Festival of Butterflies 2009

The butterfly breezeway greets visitors to our annual Festival of Butterflies -- final weekend this Friday to Sunday, August 14-16. The breezeway is filled with wild Monarchs and other butterflies including all stages of a butterfly's life cycle from eggs to caterpillars, chrysalis and adult butterflies.

Children, parents and grandparents happily enter to find a beautiful space filled with butterfly nectar and host plants and accompanying butterflies. An expert guide is always on hand during the festival to answer questions and point out unique eggs, caterpillars and to identify plants in the display.

The tiny white spot on this leaf is actually a Monarch butterfly egg. All butterflies begin their life as an egg, laid by their mother on the appropriate plant for them to eat (in this case, a tropical milkweed). There is no parental care so this egg is on its own and subject to a whole parade of predators.

We have some unusual caterpillars on display including this large Pandorus Sphinx caterpillar. It was found in our vineyard eating the grape leaves and moved into the breezeway where visitors can view it. It is now feeding on the leaves of a potted grape. It will grow up to be a beautiful moth that flies with hummingbird -like grace at dusk.

Children (and adults too!) can get there "butterfly groove" on by making an antennae headband to wear at the Festival.

In the conservatory where we display butterflies from Florida, Texas and Blue Morphos from Central America, be sure to see the chrysalises hung in their hatching cages. These Zebra Heliconian chrysalises look like bugs with large pinchers on their head; presumably to deter predators. The reflective, metallic-looking spots on their back look like evil eyes glowing in the dark.

The elaborate chrysalises of Variegated Fritillary look gilded in real gold; presumably to look inedible to a predator.

Approximately 25 species of butterflies and moths are now in flight in the conservatory. The Atala butterfly depicted is one of our most unusual and as difficult to find as Waldo in the Where's Waldo books. The glowing blue spots are actually phosphorescent, while the bright red body warns would be predators that this is a toxic butterfly. Atala is a conservation success story as this butterfly was once thought to be extinct in its only American range in South Florida. Its caterpillars fed on uncommon wild cycads but suddenly switched to eating cultivated ornamental cycads found in yards and gardens. The butterfly is now prevalent in the Gold Coast of South Florida but limited by any freezing winter weather to spread northward.

We received cocoons of the Cecropia from Florida: the largest moth in North America. Many have emerged and they sit and while away the day and are active only at night. Easy to photograph, they are a visitor favorite in the conservatory. Cecropia are native throughout eastern North America and found wild at Powell Gardens but in low numbers and only from May-June; rarely as late as the Fourth of July.

The beautiful female Promethia moth is also in flight in the conservatory. This female is only perched on a Verbena flower. Promethia (and the prior cecropia moth) are wild silk moths that have no mouth. They emerge from their cocoons only to breed and carry on the species -- only their caterpillars eat. Promethia is found wild east of here in Central and Eastern Missouri though our cocoons came from Florida.

The male Promethia moth looks completely different and flies in the late afternoon to search for his mate. I have always admired the purple sheen to this dark brown moth and will never forget when my dad brought me home one he had caught with his hand while golfing one afternoon. I have been interested in butterflies and moths since childhood in Decorah, Iowa!

North America's largest butterfly is also in flight in the conservatory: Giant Swallowtail. Visitors have made me see the clown face smile of spots on this butterfly, something I had never noticed in over 30 years of acquaintance with this butterfly. Here is a freshly released butterfly perched on the chrysalis hatching cage. Giant Swallowtails until relatively recently were solely a tropical butterfly. They have since become residents through much of the central and southern United States as far north as Southeastern Minnesota. If you plant citrus family plants (herb rue, hoptree or prickly-ash) in your yard and garden you will attract this butterfly and its unique bird-dropping-look-alike caterpillars. We should have these weird caterpillars on display at the festival too.

Our final "butterfly house" is the Caterpillar Petting Zoo and Monarch Watch Science Center. Here volunteers from the Johnson County, Kansas Extension Master Gardeners guide visitors to actually touch caterpillars -- guaranteeing a close encounter (and carefully monitoring and switching them out so none get overhandled). Monarch Watch from KU in Lawrence, Kansas is also present here and will demonstrate how to hold and tag Monarch butterflies. They have many chrysalises waiting to emerge right before your eyes....

All eyes and cameras are on a Monarch chrysalis as it emerges. Monarch Watch staff will call out when a Monarch emerges and if you stick around long enough you will observe this miraculous event.

