Welcome to the Butterfly & Herb Garden

 

This is a page displaying our home butterfly & herb garden and research I have personally performed.  I am not a biologist of any sort, but I do enjoy the garden and the butterflies that visit it.  For what it’s worth, I hope you enjoy the photos and little facts I have included on this page.

 

Here is our butterfly & herb garden.  Click on the picture to view the full image.

 

 

Other photos of the interior of the garden…

 

  

 

 

 

 

Right now, it includes the following plants:

 

  • Asparagus Fern *; asparagus densiflorus
  • Aster (aka. New England Aster, Hardy Aster, Michaelmas Daisy); symphyotrichum novae-angliae
  • Baby’s Breath; gypsophila paniculata
  • Beebalm; monarda didyma
  • Bush Daisy; euryops pectinatus
  • Butterfly Clerodendrum (aka. Butterfly Bush, Blue Glory Bower); clerodendrum ugandense
  • Camphor Tree; cinnamomum camphora
  • Canna (Golden); canna flaccida
  • Cat Whiskers; orthosiphson stamineus
  • Cigar Plant; cuphea ignea
  • Cleome (aka. Spider Flower); cleome hasslerana
  • Coneflower (Purple); echinacea purpurea
  • Cosmos; cosmos bipinnatus
  • Dahlia *; dahlia hortensis
  • Desert Rose *; adenium obesum
  • Dill; anethum graveolens
  • Dutchman’s Pipevine; aristolochia elegans
  • Dutchman’s Pipevine (Wooly); aristolochia tomentosa
  • Fennel (Swiss); foeniculum vulgare
  • Firebush; hamelia patens
  • Firecracker Plant (Red, White) - (aka. Coral Plant, Coralblow, Fountain Plant); russelia equisetiformis
  • Flamingo Flower * (aka. Brazilian Plume, Jacobinia, Pine-Bur Begonia); justicia carnea
  • Fountain Grass (Purple); pennisetum setaceum var. rubrum
  • French Lavender; lavandula stoechas
  • Frogfruit; lippia nodiflora
  • Gazania *; gazania rigens
  • Gerbera Daisy; gerbera jamesonii
  • Golden Dewdrop; duranta repens
  • Hercules’ Club; zanthoxylum clava-herculis
  • India Mustard; brassica juncea
  • Indigo Spires (aka. Mealy Cup Sage); salvia hybrid
  • Lady Palm (aka. Kodaruma) *; rhapis excelsa
  • Lantana (Fuschia, Yellow, and Purple Mound) - (aka. Shrub Verbena); lantana camara
  • Lily of the Nile (Storm Cloud); agapanthus orientalis
  • Mexican Petunia (aka. Desert Petunia, Florida Bluebells, Mexican Blue Bells); ruellia brittoniana
  • Mexican Tarragon (aka. Mexican Mint Marigold, Spanish Tarragon, Texas Tarragon, Sweet Mace, Yerbis Anis); tagetes lucida
  • Milkweed (Scarlet) - (aka. Bloodflower, Swallow-wort, Butterfly Weed, Mexican Milkweed, Scarlet Milkweed); asclepias curassavica
  • Milkweed (Yellow); asclepias curassavica
  • Nettle (Stinging, Common); urtica dioica
  • Orange Tree; citrus sinensis
  • Parsley (Curled); petroselinum crispum
  • Parsley (Plain Italian); petroselinum crispum var. neapolitanum
  • Passionflower Vine (Purple) - (aka. Maypop); passiflora incarnata
  • Pawpaw; asimina triloba
  • Pentas (Egyptian Star Cluster); pentas lanceolata
  • Plumbago (aka. Leadwort, Skyflower, Plumbago Capensis); plumbago auriculata
  • Porterweed (Blue) - (aka. Blue Rat's Tail, Verbena Azul, Cayenne Snakeweed) stachytarpheta jamaicensis (syn. cayennensis)
  • Portulaca (Moss Rose); portulaca grandiflora
  • Rosemary; rosemarinus officinalis
  • Rue; ruta graveolens
  • Shasta Daisy (White/Pink/Red); chrysanthemum x superbum
  • Shrimp Plant (Green); blechum pyramidatum
  • Snapdragon; antirrhinum majus
  • Society Garlic (aka. Pink Agapanthus); tulbaghia violacea
  • Spanish Needles; bidens pilosa
  • Spicebush; lindera benzoin
  • Stoke’s Aster (aka. Cornflower Aster); stokesia laevis
  • Strawflower (Yellow); helichrysum bracteatum
  • Sunflower; helianthus annuus
  • Thryallis; galphimia glauca
  • Verbena (Purple); verbena X hybrida
  • Verbena (Red); verbena canadensis
  • Virginia Pepper Grass; lepidium virginicum
  • Water Arrowhead (Dwarf); sagittaria pygmaea
  • Water Lotus (Dwarf) *; nymphaea (hybrid)
  • Watercress (aka. Water Hyssop); bacopa monieri

