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June is almost over and Summer is here ... finally! Although butterflies are becoming more abundant, numbers are down in our area from a couple of years ago.
Is your garden ready for summer? Do you have host plants for the butterflies found in your area of the world? There are many nurseries that sell butterfly plants, both 'accidentally' and on purpose. Many nurseries know nothing about butterflies and cannot give you good advice. If you have doubts about the nursery, ask friends! A specific host or nectar plant is just as beneficial to butterflies whether the nursery is knowledgeable or not.
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Monarch Butterfly Cremaster
Scanning Electron Microscope Images
We can see the cremaster (black stem) of Monarch chrysalides but we can't see the tiny hooks without a LOT of help. Lad Allen, of Illustra Media, sent these images for us to use to illustrate the wonder of how a chrysalis holds onto its silk pad.
Scads of tiny hooks on the tip of the cremaster hook into the hundreds of loops of silk of the silk pad. The grip is so strong that pulling on it will break the chrysalis before it will break the grip of the cremaster from its silk pad.
Click here to see more cremaster images
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Fewer Butterflies? Why?
According to the lepidopterists I've spoken with, there are two primary factors:
1. The harsh freeze this past winter froze down to Miami. This killed butterflies from Orlando to Miami that would normally live through the winter that would fly north and begin spring re-population. The number of butterflies in Florida that survived the winter was drastically reduced.
2. Drought! Florida has been under drought conditions this year. Although we are enjoying some rain now, until the last couple of weeks, many host plants did not grow due to the lack of rain. Many that did grow were in terrible condition. In addition to the lack of host plants, chrysalises dehydrated from the terrible drought.
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Phaon Crescent Butterfly
Eggs or Caterpillars Free - Florida ONLY
Florida Residents ONLY! We have eggs and small caterpillars of this butterfly available FREE this week only. Simply come by and pick them up or pay shipping - they're yours!
We raise these once a year for fun. They laid so many eggs that we would like to share them.
Their host plant is Frog Fruit also called Fog Fruit or Matchstick plant. It grows in ditches, on lawns, and elsewhere. Check out your yard and ditch - do you see any growing? They will also eat plantain (not the banana plantain!)
Just email edith@buyabutterfly.com to let us know that you're coming by to pick them up or to arrange for shipping.
(Why Florida only? The USDA governs transportation of butterflies across state lines. They do not allow Phaon Crescent butterflies to be transported out of Florida. I'm sorry!)
Phaon Crescent Life Cycle
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Butterfly Fun Facts
... through facebook ...
If you're not a fan of Shady Oak Butterfly Farm on facebook, please check us out! We share bits and pieces about butterflies several times daily.
We encourage our fans to share their photos and experiences. Shady Oak's facebook page isn't about Shady Oak. It's about butterflies. The more we all share, the more we all learn, the safer we can make the world for butterflies and moths.
Please join us!
Butterfly Fun Facts on Facebook
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Ladybug Zombies!
Gardeners like ladybugs (also known as lady beetles) because they eat aphids, one much disliked plant pest. But sadly, ladybugs have their enemies too. This article was shared on June 21. (We didn't take the photo of the zombie ladybug since we don't have rights to it ... the photo is on the ScienceShot website linked above and below.)
Sometimes we see an article that we simply must share with you. This is one of them ... next issue we'll share about parasitoid wasps that lay eggs in ladybug nymphs. It's a cruel world out there.
Ladybug Zombies - click here to see the article
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BLUE Buckeye Butterflies?
Yes, your eyes are OK. We didn't mess with the video either - it's real and the colors are real!
For nearly a year we have taken Buckeye butterflies with blue on their wings (background blue) and bred them with each other. We are now emerging some beautiful blue background Buckeye butterflies.
We shared this video clip and others earlier on our facebook account. Please feel free to go to our facebook page and watch the videos.
Blue Buckeye Video here ....
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