The Insectaries - butterfly Garden surrounding the fountain continues to attract a wide array of wild butterflies. Linda Williams, local Missouri Master Naturalist will take you on a camera safari to see and photograph the creatures of this garden (10a.m. Friday and Saturday; 1p.m. Sunday).

The hot weather last weekend made the Fountain Garden and exquisite place to cool off! This weekend's seasonal weather will also invite visitors for a splash.

Stop in to also cool off in the Visitor Center's air conditioning and visit the Butterfly Museum. Here you will meet Betsy Betros, local author and naturalist and she will show you some interesting caterpillars and local butterfly and moth collections. Betsy wrote the local book A Photographic Field Guide to the Butterflies of the Kansas City Region. Consider purchasing this beautiful and great resource and have her sign it on the spot!

Friday through Sunday, August 14-16 will be the last weekend of our Festival of Butterflies so come out for a close encounter with these remarkable and beautiful creatures. The butterflies (including the brilliant blue tropical morphos --see prior blog) in the conservatory will be at peak and the breezeway and science center are filled with wild Monarchs and other butterflies. Powell Gardens also is exuberant with lush plantings in flower and fruit so be sure and walk the grounds from the Heartland Harvest Garden to the Perennial Garden. The conservatory butterflies will remain on display from now through Sunday, August 23 but without the activities and experts to interpret them. The butterfly breezeway and science center will be open only through this Sunday (August 16).

Is Your Thistle a Wildflower or Weed?

We have had numerous comments from concerned visitors that we have invasive thistles at Powell Gardens. The concerns are over three invasive species of thistles that are on the noxious weed list: Bull Thistle (Cirsium vulgare), Canada Thistle (Cirsium arvense) and Musk Thistle (Carduus nutans): all not native to the United States (or Canada!). I did carefully check out the visitor comments just in case, but I can't find any invasive thistles on the grounds. I did photograph the two native species, which we actually have planted in the butterfly garden as well as growing wild.

This is the native Field Thistle (Cirsium discolor) and should actually be called "Prairie Thistle." This thistle is native to our region and throughout the Midwest. It is a premier plant for insects and wildlife and IS NOT INVASIVE nor on the noxious weed list. It supports such a menagerie of native bugs and birds that most of its seeds are consumed. Goldfinches love the seeds and use the fluffy seed down to line their late summer nests. Many bees and butterflies use the flowers for nectar and the Painted Lady butterfly's caterpillar eat the leaves!

This is a Prairie Thistle we planted in the butterfly garden with a late Great Spangled Fritillary imbibing nectar from the blossom.

Here a female Cloudless Sulphur is back lit while nectaring on the other native species of thistle on the grounds: the Tall Thistle (Cirsium altissimum), which is also NOT INVASIVE nor on the noxious weed list.

Most of the native thistles have dense hairs on the undersides of their leaves, giving them a woolly white appearance. All the noxious species do not have this trait and are also much spinier. You wouldn't see my hand without a glove holding them!

The flowers of the two native thistles are nearly identical but they have very different leaves: the Prairie Thistle has distinct lobes like a red oak leaf.

The Tall Thistle has leaves without lobes or minor lobes. Both native species are biennial (living only two growing seasons). Thistles in flower now will die as they produce their seeds. Those seeds will produce a rosette of leaves in the summer of 2009 and will bloom in late summer of 2010!

Ironweeds (Vernonia spp.) have been mistaken for thistles by our visitors. This is the Curly-top or Arkansas Ironweed (Vernonia arkansana) in the Butterfly Garden. It is also native on the grounds.

I also spotted a Missouri Ironweed (Vernonia missurica) still in bloom. Yes, it looks similar to a Canada thistle but is not spiny and does not spread by underground rhizomes but stays in a distinct clump.

The gardeners at Powell Gardens know the difference between native and exotic thistles and we do our best to remove noxious weed from the grounds. We do promote our native wildflowers whereever we can!

Flying Flowers grace the Conservatory

We have imported nearly 2,000 butterflies from Florida, Texas and Costa Rica for our annual Festival of Butterflies. The conservatory is filled with their favorite nectar plants and set with high humidity to mimic the climate of subtropical Florida & Texas as well as the tropical rain forest of Costa Rica. Five hundred butterflies are in flight at any given time from now through Sunday, August 17. A wonderful array of interpretive and fun activities greatly enhance the experience of a visit during the Festival of Butterflies this Friday (Aug. 15) - Sunday (Aug. 17). The butterflies will remain on public display in the conservatory after the Festival of Butterflies for limited hours (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) from Monday August 18, through Sunday, August 24.

