Suzanne – Page 22 – Butterfly Lady

My Favorite Children’s Butterfly Books

So many wonderful books have been written for youngsters. Here are some of my favorites.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar
by Eric Carle

Of course, my all-time favorite children’s book is Eric Carle’s masterpiece. What a classic! This is a fun book to read, but it is not the best book to teach children about butterflies. After all, caterpillars do not eat oranges, or apples, or chocolate cake. Neither do caterpillars make cocoons. But it will delight children and start them on their journey to learn more about butterflies.

Waiting for Wings
written and illustrated by Lois Ehlert

Uniquely designed and illustrated, this delightful story explains the life cycle of butterflies. Rich language and the author’s clever use of rhyme make this book appealing to young children. Complete with butterfly and flower facts plus identification tips, as well as a guide to planting a butterfly garden, this butterfly book is like no other.

Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert — *Waiting for Wings* written and illustrated by Lois Elhert. • **Click Here** or on the book cover for details.

Gotta Go, Gotta Go
written by Sam Swope and illustrated by Sue Riddle

This is a very fun book to read aloud to children, beginning with the Monarch (Danaus plexippus) caterpillar chanting, “I don’t know much, but I know what I know. I gotta go! I gotta go! I gotta go to Mexico!” In simple, jaunty text and pictures, children will learn about the magical transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly and its fantastic journey to Mexico.

How to Raise Monarch Butterflies: A Step-by-Step Guide for Kids
by Carol Pasternak

If your children want to learn how to raise Monarch butterflies, this is the book you must have. Carol Pasternak, The Monarch Butterfly Crusader, has filled the book with colorful and detailed photos. She shares secrets to help you find eggs and caterpillars, then provides detailed instructions on how to feed Monarch caterpillars, as well as how to take of Monarch adults.

A Butterfly Is Patient
written by Dianna Hutts Aston and illustrated by Sylvia Long

Children will learn so many interesting facts about butterflies in this beautifully illustrated book. From iridescent blue Swallowtails (Papilio spp.) and brilliant orange Monarchs to the world’s tiniest butterfly, the Western Pygmy Blue (Brephidium exilis), and the largest, Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing (Ornithoptera alexandrae), an incredible variety of butterflies are represented in all of their beauty and wonder. A lyrical text makes this a beautiful yet informative and entertaining read. Click here for a more detailed review of A Butterfly is Patient.

My, Oh My–a Butterfly!: All About Butterflies written by Tish Rabe and illustrated by Aristides Ruiz and Joe Mathieu

With a little help from the Cat in the Hat, Sally and Dick observe a small miracle in their own backyard—the metamorphosis of an egg into a caterpillar into a chrysalis into a bright new butterfly! Along the way, beginning readers will discover how butterflies see thousands of images at once, drink nectar from flowers, avoid predators; and how they can be identified by size, shape, and color. This book engages everyone with a fun combination of Dr. Seussian rhymes. It’s a delightful read, not only for children, but for adults, too.

Ten Little Caterpillars
written by Bill Martin, Jr. and illustrated by Lois Elhert

I know, I was just supposed to name the top children’s butterfly books but, caterpillars do become butterflies, and I just have to share this delightful book. It is written by Bill Martin, Jr., who wrote Brown, Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? and is illustrated by Lois Elhert, who wrote and illustrated Waiting for Wings (featured above). Each caterpillar has its own fun adventure. “The tenth little caterpillar hung on an apple tree… until by and by, it became a butterfly.” The rhyming is delightful. There’s also a glossary filled with intriguing information about all ten of the caterpillar stars!

The Reason for a Flower
written and illustrated by Ruth Heller

The relationship of butterflies, as well as other pollinators, are beautifully illustrated in this delightful book. The book is all about the reason for a flower and how plants make their own seeds.mThe reason for a flower? To propagate plants, clearly… but, as the illustrations show, also to enjoy!

