Butterfly Life Cycle

The first stage of a butterflies life cycle is the egg.  Where it is born into a beautiful creature. It has lots of stages to go to be a full grown adult butterfly. Yes, butterflys breed just like other creatures.  Female butterflies lay many eggs at one time, about 100-300 eggs at one time in a female butterflies life or per hatch.

The caterpillar stage is the second stage in the butterfly life cycle.  Its growth is rapid.  It feeds off the leaf of the host plant where its hatched.  It grows and sheds its exoskeleton and after 4 to 6 molts transforms to the pupa.                  

The pupa is the third stage in the butterfly life cycle.  This covers the caterpillar.  This is called a chrysalis (cocoon).  It does not eat in this sage.  It can stay in the pupa for a few days to a couple months.  

  The butterfly is the last stage in the butterfly life cycle.  It is in this stage 10-15 days after the cocoon.  Before it can fly it unfolds and dries its wings.  It feeds on nectar in sweet flowers.  Adults mate during this stage and the female lays her eggs on an appropriate plant she thinks would be a safe place.  

- Lauren, Jade, Andrea 

 

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Butterflies in the Winter

Butterflies either migrate or “overwinter.”  Butterfly’s are cold-blooded insects. They cant handle the cold.  The monarch butterflies migrate to the south because it’s a warmer environment.  They also migrate to the south because they eventually run out of food and could starve to death.  Most butterflies usually migrate to Mexico or to southern California.  Certain butterflies survive up  to 20 degree weather even with snow on the ground.  Sometimes they stay where they are at and just hibernate for the whole winter.  Many swallowtail butterflies spend the winter as chrysalises. 

-Brianna and Elly

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Host and Nectar Plants

The difference between host plants and nectar plants is that host plants are eaten by caterpillars and nectar plants are eaten by adult butterflies.  For example sunflowers, sweet pepper bush and purple cone flower attract adult butterflies.  Host plants are most needed in the garden if there’s no host plants you will have fever butterflies because for most species if the egg was not placed on the correct plant, the caterpillar hatching from that egg will not survive.  Butterflies need Nectar and host plants because for one it helps them survive throughout their life cycle, and it helps provide shelter and food for the butterflies.  One type of butterflies and its host plant is the Black swallowtail, this butterfly host plants are, Dill, parsley, fennel, carrot.  Monarch butterflies needs milkweed plants to lay eggs on and for their caterpillars to feed on.

- Theresa and Winne

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Butterfly Garden Placement

A butterfly garden should be in an area that is sunny for at least 5-6 hours a day and not in an area where there is much wind.  There should be at least a mud puddle or two in your butterfly garden because the mud puddle is where the butterflies would get the nutrients and minerals that they need.  A good butterfly garden should have plants that are favored by both butterflies and caterpillars.  

Your butterfly garden should have milkweed plants and some plants that are similar to milkweed for the caterpillars to eat.  Your butterfly garden also has to have nectar plants so that the butterflies can eat the nectar out of the flower/plant because butterflies cannot chew up their own foods.  Your butterfly garden should also be colorful so that it attracts the butterflies. 

- Winne, Cierra, Devyn

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Welcome to the Liberty Garden Blog

Welcome to the Liberty Garden Blog!  Follow our progress as we turn our school garden from a weed patch into a marvelous place for butterflies, bees, and other pollinators.  We will be updating regularly with our progress and posting interesting things we find while working in the garden.  We also will be discussing important environmental issues from the local to global level.  So bookmark our page and check back often to follow our garden journey!

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