots. Female
hindwinghasiridescent blue
band. In the Southwest, yellow forms predominate in
the subspecies P. coloro.
Life history: Males perch
and patrol for receptive
females. Female lays eggs
singly on leaves and flowers
of the host, which are then
eaten by hatching larvae.
Hibernates as a chrysalis.
Flight: One-2 flights from
April-October in northern
regions of range; 3 flights
in southern regions.
Habitat: A variety of open areas including fields, suburbs,
marshes, deserts, and roadsides.
Swallowtail Caterpillar
Parsley
Range: Most of the eastern
U.S., north into Quebec, west
into S. Saskatchewan, Colorado and SE. California; south to
n. South America. Subspecies
P. coloro in desert Southwest.
Conservation: Not usually of
concern.
NatureServe Global Status: G5
- Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare
in parts of its range, especially
at the periphery.
Management needs: Maintain
open fields in East.
Schedule a Group Tour!!
Planting Day Pics!
Is your group looking for something a bit
different to do; something to put a smile on
everyone’s face? The Butterfly House is a great
destination! The outside gardens are a colorful
example of what you can plant in your own yard
to attract butterflies and our tours give you an
insight into the life of a butterfly.
The Tour Guides are anticipating a great
and educational 2008-touring season. Last year
we had over 230 children and around 111 adults
take advantage of our summer tours. Additionally, 162 children and 36 adults visited during
Karen Broughton, Theresa Friday, Jeanne
our Monarch Fest Tours scheduled especially
Blage, Cliffogene Stillwell, Jude Groninger,
for school children. Jytte Fawzy and Mary
Blaire Blage, Kay Mitchell, Rosie Tinsley
Peterzen will again chair the Tour Guides and
are delighted that Jere Wright, PJ Danneker and
Edith Blankenship will be returning as guides.
They are hoping to grow their staff after docent
recruiting and training is finished this spring.
Reservations are now being taken for both
adult and childrens’ tours which will be beginning Monday 20 April. These tours will be available through our open season. Please watch our
website for specific closing dates. The tour visit
consists of a basic lesson on butterfly conservation, the life cycle and habits of the butterfly followed by a journey through the sanctuary where
one can view live Florida Butterflies, learn the
flowers and host plants they enjoy and be able to
see the stages of metamorphosis in the nursery.
We look forward to hosting school children in
April and May, as it is possible to schedule tours
before the end of the school year. We are proud
to say that our curriculum meets the Sunshine
State Standards for Florida. To schedule a tour,
Susan Medlin, Jeanne Blage,
go to our Website, http://panhandlebutterflyhou
Theresa Friday
se.org/ and click the page “Come See Us” and
then click the link saying “Contact Us” to write
an email requesting a tour. State who you are,
when you would like a tour and please include a
phone number. One of the chairs will get back to
you. The Butterfly House is reserved for tours on
Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday of each week
so all tours must be scheduled on those days. We
regret to say that groups are not encouraged on
Thursday through Sunday as the Butterfly House
is open to the general public those days, the
guides are not scheduled and the extra amount
of people tends to slow the general traffic flow
in the House. The Panhandle Butterfly House is
one of the few, if not the only one in the United
States that is supported entirely by donations and
manned by volunteers. Donations are appreciated
and a $1 minimum per person is recommended.
We are looking forward to your visit!
Contact us early to be sure of availability!
Mary Peterzen--Docent Co Chairman
Theresa
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The Beautiful Butterflies of the World
The Panhandle Butterfly House
has captivated visitors with living
butterflies and a beautiful array of
plant life for more than a decade.
It has also been the location of an
amazing collection of almost 300
butterflies from around the world
collected and donated by Dr. Tom
Grow, of Pensacola Beach. He entrusted Santa Rosa County Environmental Horticulture Agent Theresa
Friday with its care and maintenance.
In addition to its use as a display at
the Butterfly House, the collection
will be used to educate the public
and students throughout the county.
The collection was in need of
restoration due to its age. In addition,
many specimens were not identified.
Barry Ballard, SRC Horticulture
Technician, undertook the job of
refurbishing the collection and cataloguing the butterflies. The first step
in the maintenance of the collection
was the refinishing of the very old
wooden boxes. The butterfly specimens were very delicate. In order to
minimize handling, pictures were
taken of each butterfly for identification purposes. Information that was
attached to each specimen was recorded as pictures were taken. Identification numbers were assigned to
each butterfly. After taking pictures,
Barry identified most of the butterflies using various texts and online
resources. Pictures and information
were then sent to Keith Willmott, Assistant Curator of Lepidoptera at the
Florida Museum of Natural History
who completed the identification of
almost every specimen.