The Erato Heliconian imported from the Rio Grande Valley of Texas is even a rare sight in the wild there. It is a perennial favorite butterfly in the conservatory and often nectars on the bright orange blooms of Mexican Sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia) depicted.

An Erato Heliconian with its wings closed, just finished sipping nectar from the Mexican Sunflower.


Blue Morpho (Morpho peleides) is the star attraction in the conservatory. This is a female sunning herself on the floor. Morphos usually land with their wings closed. Their bright iridescent blue wings, buoyant flight and friendly behavior (often landing on visitors' shirts or hats) make them the favorite butterfly in the conservatory.

The male Blue Morpho has more evenly blue wings. All our morphos were imported as chrysalises from Costa Rica, under permits obtained through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. They are farm raised and purchased from two cooperatives that help locals earn income and thus protect their rain forest.

A Blue Morpho with its wings closed looks like an entirely different butterfly! We think the unique eye spotting and patterns are still beautiful. Morphos do not nectar on flowers so we provide them with a wonderful concoction "sugar bait." The recipe can be found in the Butterflies and Moths of Missouri book by J. Richard and Joan E. Heitzman and consists of dark brown sugar, molasses and over-ripe bananas.

Be sure and check out the brand new butterfly book (hot off the press): A Photographic Field Guide to the Butterflies of the Kansas City Region by Betsy Betros. The book is available in our Gift Shop and Betsy will be on hand Saturday and Sunday during the festival to sign the book!

There are about 25 species of butterflies on display in the conservatory so come out and see them for a guaranteed close encounter.

New Powell Gardens Butterfly Garden Opens Saturday

The new Powell Gardens Butterfly Garden officially opens to the public on Saturday, May 31, 10a.m. - 3p.m. We will have some of the best butterfly gardeners and enthusiasts on hand to help interpret the garden, give you tips on what to plant to attract butterflies and have some interesting butterflies and moths to see up close.

Matt Bunch, Horticulturist-Heartland Harvest Garden, puts some finishing touches to the garden. Matt is in charge of the new garden as it is an "Insectaries Garden" that will not only attract butterflies, but other important pollinators and beneficial insects as well. We all should never take for granted those fruits and vegetables we eat and that some necessary little critter pollinated those flowers for us so that we could partake of the luscious fruit. Also most insects are beneficials: the good bugs eat the bad bugs and only a small percentage are pests! You will see the beginnings to the Heartland Harvest Garden (our premier edible landscape and newest garden scheduled to open next year) to the west of the arbor above the butterfly garden beds.

Here is an overview of the garden looking south across its tiered beds toward the Visitor Center. There are four beds on the north and four beds on the south side of the Fountain Garden. The stonework ties it in beautifully with the Visitor Center -- come see, no photo can do the beautiful landscape justice.

A rainbow of flowers are in bloom in the new garden starting with red 'Tex Tuff Red' Verbena which is a tender perennial that will bloom all summer.

The garden has a strong theme of native plants including pink Pale Purple Coneflowers (Echinacea pallida).

Mexican Sunflowers (Tithonia rotundifolia) are an awesome annual to attract butterflies and hummingbirds.

The Ozark native Yellow Wild Indigo (Baptisia sphaerocarpa) becomes a premier garden perennial but is a good host (a plant which the caterpillars can eat) for the little Wild Indigo Duskywing butterfly.

Former Perennial Plant of the Year 'Walker's Low' Catmint is a stunning perennial in blue with nectar rich flowers produced nearly all season if it is sheared back in midsummer.

Pansies (Viola x witrockiana) are used in the garden as early season nectar plants but they are also good host plants for the Variegated Fritillary butterfly.

Single flowering zinnias like these 'Starbrite' Zinnias (Zinnia angustifolia) make great nectar plants. Remember many double flowers have no nectar in them.

So for all colors of the rainbow, there is a great butterfly and insect plant for your garden. Come see the new garden and get some ideas how to make your garden more GREEN by attracting forgotten pollinators and creating a balance of nature that will keep your use of pesticides to a minimum.

Plums' Bloom Herald Spring's Butterflies

My hands down favorite time of year is now: when the wild plums bloom. They herald the season of spring butterflies, many of which can be seen at no other time. Wild Plums are valuable plants for the landscape as their pollen and nectar rich flowers attract a plethora of beneficial insects and pollinators. Last night I hiked up on the Byron Shutz Nature Trail and admired their flowers abuzz with life from honeybees to tiger swallowtails. Their aroma brings back fond memories from childhood on my grandparent's Iowa farm, where they used to bloom down the fence rows. My grandmother would make a wild plum-apple jelly from them that was always a treat. Their scent brings back her laugh and feel of her loving hands. I have written an unpublished story of the wild plum and how it should be cultivated in every Midwestern landscape.

