Flutterby News. Black Swallowtail Papilio polyxenes. Mariposa of the Month. Spring in southern regions. Attributes of Papilio polyxenes

Transcription

1 Flutterby News Spring 2008 Mariposa of the Month Black Swallowtail Papilio polyxenes Attributes of Papilio polyxenes Family: Parnassians and Swallowtails (Papilionidae) Subfamily: Swallowtails (Papilioninae) 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. Swallowtail Caterpillar Parsley in southern regions. Wing span: 3 1/4-4 1/4 inches (8-11 cm). 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. Adult food: Nectar from flowers including red clover, milkweed, and thistles. Habitat: A variety of open areas including fields, suburbs, marshes, deserts, and roadsides. 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.

2 Schedule a Group Tour!! 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 our Monarch Fest Tours scheduled especially for school children. Jytte Fawzy and Mary 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, go to our Website, se.org/ and click the page Come See Us and then click the link saying Contact Us to write an 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 Planting Day Pics! Karen Broughton, Theresa Friday, Jeanne Blage, Cliffogene Stillwell, Jude Groninger, Blaire Blage, Kay Mitchell, Rosie Tinsley Susan Medlin, Jeanne Blage, Theresa Friday Theresa 2 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

3 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 Blue Morpho Butterfly (Morpho peleides) One of the worldʼs largest butterflies. Found in tropical forests in Latin America from Mexico to Colombia--wing span 5-8. Found in our collection. Web Page!! lyhouse.org Now donate with Pay- Pal!! Plant of the Month Salvia guaranitica Black and Blue Common Names: blue anise sage, Brazilian sage, anise sage Family: Lamiaceae/ Labiatae (mint Family) Flowering attributes: Dark blue flowers with almost black sepals. Leaf attributes: Ovate, pointed, hairy, slightly toothed, green leaves. Growth habit: Perennial. Light: Full sun. Soil: Humus rich, fertile, light, well-drained soil. Feeding: Side dress with compost or manure. In spring fertilize with a complete organic fertilizer. Propagation Methods: Divide in spring. Softwood cuttings in spring. Semi ripe cuttings in late summer. Pruning Methods: Dead head spent flowers to keep it flowering into fall. 3 Opening Day!!! The Panhandle Butterfly House will open Thursday, April 17, 2008, a month earlier than in previous years. Hours: Thursday-Saturday 10-3, Sunday 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. 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: $ Donors: Sassafras Garden Club Driftwood Garden Club Navarre Garden Club Goldmine Bingo Lawrence Stevenson

4 New Plants from Jude-- Rosa chinensis ʻMutabilisʼ Butterfly Rose 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. See How Our Garden Grows 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. Jude Groninger--PBH Garden Designer asclepias curassivica asclepias tuberosa asclepias incarnata asclepias Silky Gold 4

5 Invite Butterflies to Your Garden 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. insecticidal soaps can kill caterpillars if sprayed directly on them. A good side effect of decreased pesticide use is the increase of natural enemies. 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 5 Cliffogene Stillwell, SRMG, Digging! Panhandle Butterfly House will have a FUND RAISING PLANT SALE Saturday, 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.

6 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