The multi-colored White
Peacock has no problem
sitting still while other
butterflies fly around it.
We are fortunate here in Florida to be home
to more than 180 species of butterflies, of
which 40 are endemic to our state. That is the
highest number of varieties in any state east of
the Mississippi River. Our warm climate and
lustrous flora make Florida very appealing
to these insects.
You can enjoy butterflies around your own
home by planting a butterfly garden. You
don’t need a lot of space, since a small planter
placed on your patio or balcony can be used
to attract them. With a little planning and
know-how, you can enjoy butterflies all year
long in your own yard.
To get started, it’s helpful to understand the
lifecycle of the butterfly, as well as the food
sources of caterpillars and butterflies. With
this knowledge, you can make your yard or
planter an attractive place where butterflies
can refuel, or a home where they will live
and multiply.
The life of a butterfly consists of four stages
– egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa (chrysalis)
and adult. The female butterfly lays her
eggs on a larval host plant. Once the eggs
106 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017
Butterflies are one of
nature’s beautiful and
graceful creatures.
hatch, typically within about three days,
the resulting caterpillars begin to dine on
the host plant. They eat a lot. The larvae
will molt several times during their
maturation and once fully grown, will
attach themselves with their silk to a leaf
or twig and molt into a pupa or chrysalis
before eventually becoming butterflies.
Unlike the caterpillars that only eat the host
plant, the butterflies also feed on nectar
from other flowers.
Here are some important things to keep
in mind when attracting butterflies. Don’t
use pesticides on your host plants or those
around them, as pesticides can be deadly
to both butterflies and caterpillars. Learn
about and provide plants that will attract
butterflies to your garden because not all
butterflies feed off the same varieties.
We asked Tampa Bay area “Butterfly
Lady “ Lois Weber to advise us. Lois’s
entire yard is a butterfly garden, which
attracts dozens upon dozens of Monarchs.
When we visited her, in addition to
Monarchs, we saw Zebra Longwings
(Florida’s state butterfly), White Peacocks
and Gulf Fritallaries. Other common
butterflies in our area include various
species of Swallowtails and Sulphurs.
Adult Monarchs feed almost exclusively
on the flowers of the milkweed plant,
which is their only host plant. Growing
milkweed is easy, however, there are
several varieties of it, and only three
types are recommended for attracting
Monarch butterflies. Swamp Milkweed
is most suitable for wetter sites, however,
Butterfly Milkweed is most suitable for
Lois Weber of
Lake Tarpon is
well-known for
her love of and
expertise with
caterpillars and
butterflies found
in the Tampa Bay
area.