The collection has been
organized to answer the two most
frequently asked questions of visitors: Where are they from and what
are their names? The butterflies are
so varied in their ranges that the
simplest arrangement was based on
the continent from which they originated. This arrangement allows the
display to be toured as if the viewer
were traveling around the world. The
tour starts with the most localized
group of butterflies, those known to
be found in Santa Rosa County and travels
through North America. The tour continues
into the American Tropics and then across
the Pacific to Asia its surrounding islands.
After visiting Australia the tour finishes
with African Butterflies. Posters were also
created to help visitors easily identify the
butterflies. The posters consist of pictures
of each species of butterfly including some
of the beautiful and sometimes strikingly
different bottom views. The title of each
poster states the origination of each group.
They also contain the identification numbers, scientific names, and common names
of each butterfly if available. Another detail
of the arrangement included grouping by
butterfly families, which are displayed on
the posters. Finally, a large identification
number is pinned just beneath each specimen to allow visitors to easily connect the
posters to the butterfly displays.
“It was an amazing experience to
work with this collection” said Barry Ballard. “I learned more about butterflies than
I ever thought possible.” Since the work
was completed there have been discussions
of creating a website. The pictures are also
being used to create a coloring book
--Barry Ballard
Plant of the
Month
Salvia guaranitica ‘Black
and Blue’
Common Names: blue
anise sage, Brazilian
sage, anise sage
Family: Lamiaceae/
Labiatae (mint Family)
The Panhandle Butterfly House
will open Thursday, April 17,
2008, a month earlier than in previous years. Hours: Thursday-Saturday 10-3, Sunday 12-4.
Panhandle Butterfly
House Kaleidoscope
Society
The PBH Advisory Board is
establishing a new PFH Society
with the object of raising money for
operating funds, maintenance and
most important, the weekly purchase
of butterflies during the summer. It
costs approximately $6000 each year
for live butterflies in the house itself.
You will be hearing more about this in
You can be assured that 100% of your
gifts will be used exclusively to benefit
the BFH and its continual upkeep.
Flowering attributes: Dark
blue flowers with almost
black sepals.
Leaf attributes: Ovate, pointed, hairy, slightly toothed,
green leaves.
Growth habit: Perennial.
Light: Full sun.
Blue Morpho Butterfly
Soil: Humus rich, fertile,
(Morpho peleides)
light, well-drained soil.
One of the worldʼs largest butter- Feeding: Side dress with
compost or manure. In
flies. Found in tropical forests in
Latin America from Mexico to Co- spring fertilize with a comlombia--wing span 5-8”. Found in plete organic fertilizer.
our collection.
Propagation Methods: Divide
in spring. Softwood cuttings
in spring. Semi ripe cuttings
Web Page!!
in late summer.
www.panhandlebutterf Pruning Methods: Dead head
lyhouse.org
spent flowers to keep it flowNow donate with Pay- ering into fall.
Pal!!
Opening Day!!!
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The gifting levels will be:
$10: Skipper
$25: Buckeye
$50: Swallowtail
$100: Gulf Fritillary
$250: American Lady
$500: Viceroy
$1000: Zebra Longwing
$1500: Monarch
Another chance to help the BFH
and make a memorial is to purchase
a brick to be installed in the walkway
outside. Price of bricks is: $50.00.
2008 Donors:
Sassafras Garden Club
Driftwood Garden Club
Navarre Garden Club
Goldmine Bingo
Lawrence Stevenson
New Plants from Jude--
See How Our Garden Grows
Rosa chinensis ʻMutabilisʼ – Butterfly Rose
This is the second spring that I have
helped groom the PBH gardens. We really
began last fall by moving some of the very
large flowering shrubs that had begun to
crowd each other. Happily all survived!
The garden appears to be more balanced
now, with properly spaced plants of different heights and colors all blending into
a tapestry of butterfly heaven. Perennials
help keep the garden as low-maintenance
as possible, but a few high-nectar annuals, such as zinnias (Cherry Profusion!),
asters (Hulk!) and annual salvias (Dancing Flames!), have been added. New this
season is our expanded butterfly weed
garden, which includes masses of five different varieties, especially to please the
monarchs. Come stroll through this area
and see the butterfly life cycle up close
later this summer. Our new Monarch Waystation includes several new milkweeds.
Planted is the orange-colored Ascelpias
tuberosa, a pink native swamp milkweed
called Asclepia incarnata, the beautiful
yellow-colored Asclepia curassivica ʻSilky
Goldʼ, a purple Asclepias incarnata ʻCinderellaʼ and a red Asclepias curassivisa,
commonly called the tropical milkweed.
