The Butterfly Nursery at the Pitot House: Welcoming Baby Monarchs

President Sally Reeves recently introduced the staff to a hidden treasure in the Pitot House garden in the form of butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa). The common name is more frequently given as "milkweed" although butterfly weed is also given. The milky substance in the milkweed is poisonous and makes the caterpillar and butterfly taste bad, a protection from predators. Upon closer inspection of the butterfly weed growing in the parterre bed, Sally was able to point out the eggs and caterpillars populating the leaves of our butterfly weed. In no time, those eggs and caterpillars will soon become the lovely Monarch butterflies that we love to see flying around the camellias and roses of the garden. Sally has recently begun nurturing these tiny beginnings of butterflies on her own property and took one of ours home to raise. She affectionately named him "Mr. Pitot".

Identified as the 2017 Perennial Plant of the Year by the Perennial Plant Association, butterfly weed is known for its ability to support insects and birds and serves as the primary caterpillar food for the monarch butterfly. Despite its name, when you see how powerfully it attracts pollinators, you will never again think of it as a weed

One can hardly discuss butterfly weed without also discussing its chief consumer. Egg-laying female monarch butterflies prefer to lay eggs on the newer growth of the butterfly weed plant and will secrete about 700 eggs during a two to five week period. Depending on temperature, the egg stage lasts three to eight days. Caterpillars, also called larvae, emerge from the eggs and become voracious eaters of the butterfly weed.

With their yellow, white, and black bands, the monarch caterpillars are easily recognizable. During this nine to 14-day stage, the caterpillars molt as they outgrow their skin. They then encase themselves in a cocoon for approximately 15 days (The pupa stage). The pupa looks like a green gumdrop with a gold necklace around it. It turns black just before the butterfly hatches. They hang for two to six hours after hatching before flying away as the majestic black, orange and white butterfly we are so taken with.

We are so enamored with our hidden butterfly nursery and are thrilled to share it with our visitors and members. Enjoy our photographs of this phenomenon of nature!