Elizabeth's Secret Garden

For Thanksgiving weekend our family went on a trip to Key West. The highlight of our trip was visiting The Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservatory http://www.keywestbutterfly.com/ . This beautiful Victorian style structure includes a gift shop, gallery, learning center, and a 5,000 sq. ft. glass enclosed conservatory. The conservatory is full of 50-60 different exotic butterfly species from butterfly farms from around the world. The conservatory has a computer controlled weather system that provides a tropical climate for the many butterflies (this was my dad’s favorite part). Sam Trophia (above) and George Fernandez are both owners of The Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservatory. Sam Trophia gave me a tour of the conservatory and shared how it is operated. It was a pleasure to hear about his own journey with butterflies. Learning Center To begin our tour we entered the Learning Center. Inside was a map showing different butterflies of the world and where they a...

A White Peacock chrysalis becomes transparent before the butterfly emerges. The paper thin chrysalis allows you to see the intricate patterns on the wings. The abdomen, wings, eyes, and antennas are all visible. This healthy butterfly will soon push its way out and hang while its wings dry. Not all butterflies will have the strength to push their way out of the chrysalis covering. This chrysalis cracked open, but the butterfly never came out. I waited two days to be sure it was dead. After removing the chrysalis covering, the fully developed butterfly was revealed. Some butterflies make it out of the chrysalis, but then fall before their wings are completely dry. This can cause major deformities of the wings. If the butterfly’s wings are bent too much the butterfly will be unable to fly. Injured butterflies become a meal for lizards, birds, spiders, and other creatures. This butterfly had an enlarged abdomen causing it to get stuck in the chrysalis. With my hel...

The BioWorks Butterfly Garden at the Museum of Science & Industry in Tampa contains flowers and host plants that attract native butterflies of Florida. Kristen Gilpin the keeper of the butterfly pavilion invited me on a tour of the caterpillar nursery and gardens. She rears the caterpillars of butterflies and moths that visit the gardens. Raising caterpillars and releasing healthy butterflies is critical to the survival of butterfly species. To begin the tour Kristen showed me the caterpillar nursery and pupa of moths and butterflies she raised. This moth caterpillar is a special guest in the caterpillar nursery. It is a Frangipani Hawk moth and was given to the Mosi Butterfly Garden by a guest. This giant caterpillar is a tropical species, but is occasionally found in southern Florida. Each different caterpillar species are raised in reptile containers. Cuttings from the caterpillars host plants is placed in yogurt containers with water. A small ‘X’ is cut in the...

I currently have 100 White Peacock chrysalises, 50 caterpillars, and one White Peacock butterfly that emerged. I thought I had only 140 caterpillars, but after a recount I discovered more. In the containers you can see how much food it takes to feed all those caterpillars. I fed them fogfruit, water hyssop (bacopa), and leaves of a native wild petunia plant. Before the chrysalis stage, the White Peacock caterpillar must find a stationary spot to hang. This could be a branch, leaf, or they may even pupate on the ground. As this final molting approaches you will notice that the caterpillars head has a greenish hue. Suddenly the hanging caterpillar begins to wiggle and the old skin begins to be shed away. Underneath is the chrysalis covering where the White Peacock butterfly will develop. Have you ever wondered what happens once the caterpillar has made a chrysalis? After research, I discovered that inside the chrysalis enzymes are released that break down the caterpillars tissu...