Here's a close up bloom of a wild plum transplanted next to the hort cabin. There are actually four species native in the area and all are relatively similar: American Plum (Prunus americana), Wildgoose Plum (Prunus munsoniana), Hortulan Plum (Prunus hortulana) and the depicted Bigtree or Mexican Plum (Prunus mexicana). I've seen all but the Hortulan Plum growing wild at Powell Gardens and all will be displayed in the Heartland Harvest Garden.

Matt Bunch discovered this Luna Moth on the Hort Cabin's front porch. It is my favorite of our wonderful moths and usually its first brood emerges when the plums bloom--right on schedule again this year! Pairing insect emergence with blooming plants is much better than looking at the calendar--it is officially known as "coincide" and it is especially important for pest control. I found another beautiful Luna moth up on the Nature Trail sitting on the prairie grasses. Adult Luna Moths have no mouth parts and cannot feed, but their caterpillars eat the leaves of walnuts (and hickories, persimmon and sweetgum, though I have never found them there).

I saw 19 species of butterflies yesterday including numerous Eastern Tiger Swallowtails. This one is sipping salts from wet gravel and he let me take his picture. The Powell Gardens Byron Shutz Nature Trail is a great place to observe butterflies but is extremely wet with our more than double average rainfall. Be sure to wear waterproof duck shoes or boots as we cannot fix wet areas without causing more damage (ruts) at this time.

I saw more Goatweed Leafwings (a velvety orange butterfly) than ever before yesterday as well as numerous Falcate Orangetips, which I always feel are indicators of a good season and don't necessarily emerge every year. The orangetips are a butterfly that can only be seen in April--small white butterflies with bright almost fluorescent orange wingtips on the males. I was relieved to see Monarch butterflies too! You may know they suffered a devastating winter because of lumber poaching in their tiny overwintering "preserves" in Mexico. Look up KU's Monarch Watch web site for all the gory details. I have seen at least five Monarchs that made it back!

Peak of Spring!

Spring has exploded with a bonanza of flowers, butterflies & birds at Powell Gardens. Because of technical problems I cannot share images at this time but shall as soon as possible!

Precocious (spring flowering) magnolias and daffodils were in peak bloom last weekend. The lovely yellow Butterflies magnolia is currently in full bloom.

This weekend of April 26-27 will be peak bloom for redbuds. Dogwoods are budding well and may be quite showy by the weekend if the warmth continues. We are two weeks behind recent bloom times this year.

Wild plums opened yesterday and are in full bloom along the nature trail. A hike on the nature trail requires water proof footwear because of all the rain! Butterflies have emerged en masse and are at peak of spring numbers. The high ridge of the nature trail is where they "hilltop" on warm days. Butterflies go to the highest point around to search for a mate. Trail markers 18-20 are the best areas.

Spring bird reports are pouring in and beautiful Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Indigo Buntings, Baltimore Orioles and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have all returned. They are looking for feeders because mother nature is so far behind this year. We will be putting up oriole feeders outside the Cafe shortly and the hummingbird garden nectar plants will be planted next week.

The azaleas should be in peak bloom during the Spring Plant Sale weekend May 3-4. Be sure and check out our website (www.powellgardens.org) for the list of plants available at our plant sale. Friends members only get the first pick on Friday night (May 2) from 5-7pm. You may join or renew now!

Stay tuned for some images of the magnolias -- we have the best collection in the mid USA.

Butterfly Season Begins

Saturday was the beginning of butterfly season. I always count on the first butterflies to emerge or arrive with the opening of the first insect pollinated wild plants. That first flower the butterflies imbibe nectar from and help pollinate is the Fragrant Sumac (Rhus aromatica). A quick hike on the Powell Gardens - Byron Shutz Nature Trail to the "hilltopping" ridge revealed nine species of butterflies on Saturday.

The first butterfly of the season this year was the Goatweed Leafwing. I saw about half a dozen of these brilliant orange butterflies on Saturday on the trail. They overwinter as adult butterflies so often emerge on warm winter days. You can see them regularly now that they have fully emerged from hibernating. This picture was taken by Betsy Betros and is of a female butterfly (the male is more evenly orange that seems to glow in the spring sunshine). Betsy is writing a new book about butterflies of the Kansas City Region that will have its preview at the opening of our butterfly garden on May 31 and be published by our Festival of Butterflies in August.