Butterfly Alphabet Book
written by Jerry Pallotta and Brian Cassie and illustrated by Mark Astrella

Welcome to the wonder and beauty of butterflies! Learn about these amazing butterflies, and more, as you read from A to Z about a group of the world’s most beautiful insects. This book will be a favorite with both the young butterfly lover and the experienced lepidopterist!

The Butterfly Alphabet Book by Jerry Pallotta and Brian Cassie and illustrated by Mark Astrella. • **Click Here** or on the book cover for details.

Fancy Nancy, Bonjour Butterfly
written and illustrated by Ruth Heller

Fancy Nancy, who adores butterflies, has been invited to a butterfly-themed birthday party. But to her disappointment, she can’t go because her grandparents’ fiftieth-anniversary party is the same day. The story, in typical Fancy Nancy style, is original, wonderfully written, and includes a lesson for the little ones…not to mention the illustrations are absolutely beautiful! While this book is not really about butterflies, it is a fun read for anyone who loves butterflies.

Fancy Nancy: Bonjour, Butterfly written by Jane O’Connor and illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser. • **Click Here** or on the book cover for details.

The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian’s Art Changed Science
by Joyce Sidman

An exceptionally crafted visual biography of a pioneering entomologist and naturalist who lived a life devoted to discovery, Maria Sibylla Merian, was also one of the first to document the metamorphosis of the butterfly. In this nonfiction biography, illustrated throughout with delightful full-color original paintings by Merian herself, author Joyce Sidman paints her own picture of one of the first female entomologists and a woman who flouted convention in the pursuit of knowledge and her passion for insects. A must read for young girls and boys, young adults, and older adults!

Monarch Butterflies by Ann Hobbie and Illustrated by Olga Baumert

With easy-to-read text and colorful, engaging illustrations, Monarch Butterflies presents young readers with rich, detailed information about the monarch’s life cycle, anatomy, and the wonders of their migration, as well as how to raise monarchs at home and the cultural significance of monarchs in Day of the Dead celebrations. As the book considers how human behavior has harmed monarchs, it offers substantive ways kids can help make a positive difference. Children will learn how to turn lawns into native plant gardens, become involved in citizen science efforts such as tagging migrating monarchs and participating in population counts, and support organizations that work to conserve butterflies.

Monarch Butterflies by Ann Hobbie, Illustrated by Olga Baumert• Click Here or on the book cover for details.

A Love Affair with Monarchs and Milkweed

Oh, how I love to raise Monarchs! Those striped larvae that transform themselves into lovely butterflies fascinate me. Watching them munch away on milkweed generates great joy and anticipation.

I’ve observed Monarch (Danaus plexippus) caterpillars morph into chrysalises countless times and am always mesmerized. It brings such pleasure to release butterflies that I’ve raised into my garden, especially when they linger.

Monarch Life Cycle — Stages of **Monarch** butterflies from caterpillar to adult.

If you want to raise healthy Monarchs, you have to have milkweed (Asclepias spp.) and lots of it! Anyone who has ever raised Monarch butterflies has probably, at one point or another, run out of milkweed. I’ve driven 30 miles to the nearest reliable supplier to replenish milkweed for hungry caterpillars. It’s astonishing how much these caterpillars devour during their last two instars.

Consumed Milkweed — **Monarch** caterpillars that have eaten their **Milkweed** cuttings down to the bare stems.

The best way to get milkweed is to grow it yourself. You have more control over the quantity and quality of your plants. That said, some species of milkweed can be a chore to grow.

Tropical Milkweed (Asclepias curassavica), on the other hand, is easy to grow from seed or propagate from cuttings. (Tropical Milkweed is also known as Scarlet Milkweed, Mexican Butterfly Weed, Bloodflower, Redhead, Cotton Bush and Wild Ipecacuanha.)

Tropical Milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) can easily be grown in containers. Click here to purchase seeds.

While Tropical Milkweed readily grows from seeds, if you already have stock in your garden, growing it from cuttings is the easiest and fastest way to expand the number of milkweed plants needed to feed your hungry caterpillars.

