![]() ![]() ![]() We love our butterflies and you will too.Some of them are found throughout the state and others occur locally in connection with the larval host plants. One moment they’re here, the next they’re airborne. When the butterflies emerge from their cocoons in full regal splendor, it happens in a blink of the eye. The Monarch caterpillars wondrously chowed through the milkweed in amazing style but one has to pay close daily attention. One year, we planted common milkweed to foster a Monarch butterfly colony and we were not disappointed. I have become pretty partial to a recent pair of Baltimore Orioles. Many of the flowers attract some marvelous birds, too. We have Lantana, lilies (many varieties), petunias, trumpet flowers and quite a few miscellaneous wildflowers that sprout intermittently. Red, mauve, pink, lavender, white or orange perform well. Flowers are crucial and certain colors do better than others. However, you can establish which butterflies inhabit your flock by picking the proper plants. On any given warm day, we easily spot four or five species. Zebra Heliconian, Zebra Swallowtail, Viceroy, Spicebush Swallowtail, Red Admiral, Monarch, Orange-barred Sulphur, Gulf Fritillary, Black Swallowtail and the Tiger Swallowtail. A great resource is the Florida Museum website:į/wildflowers/butterfly-search/Ĭindy and I live in Saint Augustine and a wondrous assortment of butterflies frequent our backyard with grace and splendor. There are plenty of plants and flowers to choose from so research the butterflies that you wish to see flapping around your residence. Now, let’s take a look at plants and the keyword here is plants, plural, and plenty of plural, especially if you want to attract a bounty of breathtaking beauties. If you partially bury the pan then it can appear natural-looking and less contrived. Place some concave flat-type rocks or a shallow pan with dirt or sand along its bottom. If your area won’t generate natural puddles, you can improvise. ![]() During mating, the males pass the nutrients onto the females. Why? Sodium, minerals and nutrients form in the muddy splashes and the male butterflies absorb them as they bathe. The flowers that generate nectar require sunshine and the butterflies crave puddles of water. Five hours of sunshine a day at a minimum and shallow puddles of water create a healthy environment. So how do you go about creating your own butterfly garden? Naturally, the top two ingredients are water and sunshine. The butterflies prove spectacular as they float from bud to bud, sometimes flapping, sometimes gliding, always beautiful. We have dragonflies, butterflies, birds that fly, all in a home teeming with life that brings us joy and provides safe haven for all our beloved creature friends. Maybe visions of flying insects seems more nightmare than dream but au contraire! Cindy and I have maintained a creature-friendly habitat in our backyard for years. “If people can, they should try to provide a butterfly-friendly habitat at their homes,” he said. Ryan expressed environmental concerns regarding these color-centric flying eye-magnets, how their numbers are dwindling, and how important they are to our ecosystem. My wife, Cindy, and I have visited this wonderland multiple times with goofy grins plastered on our faces the whole time. Recently, on our weekly radio show, Speaking of Animals, Florida Museum’s Ryan Fessenden talked to us about their spectacular exhibit, the Butterfly Rainforest. ![]()
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