 

* denotes the plant is not a butterfly host or nectar plant

 

 

 

Butterfly Information

A small collection of my observations

 

I’ve included a photo of my “hatchery” stuff.  For hatching eggs, I found stackable plastic containers for around $2.00 per set at WalMart (in the crafts section.)  To raise larvae, I bought a plastic box that seals fairly tight and is big enough to allow room for extra air.  To hold larger caterpillars and chrysalises, I built a box and stapled nylon mesh to it.  I’ve also included information that I have gathered about specific butterfly species from my personal observations and conversations I’ve had with other people.

 

 

 

 

Gulf Frittilary (agraulis vanillae)

 

 

 

  

 

 

The Gulf Frittilary is commonly found year-round in the garden.  I’ve seen and collected numerous caterpillars for my fun studies.  Some interesting facts:

 

·        In our garden, Gulf Frittilaries only lay eggs on the Passionflower Vine.  They seem to only like the smooth stemmed maypop (purple flowered), not the red corky stemmed.

·        The adults seem to only lay in the late spring-early summer.

·        The eggs are tiny, shaped like a cone, and pale yellow in color.

·        Best way to prevent the eggs from dying is to cut a small square around the egg so the leaf doesn’t curl up too much as it dries.

·        The larvae do not do too much other than eating and pooping.

·        I usually have to replace leaves after 2 days max because they don’t like to eat leaves that are somewhat dried out.

·        Too many larvae in a small space can cause aggressive behavior and even cannibalism if food runs short.

·        Caterpillars sometimes will eat other caterpillars who are much smaller in size, or who are in pupa form.

·        When the larva is ready to molt, its skin will turn very dark orange and it will wiggle from side to side very oddly.

·        It sheds it skin fairly quickly, leaving a pile of black, spiky mess.

·        It emerges a light orange color with short spines.

·        Within about 15 minutes, it will already be turning a darker color as its spines extend out.

·        It then turns around and eats its own molted skin.

·        When the larva is ready to form a chrysalis, it eats one last big meal and then begins to wander, looking for an appropriate spot.

·        It is crucial that the caterpillar is given an appropriate place to change, like a twig or a pencil, so it can emerge properly later on.

·        It will start by forming the “J-curve” where it hangs in a “J” form upside down.

·        It spits out a white gooey substance (a form of silk) that covers most of its body.

·        The silk hardens and turns dark brown, making it look like a dried leaf.

·        The chrysalis bends slowly from one side to the other during the day.

·        The chrysalis will hang straight down at night.

·        The butterfly will emerge from the pupa after about a week and a half.

 

Zebra Longwing (heliconius charitonius)

 

 

 

 

 

 

After much waiting and hoping, I finally saw these guys sailing into my garden.  I spotted one laying eggs and after successfully raising the brood and releasing them, I now have a virtual cloud-cover of these in my garden throughout the day.  The more purple Passionflower vine you let run rampant and the more Firebush you have, the better.

 

·        These butterflies tend to lay the eggs in clusters on new growth only (near the tips of the vines).

·        The eggs are the same size and shape as Gulf Fritillary eggs, however they are yellow instead of rusty orange.

·        The young caterpillars are almost see-through and tend to hang out in groups.

·        As they mature, the cats turn a frosty white color with black spines.

·        The caterpillars seem to take longer to grow and eat a little less than Gulf Fritillaries.

·        Be cautious with handling these guys… Even a slight poke with their spines is a bit uncomfortable.