Tropical Milkweed Propagation — **Tropical Milkweed** propagation (left to right): Stem cuttings placed in potting soil. Plants after four weeks. Full-size, blooming plants after just eight weeks.

Once the Monarch caterpillars have stripped the milkweed plant of all its leaves, cut the stems by pruning the plant and leaving about 5-6 inches (12-15 cm) of stems on the plant. It is painful, I know. But, this is actually a very good way to stimulate more growth and fullness of the plant.

Once monarch caterpillars have consumed all the leaves, cut back the stems and use for stem cuttings.

Many Monarch experts also believe that by cutting back Milkweed, of any variety, it can reduce OE (Ophryocystis elektroscirrha) infections in Monarch butterfly populations. OE is a naturally-occurring protozoan parasite that can infect Monarch and Queen (Danaus gilippus) butterflies to the point of harming its hosts.

prunned — These four **Tropical Milkweed** plants have just been trimmed. Pruning will stimulate growth, help eliminate OE spores, and create bushier branches with more flowers. The two small **Tropical Milkweed** plants at the top of the photo were grown from seed.

Even if you do not want to propagate new plants from stem cuttings, Tropical Milkweed should be pruned back on occasion, as it gets too “leggy” and ineffective at producing leaves and flowers. Also, I find that pruning Milkweed helps control and even eliminate Aphids (Aphididae spp.).

Tropical Milkweed Cuttings in 4-inch Pots — If you have potting soil and containers available, simply place the stems directly into the potting soil. Keep the soil moist until you start to see leaves sprouting from the nodes (the bumps on the stems where leaves used to be). At the same time, roots will be growing from the nodes underground. These are 4-inch (10 cm) nursery pots. **Click Here** to find similar pots.

You can also place the stem cuttings in the water and soak them until they grow roots. The cuttings will grow leaves within a few days and roots in a week or two. However, you can transfer them directly to potting soil anytime. Just remember to keep the soil moist where you have planted the new stem cuttings. You can also speed up the growth by adding Miracle-Gro®, mixed half-strength each time you water.

Budding Milkweed Cuttings — Budding stems of **Tropical Milkweed** cuttings sitting in water and placed in a window for light. Don’t let the cuttings dry out.

I grow most of my Tropical Milkweed in pots. After two years, I retire them to a garden bed, removing them from their pots and trimming their roots lightly, because they can become root-bound. One season, I grew 200 plants from cuttings. It was a lot of work but I was able to feed hundreds of Monarch caterpillars!

Milkweed Growing in a Tent — These **Tropical Milkweed** plants are growing in a screened-in canopy tent to prevent **Monarchs** and **Queens** from laying eggs. In the tent, I can also regulate how much water they get and can better control pests such as OE and **Aphids**. If these tents aren’t available locally, you can **Order Here**.

If you have a love affair with Monarchs and Milkweed like I do. There’s no cure. Accept it. Embrace it. Feed the passion and reap the joy!

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Top Six Butterfly Books

If you want to learn more about butterflies and how to attract them to your garden, I offer you six of my favorite butterfly books to add to your library.

The Life Cycles of Butterflies: From Egg to Maturity, a Visual Guide to 23 Common Garden Butterflies
by Judy Burris and Wayne Richards

An excellent book to learn about the life cycles of common backyard butterflies, there are hundreds of stunning, full-color, up-close photos, all taken in a live garden setting. Each butterfly is shown from start to maturity, with sequential photographs of the egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, and emerging adult butterfly of each species.

This rich visual guide to the life cycles of butterflies will appeal to wildlife enthusiasts, gardeners, teachers, and families alike. It has earned two national awards from Learning Magazine:
• Teacher’s Choice Award for “Children’s Books”
• Teacher’s Choice Award for “Product of Excellence for the Family”

**The Life Cycles of Butterflies: From Egg to Maturity, a Visual Guide to 23 Common Garden Butterflies** by Judy Burris and Wayne Richards. • Click Here or on the book cover to see more.

