Butterflies LIVE!

Ending the silence.

2009-08-12T07:05:00.000-07:00

Hi guys, we've had a little lapse in blog posts. The heat has hit us hard, but now on this cool Wednesday I think an update is in order.

Monarchs are doing well, at last count we have had around 48 caterpillars pupate, hopefully they will be emerging as adults in the next 7-10 days. As soon as they do emerge they'll get to work on the next generation of homegrown Monarchs. For now we'll be keeping the males and females separate to control the number of eggs laid, otherwise they'll eat up all of our milkweed again.

We're right in the middle of leaf mimic month. Everyone who stops by should be sure to catch a glimpse at one of these leaf mimics before they leave, let a staff member know and we'll show you where to look.

Keep your eyes peeled while you're outdoors! Prime Monarch season is upon us, VA peaks around Sep 19th - Oct 1st according to Monarch watch so we're about a month out from the peak.

Monarch photos.

2009-08-03T08:32:00.000-07:00

Promised I'd give you guys photos, sorry its taken so long.

Here is a photo of a mating pair of Monarchs. The female in the photo was seen depositing eggs for several days after this photo was taken. By that time many if not all of the males had expired.

Here is a photo of one of the Monarch eggs.

Here is an early instar Monarch larvae, I'm thinking 2nd instar.

Here is an older larvae, the difference in age is only a couple days.

This photo shows how the larvae seem to cluster on the new growth / flower buds. They seem to like to eat both flower buds and newly developed seed pods.

Leaf Mimic Month

2009-07-31T08:34:00.000-07:00

August is leaf mimic month. Throughout August we will be featuring butterflies that have adaptations that allow them to blend in with their surroundings. Here are some photos of the leaf mimics we will be featuring.

These photos are freely available from wikimedia commons and were not taken at the garden except where noted otherwise. As soon as we have some to post I'll let ya know.

Consul fabius aka "Tiger With Tails" : Many butterflies are brightly colored on one side of their wings but drably camouflaged on the other. This allows them to attract mates when they want to, and hide from predators when they're not active.

Doleschallia bisaltide aka "Autumn Leaf" (taken at LGBG) and a ventral or "underside" view

Kallima inachus aka "Orange Dead Leaf" A dorsal or upperside view

Salamis anacardii aka "Clouded Mother of Pearl"

More Monarch updates.

2009-07-30T06:32:00.000-07:00

Many of our Monarch larvae are progressing into their second and third instars. An instar is the period between molts. The first instar denotes the period between when the larvae hatches from its egg and its first molt. Monarchs have 5 instars. Each molt is usually acompanied by some noticeable change in morphology, morphology is a scientific term that means structure or shape. For instance in the second instar Monarch larvae the tubercles appear (protrusions above their heads that look like antennae).

Monarch larvae arrives.

2009-07-29T10:29:00.000-07:00

We have monarch larvae hatching all over the place. They're still tiny only in their first or second instar but over the next couple of weeks they'll get much bigger! Come by and check them out, photos soon!

Monarchs update

2009-07-24T08:45:00.000-07:00

Hi guys, a couple of days ago we noticed our first few pairs of monarchs mating. Over the last 24 hours we've found eggs popping up on our milkweed. So hopefully we'll have some big fat monarch larvae for everyone to see in a couple of weeks.

Photos and video to follow shortly!

Amazing new species featured this week.

2009-07-23T07:07:00.001-07:00

We received 5 Cethosia cyane (Leopard Lacewing) butterflies in our last shipment. Check out this picture of one of our Leopard Lacewings.
Cethosia cyane perched on a variety of Butterfly Bush.

New Atlas Moth and a new web gallery.

2009-07-23T06:43:00.000-07:00

Hi guys, we have a new, albeit smaller, Atlas Moth that was released this morning.

DISCLAIMER: Since Atlas Moths have unusually short and unpredictable lifespans we cannot guarantee that any will be in flight at a given time.

Many of the butterfly images I've taken will eventually make it to my wikimedia commons gallery. Wikimedia commons is a great place to upload educational media. You can find my gallery here.

UPDATED DOOR POLICY: I'd like to take a second to remind everyone about our policies concerning what can and can't enter the exhibit. Strollers are prohibited. This is for several reasons, the main reason being that there are so many pockets, corners and crevices that butterflies can become wedged in and escape. We will always make exceptions for wheel chairs and persons with special needs, though we ask for your cooperation in helping us thoroughly check any wheelchairs or other apparatus before exiting. Purses are allowed, however, our volunteer on the way out will ask to look inside, butterflies are attracted to some floral scented lotions and perfumes and have been known to crawl into purses and bags. We encourage all guests to leave any backpacks, diaper bags, beach bags (aka nonessential items) on our metal shelving unit to the left of the vestibule. We are not responsible for any lost or stolen items.