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Monarch (danaus plexippus)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monarchs also frequently appear in our garden.  Here are some observations:

 

·        Adults lay eggs year-round.

·        This is one of the most plentiful varieties in our garden and the easiest to take care of.

·        The eggs are very similar in size and shape to Gulf Frittilaries.

·        The eggs are tiny, cone-shaped, and white.

·        The larva hatch within a couple days of being laid.

·        The larvae grow very quickly and have a voracious appetite.  Be prepared to have enough milkweed leaves!

·        The larvae seem to prefer the scarlet milkweed over the yellow, but I think they will eat yellow if hungry enough.

·        As the larvae walk, they turn from side to side, laying down a silk web.

·        Monarch caterpillars will eat each other if food is not plentiful and the container is not big enough.

·        The larvae are fairly aggressive with each other when they run out of food.  Be sure to keep them fully stocked with leaves as they run out very quickly.

·        They will also accidentally eat tiny baby caterpillars as they chew leaves.

·        The larvae shed their skin 4 times, creating stages called “instars.”

·        Out of all the larvae I have raised, I have never been able to observe them shed once (however skullcaps found on the bottom are evidence they do in fact molt.)

·        After about a week, the larvae will begin to turn a green-ish color around the front of the body and appear somewhat “puffy” or swollen.

·        At this time, they will then hang upside down in the “J” position.

·        This is when the larvae are about 1½ inches in length and appear quite plump.

·        My monarch caterpillars turned into chrysalises overnight, so I did not get to see how they changed.

·        The chrysalises are a bright jade-like green.  They look like hanging jewels…  very beautiful.

·        Try to keep larvae away from chrysalises.  They tend to walk on them, inadvertently damaging the developing pupae.

·        Butterfly larvae tend to develop faster when given a constant supply of food and are in a warm environment.

·        You can tell when the butterfly is ready to emerge from the pupa stage when the chrysalis turns from green to black.

·        You can usually see the wings through the translucent shell of the chrysalis.

·        Be careful not to disturb the butterfly while it is emerging.

·        If you disturb the butterfly, it may prematurely eject the extra fluid from its body that is normally pumped into its wings to straighten them out.

·        If a butterfly’s wings are not straightened before they begin to dry, the butterfly will be crippled for life.

·        Monarchs appear to require about a half to a full day to dry their wings.

·        They will signal they are ready to be released when they begin to walk and fly around.

 

Black Swallowtail (papilio polyxenes)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I saw these butterflies earlier in the year, mainly nectaring on red Pentas and other flowers in the late Spring, early Summer.  Then they seemed to disappear, to my disappointment.  I planted Curled and Italian Parsley and within 2 weeks, I found eggs on the plants.  I still do not see the butterflies, but they apparently stop in for some egg-laying action.

 

·        This is a larger butterfly with dark black wings.

·        The males have yellow bands on their wings while the females have a row of yellow spots and a band of blue across the hind wings.

·        In my garden, the eggs are found on Parsley.  I have not found any laid on my Dill plants, even though they supposedly lay on other members of the Carrot family.

·        The eggs look like tiny, white pearls.

·        The eggs darken to a deep orange color when they are getting ready to hatch.

·        The larvae start off as black, fuzzy-looking worms with a white “saddle” band across the middle.

·        The larvae shed after some time, emerging as a more fleshy-looking caterpillar.

·        This form has black and white bands with yellow dots running through each black band.

·        The white bands will turn a light green color as the caterpillar ages and grows.

·        These larvae are a little less active than other caterpillars, appearing sluggish or “sleepy” most of the time.

·        The larvae have fleshy orange “horns” that emerge when they are disturbed.

·        The horns smell foul and are probably a defense mechanism since these caterpillars eat non-poisonous herbs and are practically defenseless to larger predators.

·        The larvae do not each much until they get bigger, at which time they develop a voracious appetite; Keep lots of food on hand!

·        Even though larvae can eat different kinds of plants, it is strongly suggested to keep them on a steady diet of whatever they initially ate when they hatched.

·        Larvae apparently become “programmed” to eat what they start out on and changing their diet can lead to malnutrition, retarded development, and even starvation.

·        Unlike Monarchs, these larvae appear to prefer to form a chrysalis while hanging on sticks or other objects.