Do Butterflies Bite?: Fascinating Answers to Questions about Butterflies and Moths
by Hazel Davies and Carol A. Butler

This book covers everything from basic butterfly biology to their complex behaviors at every stage of life to issues in butterfly conservation. You’ll find tips on how to attract more butterflies to your garden, how to photograph them, and even how to raise them in your own home.

Arranged in a question and answer format, the book provides detailed information written in an accessible style that brings to life the science and natural history of these insects.

In addition, sidebars throughout the book detail an assortment of butterfly trivia, while extensive appendices direct you to organizations, web sites, and more than 200 indoor and outdoor public exhibits, where you can learn more or connect with other lepidopterophiles (butterfly lovers).

**Do Butterflies Bite?: Fascinating Answers to Questions about Butterflies and Moths** by Hazel Davies and Carol A. Butler. • Click Here or on the book cover to see more

An Obsession With Butterflies: Our Long Love Affair with a Singular Insect
by Sharman Apt Russell

Why are we obsessed with butterflies? Sharman Apt Russell reveals the logic behind our endless fascination with butterflies and introduces us to the legendary collectors and dedicated scientists who have obsessively cataloged new species of Lepidoptera.

A luminous journey through an exotic world of passion and strange beauty, this is a book to be treasured by anyone who has ever experienced the enchantment of butterflies. This is such a beautiful book to read and if you love butterflies you will love this book, too.

The Family Butterfly Book: Projects, Activities, and a Field Guide to 40 Favorite North American Species
by Rick Mikula

This was the very first book I read about butterflies and it remains my favorite. It’s such a fun book to read and you will learn all kinds of fun and creative activities to do with butterflies.

With stunning color photographs and detailed illustrations, Rick explains how to attract, safely catch and handle, and raise and support butterflies. He also discusses how to make irresistible habitats for butterflies and emphasizes the importance of basking sites, water sources, and shelter.

Did you ever want to hand-feed a butterfly? Have a live-butterfly tree? Feature butterflies in special celebrations? Rick explains all that and more.

**The Family Butterfly Book: Projects, Activities, and a Field Guide to 40 Favorite North American Species** by Rick Mikula. • Click Here or on the book cover to see more.

Raising Butterflies in the Garden
by Brenda Dziedzic

This is a comprehensive book on how to attract butterflies to your garden, using both nectar plants and caterpillar food plants.

Brenda wrote her book based on years of personal experience attracting butterflies to and raising caterpillars in her small yard.

If you want to attract butterflies to your garden, Brenda will show you exactly what you need to do.

**Raising Butterflies in the Garden** by Brenda Dziedzic. • Click Here or on the book cover to see more.

The Language of Butterflies: How Thieves, Hoarders, Scientists, and Other Obsessives Unlocked the Secrets of the World’s Favorite Insect
by Wendy Williams

Once I started reading this book I could not put it down! Williams will mesmerize and delight you with fascinating details about butterflies and the people who pursue them.

“Combining humor and poetry, Wendy Williams explores both butterflies and the people who love them…Humorist and poet though she may be, you don’t need to read Williams’ author bio to know she’s really a journalist, because she has a clear, logical style and a reporter’s instinct for telling stories through the people. One of the pleasures of the book is how gracefully Williams shifts between mini-profiles of pioneering butterfly fans and experts, the majority of whom are female or children or both…A charming, even suspenseful tale.”
—Minneapolis Star Tribune

**The Language of Butterflies: How Thieves, Hoarders, Scientists, and Other Obsessives Unlocked the Secrets of the World’s Favorite Insect** by Wendy Williams Click here or on the book cover to see more.

Want books specifically written for children? Here are my favorites.

Click here to read reviews of my favorite books about butterflies for children .

Butterfly Puddling

Once you have a butterfly garden in place an important feature to add is a water source. You can entice more butterflies to visit your garden by adding a butterfly water dish or puddling station.

Puddling station — Butterfly puddling station constructed from a **terra cotta saucer** with gravel and a couple of rocks on which the butterflies can land to sip mineralized water.

