I’m seeing numerous Monarch (Danaus plexippus) butterflies here in central Florida, and not just in my garden.
Downtown Orlando has six huge Monarchs flying right across from City Hall and the Dr. Phillips Center on a mural called “Midnight Dream” painted by Ink Dwell. This 3,500 square foot mural on the corner of Orange and Anderson, depicts Monarchs flitting about a patch of Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa), a tribute to the magical qualities of this famous insect.
Delightful view of Monarch butterflies in downtown Orlando, Florida, USA.Vibrant Monarch butterfly mural at Full Sail University, Orlando, Florida, USA.
Three large Monarch butterflies also flutter at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida, located along University Avenue in Winter Park, Florida. This mural, titled “Milkweed Galaxy”, features Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnta). Tropical or Scarlet Milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) plants are growing in front of the mural, attracting live Monarch butterflies.
Tropical Milkweed grows in several flower beds in front of the mural at Full Sail.
The murals are part of the Nature Conservancy’s new Monarch Initiative in Central Florida to restore the habitats of the Monarch butterfly. The Monarch Initiative seeks to educate the central Florida community on the importance of pollinators, such as the Monarch butterfly, through outreach and collaboration.
Can you see the Monarch? He was flying all around the milkweed in front of the mural.Long view of the Monarch mural at Full Sail University.
Monarch butterflies have suffered a severe decline in population – decreasing from one billion in 1996 to 140 million in 2016. According to a U.S. Geological Survey study, as many as 1.8 billion additional Milkweed (Asclepias spp.) plants may be needed in North America to return imperiled Monarch butterflies to sustainable population size. Adding Milkweeds and other native flowering plants into our gardens can help restore Monarch butterflies. Click Here to see my top favorite native Milkweeds.
An eight-story air-traffic control tower in Springdale, Arkansas, USA, provides the basis of this vertical butterfly mural by Ink Dwell.
Founded in 2012 by artist Jane Kim and journalist Thayer Walker, Ink Dwell Studio makes art that inspires people to love and protect the natural world. In addition to the two Monarch murals in Florida, they have also created a mural in Springdale, Arkansas, mounted on an eight-story air traffic control tower at the Springdale Airport.
“Monarch in Moda” in Ogden, Utah.Spread the message and wear this “Plant Milkweed” t-shirt created by Butterfly Lady. https://amzn.to/2PFvZn4
Monarchs (Danaus plexippus) lay their eggs exclusively on Milkweeds (Asclepias spp.). Milkweed is named for its milky sap, which consists of latex-containing alkaloids and several other complex compounds, including cardenolides, which are toxic and help protect the caterpillar and butterfly from predators.
Common milkweed provides a fragrant nectaring station for all butterflies, as well as large leaves for Monarch and Queen (Danaus gilippus) butterfly caterpillars. Click here to purchase seeds.
Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), is a critical plant for Monarchs but has a spreading root system so it needs plenty of space. It’s a wonderful choice for natural areas and an excellent replacement for tough invasive plants in sunny spots. The blooms are quite fragrant and attract many other species of butterflies and pollinators.
Common Milkweed the fragrant flowers, not only will it attract egg-laying Monarchs but also many other types of butterflies.Common milkweed can be a great addition to a butterfly garden if you have room for it to spread.
Thrives on almost any well-drained soil, even tough clay or dry sand
Spreads rapidly by rhizomes, so it is best planted in a large area
Drought tolerant
Swamp milkweed is very attractive to many species of butterflies as a nectar source. So not only will it attract Monarchs for egg laying, but it’s also a butterfly magnet. Click here to purchase seeds.
Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) is native to wet sites but adapts to drier sites in moist clay or loam soils. Swamp milkweed is well behaved in the garden and grow in clumps rather than invasively spreading around with underground rhizomes. It will also attract beautiful butterflies and hummingbirds to your garden or meadow.
Liz DeOrsey is standing in front of her Swamp Milkweed growing in her garden in North Carolina.
Swamp Milkweed will grow well in containers and can easily be grown from cuttings. It is highly preferred by the Monarch butterflies and females will readily lay their eggs on this plant.
Butterfly milkweed is an important nectar and larval host food source for Monarchs as well as other pollinators. Many different pollinators visit the vibrant orange or yellow flower clusters for nectar rewards. Click here to purchase seeds.
Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)is also called Pleurisy Root, Canada Root, Orange Milkweed, and Indian Paintbrush. It takes about two years before it flowers, but it is well worth the wait for the spectacular orange blooms. Unlike other milkweed species, the leaves don’t contain a milky sap.
Butterfly Milkweed grows easily from seed, but expect that it will take two to three years to establish and produce flowers. It can become a very showy specimen, with multiple flowering stems spreading across a two foot high plant.
The plant is easily grown in average, dry to medium, well-drained soil in full sun. It is drought tolerant, moderately salt tolerant, and does well in poor, dry soils.
Dry, sandy, well-drained, and slightly acidic soil.