 

Eastern Zebra Swallowtail (papilio glaucus)

 

 

 

 

I have seen this butterfly in our garden over the past couple years.  Obviously, it seems to really like standard Swallowtail nectar plants, like Plumbago and Pentas.  More to come on this butterfly, after I get some Sweet Bay, Wild Cherry, or White Ash into the garden...

 

Polydamus Swallowtail (battus polydamus)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was disappointed with my pipevines because I didn’t see any Pipevine Swallowtail cats on it all summer.  One day, I noticed a leaf somewhat chewed and turned it over.  Lo and behold, there were about 20 cats underneath!  I raised them completely thinking they were Pipevine Swallowtail cats.  When they emerged, something didn’t look quite right.  Sure enough, they were Polydamus Swallowtails...

 

·        This butterfly lays eggs in clusters on the stems of the vine, usually near new growth.

·        The eggs, like those of most Swallowtails, are round and pearl-like.

·        These eggs appear as if they have a dusty yellow coating.

·        From the time they hatch until the time the wander off to find a place to pupate, these cats usually hang out in groups.

·        These guys smelled funny because of the pipevine diet.  I had to keep them in well-circulated air for a while…

·        Like most other cats, they have a voracious appetite.  These guys grow particularly fast.  Be prepared to feed them often!

·        They seem to like the standard Pipevine with light, matte-green, heart-shaped leaves, Aristolochia elegans.  I have another variety that they wouldn’t touch.

·        They followed many of the same behavior patterns as other Swallowtail cats, such as pupating on twigs placed in the container.

·        The way you tell these cats apart from PVS cats is they are more of a chocolate-brown color.  PVS cats are velvet black with longer horns.

·        The adults have longer, thinner wings with a distinctive “Z”-like pattern in white/black and red/black along the edges of the ventral lower wings.

 

Spicebush Swallowtail (papilio troilus)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most swallowtails seem to really like Red Pentas as their nectar plants.  This one also seems to enjoy Plumbago.

 

·        Within a couple weeks of putting in some Spicebush and Camphor Tree seedlings in our garden, I found a number of eggs and tiny cats on the leaves.

·        The eggs can be found on the undersides of leaves.

·        There doesn’t seem to be an egg-laying preference for new or older foliage.

·        The eggs are small and cream-colored, like tiny pearls.

·        The caterpillars use silk to curl the edges of leaves to form protective tubes.

·        The caterpillars hang out in their little huts until hungry, coming out only to feed.

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Cloudless Sulphur (phoebis sennae)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This butterfly is very similar to the Orange-barred Sulphur.  It was very difficult to discern this one until I found that this one is a little smaller and lighter yellow in color.  These guys are generally shy around humans unless they are on a mission of some sort (egg-laying or nectaring) or have been hand-reared.  I had difficulty following these around to get photos so I just waited until my cats emerged.

 

·        The eggs are really, really small and look like small tags hanging off the edges of leaves, usually new growth.

·        If you take a close look at fresh, bright green, new growth, chances are you’ll see a few tiny, whitish-yellow spikes hanging off the edges of leaves.  These are the eggs.

·        Best way to rear these, poke cuttings into Aquafoam or wet sand and wait for the eggs to hatch.  If you don’t keep the cuttings in the right conditions, the leaves wilt and dry out very quickly, getting moldy shortly after.

·        The larvae are very small and yellow after hatching.

·        The cats take a while to grow, eating fairly little until they are almost ready to pupate.

·        The cats do not move around that much, only when feeding.

·        Keep the larvae in a fairly secure container.  When hungry, they can tend to wander off a bit.

·        As the cats mature, they begin to grow short black spines and turn a darker shade of green with a broken yellow stripe along both sides.

·        When the cats are around 2” in length, they will be ready to pupate.

·        The cats seem to prefer hanging upside down from the top of the container, in a crescent-moon shape.

·        They form a very interesting pupa that looks like a leaf.

·        In about 7-10 days, the butterfly will emerge.

·        They seem pretty calm when being handled while drying out their wings.  It was pretty easy to put them back out into the garden.

 

Cassius Blue (leptotes cassius)

 

  

 

 

 

I did not see this butterfly nectaring in the garden area until I planted Black-Eyed Susan.  It’s much smaller than many other butterflies, so one has to keep a close look-out for this one.