Many species of butterflies congregate on wet sand and mud to partake in “puddling”, drinking water, and extracting minerals from damp puddles. In many species, this “mud-puddling” behavior is restricted to the males, and studies have suggested that the nutrients collected may be provided as a nuptial gift during mating. Click here to read more about this behavior.

**Eastern Tiger Swallowtail** (*Papilio glaucus*) sipping moisture from wet sand.

In the heat of the day, water can help a butterfly cool off. According to Southwest Monarch Study, Monarch (Danaus plexippus) butterflies are usually not known for puddling but, during periods of drought, low humidity, and high temperatures, Monarchs are frequently found by creeks and streams seeking moisture.

Puddling Monarch Butterflies — **Monarch** butterflies puddling in the creek at the Coronado Butterfly Preserve located in Santa Barbara, California, USA. • Photo Copyright © 2016 by Marc Kummel. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission.

It’s easy to create a watering station or wet area in your garden for butterflies and need not take much time or money. To get started, you will need a large, shallow dish or container. Use a container at least 12 to 18 inches (30 to 45 cm) wide. I used an extra bird bath that was lying around and placed it right in the middle of my garden.

Birdbath Puddling Station — Front and top views of a ceramic bird bath converted into a butterfly puddling station. **Click Here** to view an assortment of bird baths for your garden.

Add sand or course dirt. Sand from the beach works extremely well because it already contains salts and other nutrients. You can also mix some manure or compost in with the sand. Add a few pebbles and rocks that can be used for the butterflies to rest upon. Click Here to see a selection of decorative pebbles. Keep your sand just slightly moist and do not overfill. Butterflies cannot land on open water.

Watch Walter Reeves of the University of Georgia Extension Service build a butterfly puddle and fruit-feeding station in this demonstration video.

Enjoy making your butterfly puddle. As always with butterfly gardening, if you plant it or if you build it, they will come.

Isn’t this **Monarch Butterfly Lifecycle T-Shirt** for Youth adorable? Lots of folks think so. It’s been our best-selling T-Shirt so far this year. Click for more: https://amzn.to/2JjmQBk

“Blue Moon, You Saw Me Standing Alone”

“Blue moon,
You saw me standing alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own.”
–Frank Sinatra, First Verse

Graceful Blue Moon (Hypolimnas bolina) butterflies dance in our garden with elegant dress here in Tonga in the South Pacific. Males all appear the same. However, the females are not only dimorphic (featuring different colors and patterns from the opposite sex), but also rarely look the same as other females, demonstrated by this photo essay.

Male Blue Moon Butterfly - Ventral View — With wings folded, this photo shows the male **Blue Moon’s** ventral view, the underside of its wings. As with most butterflies, its wings at rest are not nearly as showy as the dorsal or topside wings shown in the next photo, **Blue Moon** males are extremely territorially and will chase away other butterflies, even those larger than themselves.

Male Blue Moon Butterfly — Behold this gorgeous, velvety male **Blue Moon** butterfly, also known as **Great Eggfly**. I reared this one and dozens of others like him from caterpillars discovered growing on roadside weeds here in Tonga. The upper side of the wings of the male **Blue Moons** is jet black, offset with three pairs of white spots: two on the forewing and one on the hindwing. These spots are surrounded by purple iridescence that only appears when the light source is at the correct angle.

Female Blue Moon — The female Blue Moon butterfly has several different colorations. I’ve raised at least 20 females and each one has had different markings. The wings remind me of the colors and patterns of tapa cloth found in Tonga and in other parts of Polynesia. In fact, we’ve started referring to the female **Blue Moon** butterfly as the **Tapa Cloth** butterfly. I suppose that’s how butterflies get their common names.