Red Admirals made their appearance on Saturday. It is interesting to me that we do not know for sure whether the first butterflies seen are ones that emerged from hibernation or immigrants from farther south. I saw three, two of which were definitely worn from a long flight or a long winter!

Saturday's butterfly list included:
Cabbage White
Spring Azure
Goatweed Leafwing
Eastern Comma
Gray Comma
Question Mark
Mourning Cloak
Red Admiral
Painted Lady

When the wild plum blooms, we can have nearly two dozen species of butterflies out on the nature trail. Part of the trail follows the highest ridge around and this is why it is such a special place to observe butterflies. Butterflies "hilltop" -- that is they go to the highest point around to find a mate. You can see inordinate congregations of butterflies perusing our trail for this reason as well as for its good habitat and plethora of early spring flowers from shrubby wild plum and fragrant sumac to herbaceous biscuit root and prairie-plum.

FIRST BUTTERFLY OF THE SEASON!

I hiked the Byron Shutz Nature Trail here at Powell Gardens on Saturday, January 5. Our official weather station said it was 62F! The trail is sloppy from this thaw over a low of +6F earlier this week, but still a great hike if you wear appropriate footwear.

On the north side of the native prairie remnant just north of the gas line crossing (butterfly hilltopping interpretive sign) I saw my first butterfly of the season. It flushed up from the prairie and flew about 30 feet before landing. It was obviously groggy and began opening and closing its wings and then positioned itself to warm up in sun. It was a female Goatweed Leafwing! I enjoyed watching her with close focusing binoculars and was tempted to pick her up but let her be. Goatweed Leafwings are one of five species of butterflies that overwinter as adult butterflies here. There are no eggs, caterpillars or chrysalises -- just the adult butterflies out there now and they will begin mating and egg laying when the goatweeds (a native annual) germinate in midspring.

Other butterfly species including the Mourning Cloak, Question Mark, Eastern Comma and Gray Comma overwinter here as adult butterflies. Yes, they freeze solid and come back to life! They appreciate brush piles, log piles, loose bark or similar situations to find winter quarters. All these butterflies can be seen flying on warm sunny winter days just like this weekend and the hilltop portion of our nature trail is one of the best places to see them. Most butterflies overwinter here as chrysalises, quite a few as caterpillars and a few species of our hairstreak butterflies overwinter as eggs.

The Goatweed Leafwing is one of my favorite butterflies and Powell Gardens is one of the best places to see them anywhere. We have lots of wild goatweed growing on our prairie ridge and the male butterflies like to go the highest point around to stake out a territory to attract a mate. Many species of butterflies do this; it's called hilltopping. If you are a butterfly and looking for love, fly to the highest point around! The males are brilliant velvety orange above and look just like a dead leaf with their wings closed. Hence their name is a combination of this cryptic leaf-like wing pattern and the butterfly's food (host) plant. Males will fly out and investigate anything orange that passes by. The females are a more modest orange above with a band of yellow-orange on their forewing.

Come out and enjoy a hike on the Byron Shutz Nature Trail here at Powell Gardens and if it is a mild, sunny winter day you just may see some of our winter butterflies.

Alan Branhagen

Butterflies: A reason to enjoy each day

It has been a long, warm fall, but butterfly numbers were not as astounding as 2006. My favorite butterfly, the large yellow Cloudless Sulphur, was still flying in the gardens this week. This tropical butterfly (native from Argentina to the lower Midwest) emigrates here in summer. It breeds and finds a host on wild partridge peas and sennas. By late summer and fall we can have good numbers of them in the gardens.

They remind me of flying sunshine and it’s always hard to understand that they will completely die off with the hard freeze--their eggs, caterpillars and chrysalises are all freeze tender. Unlike familiar Monarchs that migrate or swallowtails that overwinter as chrysalises, Cloudless Sulphurs are one of our many colonist butterflies that are killed by our winters but return each year from populations that survive in mild climates to our south.

There is evidence that some Cloudless Sulphurs migrate back southward in fall but also some stray northward as far as Canada! Most of the garden butterflies stay put, you can find them hunkered down in sheltering vegetation on cold fall days or find their frozen remains in winter garden clean up. I have had them alive in my garage as late as December. I feel they are a good reason to enjoy every day you are given.

Posted by Alan Branhagen, Director of Horticulture