 

·        This butterfly looks tan and cream on the underside with a blue hue on the back and top sides of the wings.

·        Very small and cute.  It flies very quickly and bounces around in the air, flitting from one place to the next.

·        The eggs of this butterfly are very tiny, so they are very hard to find.

·        They eggs look like tiny, light blue dots.

·        These butterflies tend to lay the eggs as close to the base of flower buds as possible, somewhat hiding the eggs.

·        This butterfly lays its eggs on Plumbago.

·        The caterpillars usually hatch and then immediately burrow into immature flower buds.

·        The caterpillars are very difficult to find due to their small size and color.

·        The best way to find these larvae is to cut a couple Plumbago flower clusters and set them in a container.

·        Wait a few days and it is likely you will find one or two caterpillars emerge.

·        The caterpillar will grow and turn bright green.

·        It will then turn a reddish-brown or blue-grey color before it turns into a pupa.

·        The pupa form is a semi-translucent brown shell that looks only half-filled inside.

·        The butterfly will emerge after about a week or week and a half.

·        The butterfly will emerge shortly after the pupa shell turns black.

·        The wings on this butterfly seem to straighten and dry fairly quickly, making it ready for flight within a couple hours.

 

White Peacock (anartia jatrophae)

 

 

 

 

This is an unusually beautiful butterfly.  I was very surprised to see it in our garden since it usually hangs around wetlands and the banks of ponds.  I will try planting some Water Hyssop (Bacopa) and Frogfruit to see if it visits and lays eggs…  Doubtful, but I’ll give it a shot.  More to come on this especially unique beauty if my plan is successful.

 

 

Checkered White (pontia protodice)

 

 

I had difficulty following this one around our yard as it wouldn’t sit still for a picture…  These butterflies seem to bob around close to the ground and tend to land on grasses.  I have some Virginia Pepper Grass and Mustards so hopefully I’ll see some cats for this one.  More to come…

 

Great Southern White (ascia monuste)

 

 

I have only seen this one in the garden once in the past year.  Like most Whites, it tended to stay low to the ground and bobbed around until it flew off.  I was hoping it would lay eggs on my Virginia Pepper Grass, but alas, I haven’t seen any cats.  More to come on this one if I start raising them…

 

Red Admiral (vanessa atalanta)

 

 

This one was hard to catch.  These are quick fliers and are fairly jumpy.  They don’t like to stick around for photos… must be shy.  I had to snap off a few shots through our neighbor’s fence before it flew off.  I thought at first it was a Painted Lady, but I’m pretty sure now it was a Red Admiral…

 

 

Skippers (Various)

We have a wealth of different skippers visiting our yard.  Their young often eat grasses of different sorts, including St. Augustine Grass, which covers our entire yard.  I will post more photos as I run across these little guys…

 

*Brazilian Skipper; calpodes ethlius

I am not 100% sure that this was a Brazilian Skipper, but judging by its color and that it was hanging around the Cannas (its host plant) I am guessing it must have been.

 

 

 

 

*Dorantes Skipper; urbanus dorantes

Caught this one on the Pentas.  Kinda drab coloring but neat to see flitting around in the garden.  This one didn’t seem too afraid of me while I was getting in for some close-up shots…

 

 

 

*Fiery Skipper; hylephila phyleus

I saw these male and female Fiery Skippers just hanging out on a Mexican Petunia leaf and our Stokes Aster.  They were flitting around the garden on different days and I was able to grab a few photos.

 

 

 

 

*Horace’s Duskywing Skipper; erynnis horatius

Seemed to enjoy our Strawflowers…  Generally kept its wings upright but laid them out flat when it landed at first, closing them up a few seconds after.

 

 

 

 

*Long-Tailed Skipper; urbanus proteus

This one was taking a few sips from the purple mound Lantana in the front of our house.  Gorgeous butterfly!  What a great mixture of colors, especially the iridescent green on its back…

 

  

 

 

 

*Unknown Skipper; ?

I have no idea what this one is…  It appears to be a Horace’s Duskywing but the spots are a little off.  Close, but not the same.  If you have any ideas, let me know…

 

 

 

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