Butterflies – Page 19 – Butterfly Lady

Tongan Monarchs

The Kingdom of Tonga is known for its monarchs, including King Tupou VI, the current sovereign and sixth reigning royal since the constitutional monarchy was founded in 1875.

Tonga's King Tupou IV on his coronation day. — Tonga’s King Tupou VI on his coronation day in 2015.

Queen Sālote Mafile‘o Pilolevu Tupou III is perhaps the most famous Tongan monarch of all. She was the first queen regnant and third monarch of the Kingdom of Tonga, an island nation in the South Pacific Ocean. Queen Sālote ruled nearly 48 years, from 1918 until her death in 1965, longer than any other Tongan monarch.

Queen Sālote brought Tonga to international attention when, during her only visit to Europe, she attended the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in London.

Queen_Salote_in_London — Queen Sālote Tupou III of Tonga in Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation parade in London.

During the coronation procession, it began to rain and hoods were placed on the carriages of dignitaries in the procession. Since Tongan custom dictates that one should not imitate the actions of the person being honored, she refused a hood and rode through the pouring rain in an open carriage, endearing herself to spectators along the parade route as she smiled and waved.

But long before modern Tongan kings and queens, there was another monarch that came to Tonga: the Monarch (Danaus plexippus) butterfly.

Map of Oceania — Where in the world is Tonga? The Tongan islands lie east of Australia and northeast of New Zealand in the South Pacific Ocean.

Monarch butterflies were first recorded in Tonga in 1863. It’s believed these butterflies flew or were blown thousands of miles to Hawai‘i from North America (or maybe they were serendipitously transported on ships, which seems more likely) and adapted to eat Crown Flower (Calotropis gigantea) leaves instead of leaves of Milkweeds (Asclepias spp.). They spread south through the islands of Polynesia to Tonga.

I started raising Monarch butterflies in Tonga in mid-June of this year when female Monarchs deposited eggs on Tropical Milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) that I’d planted in pots. After two weeks, I had so many caterpillars I knew that I would soon run out of Milkweed for them to eat.

Monarch_laying_eggs — Female **Monarch** butterfly laying an egg on **Tropical Milkweed** in my garden in Tonga.

While driving down a street near my home, and to my utter delight, I discovered the largest Crown Flower tree that I’ve ever seen. This beautiful plant is called Crown Flower because the purple flowers were favored by Hawai‘i’s last monarch, Queen Lili‘uokalani, who considered them a symbol of royalty and wore them strung into delicate leis.

Crown-Flower Leis — Garlands of **Crown Flower** fashioned into leis.

Realizing that I’d found the mother lode of food for my caterpillars, I parked the car and walked to the gate where I called out “Mālō e lelei!” (“Hello!” in Tongan) to see if anyone was home. A five-year-old boy came to the fence. To my dismay, he didn’t speak any English. I pulled out a couple of Tongan pa‘anga (worth about 45 U.S. cents each) and pointed to the tree. He let me inside the yard and I walked over to the tree, cut some branches off and gave the boy the money. He smiled, then grinned, and exclaimed, “Mālō!” (“Thank you!”).

Monarch Caterpillars — **Monarch** caterpillars munching on **Crown Flower** leaves in a pop-up cage.

A few days later I returned, called out again, and the little boy came running to open the gate and let me inside the yard. He was more than willing to take a few more pa‘anga off my hands.

Monarch Chrysalises Hanging from a Porch Railing — **Monarch** butterfly chrysalises, also known as pupae, hanging below a shell collection and the banister railing on my front porch.

I was able to raise about 70 Monarch butterflies in that brood. Some pupae I hung on the underside of the railing on my porch; others I gave away to teachers, children, and friends. What joy to be rearing Monarchs again!

Crown Flower Tree — The **Crown Flower** tree, marauded by multitudes of hungry **Monarch** caterpillars.

By August, I had not been back to the Giant Milkweed tree (another name for Crown Flower) since early-July. My husband and I had left Tonga for a month to visit family and friends abroad. Upon our return, the entire crop of Tropical Milkweed growing in pots on our front porch was completely gone and all of the dozens of chrysalises hanging from the railing had opened. There had been no sign of Monarch butterflies at our house since we returned.

P1020110 — A female Monarch will use her feet to drum on a plant and “taste” its juices. This helps her decide if the leaf would be edible for her caterpillars and, therefore, if she has found a suitable place to lay eggs.

Yesterday, just out of curiosity, I drove by the giant Crown Flower tree and was stunned to see that many of the leaves were gone. I parked the car, walked to the gate and called out, but no one answered. The next-door neighbor informed me that no one was home. However, since the gate was left open, he thought it was okay for me to enter the yard. (He recognized me from previous trips.)

Monarch Chrysalises Hanging on Crown Flower — Beautiful jade-green **Monarch** chrysalises hanging from the giant **Crown Flower** tree.

