Zebra Longwing – Butterfly Lady

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*). **Click Here** or on the photo to buy seeds of this versatile nectar- and host-plant.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

My friend, Judi, has created an absolute butterfly paradise in her backyard in Palm Bay, Florida, USA. She started butterfly gardening in 2008 in just one small section. Today her whole yard has been converted to a butterfly habitat that attracts a wide variety of butterflies.

Judi's Butterfly Signs — Bright and lovely signs greet visitors. **Click here** to view a selection of delightful butterfly garden signs for your own yard.

Judi’s private butterfly garden is open to the public a few times each year, including this coming Saturday and Sunday, 4 and 5 June 2016. Go to JudisButterflies.com for complete details and driving directions. (If you are reading this blog post after that date, click on the link anyway to discover when the next opportunity will come.)

If you’re anywhere between Miami and Jacksonville, it would be well-worth your travel time to visit Judi’s Butterfly Garden and to experience first-hand what can be accomplished in your own private space.

(For your convenience, you can follow links on the various plants mentioned here to check for availability and price.)

Butterfly Walkway Entices Visitors — Butterfly stepping-stones on the walkway lead to the garden. She often has extra butterfly nectar- and host-plants available for purchase, including those shown on the right. **Click here** to see whimsical butterfly stepping stones.

Butterfly Backyard — Judi’s backyard is furnished with stylish and functional butterfly-themed patio furniture. **Click here** to see a nice selection of available butterfly patio benches, chairs and tables.

**Zebra Longwings** (*Heliconius charithonia)*, **Julias** (*Dryas iulia*) and **Gulf Fritillaries** (*Agraulis vanillae*) are attracted to **Passion Vines** (Passiflora spp.) as both nectar- and host-plants. Judi has planted them throughout her garden to make it irresistible.

Zebra Longwing Caterpillar on Passion Vine — **Zebra Longwing** caterpillar eating a leaf of **Citrus-Yellow Passion Flower** (Passiflora citrina) which Judi purchased at world-famous **Butterfly World** in Coconut Creek, Florida.

Wild Lime and Fennel — The **Wild Lime** (*Zanthoxylum fagara*) in the back left is covered with **Giant Swallowtail** (*Papilio cresphontes*) caterpillars. A patch of **Fennel** (*Foeniculum vulgare*) in the foreground feeds **Eastern Black Swallowtail** (*Papilio polyxanthes*) caterpillars.

Monarchs (Danaus plexippus) find Tropical Milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) as well as native Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata). She has Dutchman’s Pipe (Aristolochia spp.) for the Polydamas Swallowtails (Battus polydamas) and Pipevine (Aristolochia spp.) for the Pipevine Swallowtails (Battus philenor). I even found a cute little Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus) caterpillar on her Spicebush (Lindera benzoin).

Spicebush Caterpillar — **Spicebush Swallowtail** caterpillar on a **Spicebush** leaf, its host-plant.

Adirondack Chairs and Hackberry Tree — Adirondack chairs invite passing a relaxing afternoon in the shade of the **Hackberry Tree** (*Celtis spp.*), a host-plant for the **Hackberry Emperor** (*Asterocampa celtis*) butterfly.

Spicebush on Penta — **Spicebush Swallowtail** butterfly on **Penta** (Pentas lanceolata).

A variety of flowers such as Pentas, Porterweed (Stachytarpheta jamaicensis) and Firebush (Hamelia patens) provide nectar for all these attractive native butterflies.

Julias Nectaring on Zinnias — Even small pots of **Zinnias** (Zinnia spp.) invite the butterflies, such as these **Julias**.

Butterfly Enclosure — Butterfly enclosure for Judi’s private butterfly zoo.

There is a screened-in enclosure where visitors can enjoy a close-up view of the butterflies nectaring on flowers, feeding on rotten fruit, and or puddling on the stone floor.