Drought Tolerant
Showy Milkweed has soft, pastel pink flower clusters with longer petals. This sun-loving asclepias grows well in dry, fast-draining soil and requires little supplemental water once established. Click here to purchase seeds.The very fragrant blooms attract many different pollinators including hummingbirds.
Showy Milkweed, Asclepias speciosa, has flowers that resemble a cluster of brilliant pink stars. Although it spreads through underground rhizomes, it is far less aggressive than common milkweed, and is an excellent alternative.
The much sought-after and rare Purple Milkweed (Asclepias purpurascens), looks similar to Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), but the flower color is a rich red-purple color compared to the soft gray-pink of Common Milkweed. Click here to purchase seeds.
Purple Milkweed (Asclepias Purpurascens) is unique in that it posses the most beautiful purple flowers of all of the milkweeds. This plant likes full sun to partial shade (prefers morning sun and afternoon shade.) The fragrant flowers attract many species of butterflies, hummingbirds, bees and other pollinators.
Grow Asclepias purpurascens in a site that is well drained but has ample moisture. It seems to prefer a bit of shade but will do well in full sun if it gets deep, regular watering.
Purple milkweed tends to spread less aggressively than Common Milkweed. Purple Milkweed are rare plants and can be difficult to establish in gardens. It may take several years for Purple Milkweeds to flower when introduced into a garden, but is definitely worth the wait!
The absolute best way to help Monarch butterflies is to plant milkweed! Without a major effort to restore milkweed, the monarch population is certain to decline. Monarchs depend on milkweed for survival.
Spread the message with this “Plant Milkweed T-shirt by Butterfly Lady: https://amzn.to/2PFvZn4
Are you tired of winter? Do you dream of warmer days and butterflies? There are places where you can see butterflies this winter without traveling south of the border.
Tropical butterfly exhibits are great places to see many different species of butterflies up close. Take a camera and you are bound to get some great photos.
A young girl discovers a monarch butterfly.
Here are butterfly exhibits that open year-round in the United States and Canada. So get rid of those winter blues and go find some butterflies!
ARIZONA Butterfly Wonderland
9500 E. Via de Ventura
Scottsdale, Arizona 85256
Phone: (480) 800-3000
California Academy of Sciences Osher Rainforest Golden Gate Park
55 Music Concourse Drive San Francisco, CA94118 (415) 379-8000
More than 1,600 live animals reside in the Osher Rainforest dome, including 250 free-flying birds and butterflies and close to 100 exotic reptiles and amphibians.
COLORADO Butterfly Pavilion 6252 West 104th Ave.
Westminster, CO 80020
Phone: (303) 469-5441
Sometimes the butterflies will actually come and land on you like this beautiful Paper Rice butterfly at the Butterfly Pavilion in Denver, Colorado.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Butterfly Pavilion
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
10th Street and Constitution Ave., NW
Washington, D.C. 20560
Phone: (202) 633-1000
FLORIDA Butterfly World
3600 W. Sample Road
Coconut Creek, Florida 33073
Phone: (954) 977-4400
Butterfly Rainforest
Florida Museum of Natural History
University of Florida
SW 34th Street and Hull Road
Gainesville, FL 32611
Phone: (352) 846-2000
I caught this colorful Red Lacewing (Cethosia biblis) feeding on Mexican Sunflowers (Tithonia spp.) at the Butterfly Rainforest in Gainesville, Florida.
You can see beautiful tropical butterflies in the middle of winter such as this Clipper butterfly (Parthenos sylvia). I saw this beauty at the Butterfly Pavilion in Denver, Colorado.
MICHIGAN Detroit Zoo
Woodward Avenue and 10 Mile Road (I-696)
Royal Oak, MI 48067
Phone: (248) 541-5717
MISSOURI Sophie B. Sachs Butterfly House
Missouri Botanical Garden
Faust Park
15193 Olive Blvd.
Chesterfield, MO 63017
Phone: (636) 530-0076
Father and daughter are mesmerized by the Tree Nymph (Idea leuconoe) at the Butterfly Pavilion at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
Saint Louis Zoo Insectarium
One Government Drive
St. Louis, MO
Phone: (314) 781-0900 Admission to Insectarium is free all day, every day.
Monarchs (Danaus plexippus) are best known for their annual migration in North America. But many people do not realize that Monarch butterflies are not just found in North America. These iconic butterflies can be seen around the world and form populations that do not migrate or that only migrate short distances.
Monarchs cluster together in colonies in a forest of Oyamel trees in Mexico. (Photo by Carol Pasternak. Used with permission.)
Monarchs thrive throughout Central and South America. They are residents in the islands of the Caribbean, including Puerto Rico and Cuba. Monarchs live in North Africa and migrate to the Canary Islands, the Azores, Madeira, Portugal, and Spain. Even on occasion a rare migrant can be found in the United Kingdom. They have also been seen in Bermuda, the Cook Islands, the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, Ceylon, India and Nepal. Monarchs live year-round on the Hawai‘ian Islands as well as on other Pacific Islands. They are abound in New Zealand and Australia.