As I approached the tree, I saw several female Monarchs laying eggs at the top where there were still some leaves. Fourth- and fifth-instar caterpillars were everywhere. I ran back to the car to get a plastic bag and began collecting as many caterpillars as I could reach.

Then I realized that there were also chrysalises all over the tree. I was truly giddy! It felt like I was a child waking up on Christmas morning to find presents under the tree. This Christmas tree was covered in beautiful gold-lined green ornaments!

As I looked closer I saw that there were also chrysalises on the ground. When the leaves dried up they would fall off of the tree, or as a caterpillar chewed the leaves, the chrysalis had nothing to support it and it would fall. I decided that I needed to rescue all the chrysalises that I could.

Monarch Chrysalises on Crown Flower leaves — Just a few of the rescued **Monarch** chrysalises on **Crown Flower** leaves.

I collected what I was able to find and reach. I also cut some branches that still had leaves on them so I would have food for the dozens of caterpillars that I had collected.

Before long, the little boy came running down the street in his school uniform. He was so happy to see me. I gave him a few pa‘anga coins in exchange for my gleanings.

As I left to take my bounty of butterflies home, we were both smiling and waving like Queen Sālote in London. More than half a century separated us in age, the boy and me. We couldn’t speak each other’s language. But we were a pair of happy Tongan monarchs: he, the king of the magic money tree; I, the queen of butterflies.

“See you again soon, Your Royal Highness!”

P1230531 — A newly-emerged, male **Monarch** butterfly. Black spots on the lower wings are scent glands used to attract females.

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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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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.

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“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

Perchance to Hold a Butterfly

I raise butterflies so children can experience the sheer joy of holding them and observing them up-close.

Monarch on Girl's Hand — A **Monarch** (*Danaus plexippus*) butterfly perches on the hand of this delighted young lady who also sports a colorful butterfly T-shirt on her field trip to the butterfly farm.

Painted Lady butterflies in children's hands — **Painted Lady** (*Vanessa cardui*) butterflies in the hands of budding lepidopterists. This is the species you can raise with **Butterfly Lady’s** famous **Painted Lady Butterfly Caterpillar Rearing Kit**. **Click Here** or on the photo for complete details.

Many people believe the old wives’ tale that if you touch a butterfly’s wings and it loses some scales, it will die. Not so.

The truth is that butterfly wings are covered with hundreds of thousands, even millions in larger species, of tiny scales that overlap one another like shingles on a roof.

These scales protect and strengthen the translucent wing membranes and help provide lift.

Morpho Wings — Close-up wing view (left) of this stunning **Morpho** (Morpho spp.) butterfly (right).

Magnified Morpho Wing — Same photo (from above left) of a **Morpho** butterfly wing magnified to show details.

Magnified Monarch Wing — Exquisite, cushiony patterns of orange, black and white scales on the wing of a **Monarch** butterfly. At this magnification, it appears to be a fine handiwork of needlepoint.

Drastic loss of scales will change the aerodynamics of the wing, making flight more strenuous and slow, but a butterfly can fly with most of its scales missing. In fact, butterflies are so resilient that they can still fly after losing parts of their wings.

Worn Wings of a Tiger Swallowtail — Amazingly, this **Eastern Tiger Swallowtail** (*Papilio glaucus*) butterfly can still navigate the skies with substantial parts of its wings missing. It’s nectaring on faded blossoms of **Common Milkweed** (*Asclepias syriaca*).

Slipperiness and easy detachment of butterfly scales help butterflies escape predators. Wear and tear is natural over an adult’s lifetime and a few scales are lost each time a butterfly flies. Severe weather, brushes with plants and spider webs all take their toll.

Worn Wings Julia — This tattered **Julia** (*Dryas iulia*) can also still fly. As bits and pieces of its wings fall off or are bitten off by birds, lizards and other predators, it quickly adjusts its motor skills to compensate for weight and balance.

The longer a butterfly lives, the more likely its wings will be damaged. Scales form the colors and patterns butterflies need for mate selection, camouflage, predator avoidance and thermoregulation.

Zebra Longwing Worn wings — Yes, this **Zebra Longwing** (*Heliconius charithonia*) butterfly is still airworthy, but doesn’t have too many more miles in it.

Although a butterfly will not die if you touch its wings, if too many scales are rubbed off, these benefits are diminished. So, handle them with care.

Morph scales — Hundreds of butterfly scales ended up on my finger after handling a **Morpho** butterfly. Not to worry. There are millions more scales on its wings. They remind me of nature’s “pixie dust,” magically facilitating butterfly flight.

For a demonstration of how to properly pick up and hold a butterfly, I turn to John – a professional butterfly farmer in the Southeast.

So if you ever get the chance to hold a butterfly, it’s all good. Just be gentle, do it the right way, and treasure the joy.