Nathan's Notes

December 15, 2008

This month in the Christina Reiman Butterfly Wing, one butterfly sure to delight visitors is the Ismenius Longwing (Heliconius ismenius). The Ismenius Longwing is a species received almost year round from our supplier in Ecuador. Individuals are often observed in the Butterfly Wing because they have a long lifespan. Data from a longevity study conducted in the Butterfly Wing found an individual that lived 110 days. The Ismenius Longwings are most active from dawn until a little after noon. So if you are interested in seeing this butterfly in the Butterfly Wing, stop by the Gardens in the morning on a bright sunny day for the best show.

November 15, 2008

If you have the ability to stop by the Christina Reiman Butterfly Wing over the next couple of weeks, you will have the opportunity to see up to four different species of Mormon Butterflies. The Mormon Butterflies are a group of Swallowtail butterflies in the genus Papilio, which all have the word Mormon as part of their common name. One characteristic that these individuals share is all of the males of these species look the same while there are multiple forms the females can take. Of the five different species that are flown in the Butterfly Wing, we currently have four. The four different species that you could see in the Butterfly Wing include the Common Mormon (Papilio polytes), Scarlet Mormon (Papilio rumanzovia), Great Mormon (Papilio memnon) and Yellow Mormon (Papilio lowii).

With winter upon us, a trip to the Butterfly Wing may not be on the top of your list of things to do, but it should be. Even thought it is cold outside, it feels like summer in the Butterfly Wing.

October 15, 2008

Recent pupae shipments containing African species include the Gold Banded Forester (Euphaedra neophron). When this truly amazing butterfly sits at rest with its wings spread its color is an iridescent violet with a golden band near the tip of each forewing. In the Christina Reiman Butterfly Wing, as is the case in the wild, the Gold Banded Forester prefers to feed on rotting fruit. Along with its characteristic feeding behavior another interesting behavior observed in the Butterfly Wing is that the Gold Banded Forester seems to return to the same location day after day making it easy to locate and enjoy them. This week a tropical shipment due to arrive should contain more of this amazing butterfly, and if all goes well it will be possible to see Gold Banded Foresters in the Butterfly Wing within the next couple of weeks.

September 15, 2008

This week’s note is a time sensitive announcement.  On July 25, 2008, the box of tropical pupae for the Christina Reiman Butterfly Wing contained five Madagascar Moon Moth (Argema mittrei) cocoons.  In the nearly six years that the Butterfly Wing has been open, this was the first time that we had received this amazing species.  Finally on September 5^th, six weeks after their arrival, the first male Madagascar Moon Moth finally emerged from its cocoon.  After emerging from his cocoon, it took the male nearly four hours to completely spread his wings.  Currently, three of the five pupae have emerged, and each individual so far has been a male.

It is easy to tell male and female apart.  Besides for the size difference in their antennas, the males have much longer tails.  From the top of their wing to the tip of their tail the male moths are roughly seven inches long with almost 5 inches of that tail alone.  Because of their long tails, the alternate common name, sometimes used in the literature for this species, is the “Comet Moth”.  Just like the Atlas Moths (Attacus atlas), the Madagascar Moon Moths do not have functioning moth parts so they will never feed as an adult moth, but instead, they will live off of reserves from their larvae stage.  Due to their inability to feed, the adult stage is very short. Designed for reproduction and dispersal alone, the adult stage usually last less than two weeks.  So, if you are interested in seeing one of these amazing individuals alive in the Butterfly Wing, you may want to visit the gardens in the next week since there will be a very small window of opportunity to see them.

August 15, 2008

Two species of butterflies which will have a strong presence in the Christina Reiman Butterfly Wing over the next month are the Mottled Emigrant (Catopsilia pyranthe) and the Orange Emigrant (Catopsilia Scylla).  In South East Asia, these are two of the most prevalent species observed.  Despite their small size, both of the Emigrants should be easy to observe while they nectar from the flowers or rest on the leaves of the plants.