Tapa Cloth — This is a typical piece of finished tapa cloth or *ngatu* (pronounced NAH-too) in Tongan. Tapa cloth is made from the inner bark of the **Mulberry** (*Broussonetia papyrifera*) tree that is pounded thin and glued together with vegetable starch, usually from *kumala* (sweet potato) or *manioke* (cassava), then painted with traditional designs. Just as each work of tapa cloth is different and reflects talents of the artist, female **Blue Moon** butterflies seem to flaunt their own unique styles. • Photo courtesy of the **Virtual Collection of Asian Masterpieces**

Female Blue Moon Butterfly — Here’s yet another gorgeous female **Blue Moon** butterfly ready to be released into the wild. Her colors resemble the tapa cloth on the left in the next photo.

Long Tapa Cloth — Two long tapa cloths of approximately 60 linear feet (18.28 meters), each with its own patterns and earth-tone colors, just like the different female **Blue Moon** butterflies. I took this photo this year near Vaini on the main Tongan island of Tongatapu. The owner had placed them in the sun for the day to air them out. He was rightfully proud of his *ngatu* collection. Tapa cloths hold great value in Tonga, both monetary and sentimental, and are used ceremonially on special occasions. They are also given at graduations, weddings and funerals; and passed down as family heirlooms from generation-to-generation. Read more about tapa cloth in **Wikipedia**.

Tapa Cloth Butterfly - Female Blue Moon — This is one of my husband’s favorite female **Blue Moon** patterns. You can really start to imagine nature painting her wings the way Tongan women paint tapa cloth.

The female Blue Moon butterfly hovers over a plant to check for ants which might eat her eggs. After selecting a plant which has no ants on it, she lays at least one but often two to five eggs on the undersides of the leaves.

For months, we could not figure out which of the many host plants, that Blue Moon butterflies are known to use, might be available in Tonga. Then one day, to my complete surprise, a female Blue Moon “saw me standing alone” and landed right at my feet. She deposited eggs on a nearby plant, which we later discovered was Nodeweed. Mystery solved!

**Nodeweed** (*Synedrella nodiflora*) is one of several host plants for the **Blue Moon** butterfly’s caterpillars. It grows wild in Tonga and can easily be found along unmowed roadsides and vacant lots.

Blue Moon Eggs — Two well-camouflaged green **Blue Moon** butterfly eggs hidden on the leaf’s underside.

Blue Moon Caterpillar — **Blue Moon** caterpillars are black and covered with prickly orange spines that deter predators (and handling by humans).

Blue Moon Pupa — **Blue Moon** chrysalises are brown with spines and well camouflaged. Adult **Blue Moon** butterflies eclose (emerge) about ten days after pupating.

Blue Moon butterflies are found from Madagascar, off the southeast coast of Africa, through South and Southeast Asia, to South Pacific islands (including French Polynesia, Tonga, Tuvalu, Samoa, and Vanuatu), and in parts of Australia, Japan, and New Zealand.

If you live in or happen to visit their range, keep an eye out for the snazzily-dressed males in their velvety black tuxedos with iridescent purple cummerbunds and the females styling their myriad elegant tapa-cloth formals. Two ladies never want to wear the same dress to the ball.

“Blue moon,
Now I’m no longer alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own.”
–Frank Sinatra, Chorus

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Waiting for Wings written and illustrated by Lois Ehlert

Gotta Go, Gotta Go written by Sam Swope and illustrated by Sue Riddle

How to Raise Monarch Butterflies: A Step-by-Step Guide for Kids by Carol Pasternak

A Butterfly Is Patient written by Dianna Hutts Aston and illustrated by Sylvia Long

My, Oh My–a Butterfly!: All About Butterflies written by Tish Rabe and illustrated by Aristides Ruiz and Joe Mathieu

Ten Little Caterpillars written by Bill Martin, Jr. and illustrated by Lois Elhert

The Reason for a Flower written and illustrated by Ruth Heller

Butterfly Alphabet Book written by Jerry Pallotta and Brian Cassie and illustrated by Mark Astrella

Fancy Nancy, Bonjour Butterfly written and illustrated by Ruth Heller

The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian’s Art Changed Science by Joyce Sidman