A NOTE ABOUT CAMERA BAGS: We realize that many guests have expensive camera and lens systems and that many would like to bring a camera bag. We encourage these guests to bring only what they absolutely need and encourage large camera bags or tripods to be left at home. If a camera bag is brought into the exhibit we will ask that every pocket be opened on the way out to make sure that no butterflies have become trapped in the bag.

New video of one of our Mocker Swallowtails emerging.

2009-07-15T09:52:00.000-07:00

We'll be updating this blog with videos every now and again.

Our first Atlas Moth!

2009-07-13T07:18:00.000-07:00

Checked the emergence room this morning and found this guy!

New species this week:

2009-07-09T11:08:00.000-07:00

Euploea core aka The Common Indian Crow. Native to South Asia and India.

I also have a video of one of our Mocker Swallowtails emerging, I'll post as soon as Youtube finishes rendering the clip.

New Butterflies Arriving 7-3-2009

2009-07-02T08:41:00.001-07:00

We have a lot of new species coming in on this weeks shipment! Butterflies we receive on the 3rd should be in flight by the middle of next week, maybe even sooner!

Attacus atlas, Atlas Moth, Southeast Asia: Considered to be the largest moth in the world. Has the largest wing area (63 square inches) of any lepidopteran.

Biblis hyperia, Crimson-banded Black, found from Paraguay through Mexico and sometimes even into southern Texas.

Doleschalia bisaltide, Autumn leaf, India and Australia. Really cool leaf mimic.

Opsiphanes tamarindi, Large Owlet, Neotropical. Same subfamily as our Giant Owls.

Papilio dardanus, Mocker Swallowtail, Africa

Tirumala limniace, Blue Tiger, Asia.

Tirumala septentrionis, Dark Blue Tiger, Asia.

Owl fun facts

2009-07-01T12:25:00.001-07:00

Owls Butterflies are part of the subfamily Brassolinae. All species belonging to this subfamily have pronounced eye-spots on their wings called Ocelli (singular: ocellus). Many species are considered agricultural pests, species belonging to the genus Brassolis can defoliate whole coconut palm trees. The larvae of the Giant Owl eat banana leaves. Most species in Brassolinae are crepuscular fliers meaning that they fly at dusk. Some species are totally nocturnal. None are known to be unpalatable to predators.

Owl Butterflies do not have many natural defenses. Oddly enough their large wings act as a defense mechanism, large portions can be torn away by predators allowing the owls to escape without sustaining life threatening injuries, Owl Butterfly wings are sometimes referred to as "tear away" wings. Owl Butterflies are known for their large eye-spot commonly thought to mimic an Owl's eye. However, current opinion within Lepidopterist circles suggests that the eye-spot evolved to mimic the eye of either a frog or large mammal. Another hypothesis suggests that the large Ocellus acts as a target for predators, guiding them to the rear portion of the hindwing which is less vital than other wing regions.

Butterflies LIVE! first post!

2009-06-30T10:45:00.000-07:00

Hi guys, its Jay F. This blog is for the most up to date information regarding Lewis Ginter's Butterflies LIVE! exhibit, directly from the source! Check in for weekly updates on any new species or news associated with Butterflies LIVE!

On 6-26-2009 we received over 250 chrysalides. Over the next week expect to see some new butterflies in the exhibit!

Be sure you don't miss these new species added over the past two weeks!

Salamis parhassus Forest Mother of Pearl
Salamis ancardii Clouded Mother of Pearl
Idea leuconoe Rice Paper Butterfly
Heliconius sara Small Blue Grecian
Heliconius charitonia Zebra Longwing
Papilio rumanzovia Scarlet Mormon
Morpho polyphemus White Morpho
Parides photinus Pink-spotted Cattleheart

This past Friday 6-26-2009 we received a couple new morphs* of some of our favorite Heliconius. New Heliconius melpomene and Heliconius ismenius morphs arrived, ask one of our Butterfly Technicians to help locate these new species and morphs.

*Many species of butterfly look different depending upon where they are from. So two members of the same species collected from two different locations in the same country may look very different. Biologists call these regional differences in wing pattern morphs. The butterflies still belong to the same species but look different!

JULY WILL BE OWL MONTH.
In July you will see a lot more owls in the North Wing than you normally would. This is because July is Owl Month! Butterflies LIVE! will be receiving 3 different species belonging to the genus Caligo: Caligo eurilochus (Forest Mort Blue), Caligo memnon (Giant Owl), Caligo oileus (Brown Owl). Owls can look very similar so ask one of our Butterfly Technicians to poin them out for you.

Each month Butterflies LIVE! will be feauturing a selected species or a group of closely related species.