Scientists believe that the Monarch butterfly is originally from North America, but over the years they have made their way throughout the world colonizing new locations where they could find various species of Milkweeds for their host plants. For example, Gomphocarpus physocarpus, commonly known as Swan Plant, is a species of Milkweed native to southeast Africa, but it has been naturalized in New Zealand, most likely before the Monarchs arrived. Monarchs were probably knowingly or unknowingly transported on ships and then were able to find their host plants to survive.
Gomphocarpus physocarpus, commonly known as Balloonplant, Balloon Cotton-bush, Nailhead, or Swan Plant, is a species of Milkweed. The plant is native to southeast Africa, but it has been widely naturalized. The name “Balloonplant” is an allusion to the swelling bladder-like follicles which are full of seeds. Find seeds here: https://mybutterflylady.etsy.com/listing/1023296186
It’s possible that extreme weather events helped to relocate Monarchs. It is believed by some that Monarchs were carried to Australia from New Caledonia on cyclones. Once they arrived, they found Milkweed, Gomphocarpus physocarpus, originally from South Africa, and the Asclepias Curassavica from Central America that had become naturalized and the butterflies successfully established a breeding population.
The Monarch butterfly, also known as the Wanderer in Australia, makes limited migratory movements in cooler areas. It has only been present in Australia since about 1871.
Monarchs spread throughout much of the world in the 1800s. They were first seen in Hawai‘i in the 1840s, and spread throughout the South Pacific in the 1850s-60s. In the early 1870s, the first Monarchs were reported in Australia and New Zealand.
Monarch butterflies were first recorded in Tonga in 1863. It’s believed these butterflies were transported from Hawai‘i and adapted to eat Crown Flower (Calotropis gigantea).
Monarch butterflies are adaptable and can thrive in various environments as long as there is a sufficient supply of milkweed for their larvae and nectar sources for the adults. Their remarkable migration and wide distribution make them a truly fascinating species.
You can attract monarchs by planting milkweed in your garden. Find seeds here: Plant-Milkweed.com
Wherever they are found, Monarchs have become one of the best-known and favorite butterflies throughout the world.
Monarch flying over Tenerife in the Canary Islands. (Photo by Margot Leandro. Used with permission.)
I’ve given many presentations about butterflies to both children and adults, always allowing time in the end for questions. Once, a young girl surprised me by asking, “How do butterflies get pregnant?”
It’s complicated.
A pair of mating Queen butterflies (Danaus gilippus).
When female butterflies first emerge, they already have about 400-700 eggs inside their abdomen. Most butterflies have a very short adult lifespan of three to four weeks. Females must quickly find a mate to have enough time to lay all their eggs.
I was trying to get a nice shot of this female Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus) when the male swooped in after the female.
Depending on the species, but usually, within three or four days, the female will be ready for romance. But the female butterfly is picky. She wants just the right male who will provide just the right quality offspring.
White Peacock (Anartia jatrophae) butterflies are found in the southeastern United States, Central America, and throughout much of South America.
The male, in order to entice the female butterfly, will perform a courtship dance. These “dances” consist of flight patterns that are peculiar to that species of butterfly. If the female is interested she may join the male’s dance. The two flutter and twirl through the air together. The male releases pheromones, a natural cologne, from scent glands in an effort to entice the female to mate.
Mating Giant Swallowtails (Papilio cresphontes). They are the largest butterfly found in North America.
Once the female is satisfied with her suitor, she allows him to attach himself by extending and offering her abdomen towards the male for coupling. The male butterfly has a pair of claspers at the end of his abdomen used to hold onto the female during the mating process. Males and females lock together at the ends of the abdomens and may stay attached for anywhere from an hour to up to twelve hours or more. In this way, males ensure that they are the only ones who fertilize the female’s’ eggs. During mating, males provide a spermatophore, a sort of “package” of sperm and nutrients the female needs to produce and lay eggs.
There are some species, such as the topical Heliconius butterflies, where the mating ritual is not so romantic. As a female Tiger Longwing (Heliconius hecale) gets ready to emerge from her chrysalis, several males maneuver around her, each one trying to get an advantage over the others by pushing each other aside. Whoever wins this contest mates with the female. But because the male is so anxious to copulate he will not wait until the female emerges from the chrysalis. This behavior is sometimes called “pupal rape” since the female is still inside the chrysalis and unable to escape. A rather more politically correct description would be “forced copulation” or simply “pupal mating.”
Just as with humans, the mating rituals of butterflies can be perplexing. I have seen some unusual behavior among butterflies inside butterfly exhibits. One day I walked inside the butterfly house to find several male Zebra Longwing butterflies flying wildly around a newly emerged female Black Swallowtail. I suppose the males were confused and misread the olfactory clues that they use to find females.
The next time you see a butterfly you will know that “love is in the air,” quite literally!
