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Butterflies

Rebecca's Garden : Episode REB-727 -- More Projects »
One of nature's tiny miracles are butterflies—delicate, colorful, winged creatures that thrive in warm conditions. Host Rebecca Kolls travels to Frederik Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids, Mich., to learn more about this beautiful insect.

Butterflies at Frederik Meijer Gardens

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During a two-month period, more than 150,000 visitors flock to the garden just to see 45 different butterfly species.
The garden's conservatory houses one of the nation's largest temporary butterfly exhibits in approximately 15,000 square feet. When people walk into this display, they are transformed to another place. It could be snowing outside, but when visitors walk in, they're in a tropical environment with hundreds of butterflies flying around.

Thousands of butterfly pupae are shipped to the garden from exotic places around the world. One by one, each butterfly emerges from its chrysalis and is allowed to freely roam the indoor rain forest without wind, rain and predators. They live their short lives to the fullest among the palm fronds and tropical flowers.

Each stage in a butterfly's life can last from four days to a couple of weeks. It begins with the egg then hatches. A caterpillar emerges and takes about four instars (developmental stages) to molt. Then the caterpillar goes into the pupal stage. The adult butterfly is the final stage which lasts a few weeks to a month, depending on the species.

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Figure A
The conservatory's climate is crucial to how the butterflies fly, how active they are in terms of mating and eating, how they emerge and how healthy they are. It's also important for growing the plants that butterflies need for food and laying eggs. Butterflies use sensors in their feet to find the plants with tasty nectar. They suck the nectar through their long tongues that work like drinking straws (figure A).
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Figure A
The garden staff serves a few favorite flowers, including pentas. They also supplement the butterflies' diets with dishes full of honey and water (figure B). Some butterflies don't eat nectar. For them, rotting fruit is a real treat.

Attracting Butterflies to Your Yard
To attact butterflies to your yard, try planting butterfly bush (Buddleia), butterfly weed (Asclepias), verbena, coreopsis, coneflower (Echinacea) and abelia. Colorful annuals such as zinnia and lantana are also great butterfly food.

Also in this Episode
Rebecca's Garden : Episode REB-727
•Small-Space Vegetable Garden
•Door Knocker Bouquet
•6 Plants for Your Veggie Garden
•Vinegar-Based Weed Killer
•Butterflies
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