A newcomer to our garden is a vigorous rose,
repeatedly blooming all year, with single petaled flowers that open soft yellow, changing to
orange, then pink, and finally a coppery rose
red. ʻMutabilisʼ beautifully exhibits the China
rose trait of its flowers darkening with age
instead of fading. The showy flowers are accented even more by the bronze color of the
new foliage. It is an extremely forgiving rose,
tolerant of drought, high humidity and even
light shade, but weʼre hoping it will thrive in
a sunny, well-irrigated spot behind the new
purple chair. Come see for yourself why it has
earned the common name of ʻButterfly Roseʼ.
Answer:
Know why it has earned the common name of
ʻButterfly Roseʼ? flowers of many colors appear
at one time, it appears as if a group of multicolored butterflies has settled on the bush.
Jude Groninger--PBH Garden Designer
asclepias curassivica
asclepias incarnata
asclepias Silky Gold
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asclepias tuberosa
Invite Butterflies to Your Garden
insecticidal soaps can kill caterpillars if sprayed
directly on them. A good side effect of decreased
pesticide use is the increase of natural enemies.
A butterfly garden is an easy way to both see more butterflies and
to contribute toward their conservation. Conservation efforts are
important since many natural butterfly habitats have been lost to
urbanization and other development.
Theresa Friday
Extension Faculty
UF/IFAS Santa Rosa County Extension
To begin, select a site for your butterfly garden that will receive sun
for most of the day. Although full sun is desirable for the garden,
butterflies will benefit from having a windbreak nearby for those days
with gusty winds. The same windbreak can provide shade on those
very hot days in north Florida. If the windbreak includes shrubs, the
butterflies will also use the plants as a roosting area at night.
Big Work Day!!
Once a sunny location is selected and before planting, take a
soil sample. Contact your local Cooperative Extension Office for
soil testing information. Apply lime and fertilizer according to
the recommendations from the soil test. Keep in mind that once
established it will be difficult to improve the soil in the butterfly
garden, particularly if perennial plants are involved.
When choosing a site for your butterfly garden remember to place it
close enough to a water supply so that the plants in the garden can
be watered if necessary.
Be sure to plant both host plants and nectar plants. Host plants are
those where the adult butterfly lays her eggs and the caterpillar will
feed. Several good host plants include milkweed for the monarch
butterfly, passionvine for the gulf fritillary, cassia for the cloudless
sulphur, citrus for the giant swallowtail and pawpaw for the zebra
swallowtail.
Jeanne Blage, Chairman of the Gardens
Nectar plants are also needed in the butterfly garden. These plants
provide the food for the adult butterflies. Several good nectar plants
include zinnas, goldenrod, butterfly bush, plumbago, verbena,
firebush, pentas and porterweed.
Remember to add an artificial puddle or two. Several species of
butterflies are attracted to free-standing puddles. They not only
benefit from a drink but also utilize salts and breakdown products of
decaying vegetation which is present in most puddles.
To keep your puddles from becoming a source of mosquitoes, bury
a shallow potted plant saucer to its rim in an area receiving full
sun in the butterfly garden. Fill the saucer with coarse pine bark or
stones and fill to overflowing with water. The butterflies are able to
drink from the cracks between the pine bark pieces or the stones
while the mosquito larvae have a difficult time becoming established.
Occasionally adding a small piece of over-ripe fruit, some stale beer,
or a tablespoonful of composted cow manure or leaf compost to
the puddle will provide the salts and amino acids that the butterflies
need.
To keep the plants in your butterfly garden productive, scatter a slow
release fertilizer two to three times during the summer. Do not over
fertilize. Excessive nitrogen may reduce flowering.
Avoid the use of broad-spectrum pesticides. Alternatives are oils,
soaps and microbial insecticides. But keep in mind that oils and
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Cliffogene Stillwell, SRMG, Digging!
Panhandle Butterfly House will have a FUND
RAISING PLANT SALE Sat-
urday, May 17 from 9:30a.m. to 5:
00p.m and Sunday, May 18 from 12:
00N to 5:00p.m. located at the east of
the Navarry Park. We will have a limited number of milkweeds & pentas,
which are great butterfly plants, along
with a few other plant variaties.
Theresa Friday, SR Horticulture Agent & Bill Ward, SGMG on ladder; Barry Ballard SRC & Karen Chapman, SRMG, working?!, Blair Blage, Jim Miller, GYSGT, Airman Luis Haro, Pete Peterzen, Community
Volunteer
Opening Day--April 17
Butterfly House Plant Sale--May 17
Panhandle Butterfly House
PO Box 5208
Navarre, FL. 32566