Flutter Me Bad

Brown Clipper

And so the Tucson Botanical Gardens begin another year of Butterfly Magic. On this day I was astounded by the new additions to the greenhouse!  It was fun getting back to the docent work.

Great Mormon Butterfly

We've had some new additions like the Great Mormon and Julia butterfly, but there were certainly more:)  The best part this year is that the Butterfly Magic is included as part of the entrance fee at the gardens. So if you've never been to one of these events, it's worth checking out.

Julia Butterfly

The butterflies of Southern Arizona are quite different from their tropical siblings. In essence, I sit studying charts and names to help me ID these beauties.  I can point out our butterflies here in the desert but I still have a hard time with the tropicals.  So today I studied the Great Mormon butterfly with great interest.

Birdwing Butterfly

Of course some of the popular regulars include the Atlas Moth.  I believe as of this write a Lunar Moth also went into the greenhouse.  Another beauty in the moth world.

Atlas Moth

So while things will hopefully cool off soon, this place will be warm and humid all year round.  As a docent, we rotate out in 3 shifts over 3 hours.  Entrance, educator, and Exit.  This year I have several students volunteering from the high school and I hope they enjoy it as much I do.

If you live in Tucson and are interested in becoming a docent at the Tucson Botanical Gardens, contact (520)326-9686, Ext. 39 or email education1@tucsonbotanical.org for more information. And as always, more tomorrow......

Lacewing Butterfly

Maxine & Jonathan Marshall Butterfly Pavillion

My friend Marla

While I'm in Panama and collecting lots of cool info, I thought I'd take you to a place we visited in early April at the Maxine and Jonathan Marshall Butterfly Pavilion.  This next series takes us to the Phoenix Desert Botanical Gardens near the Papagayo park and Phoenix Zoo.  If you go right now, wear a hat and go early in the morning, but personally I think it's too hot to even enjoy the experience and would wait until October or November to visit. As some of you may or may not know, I am a docent for the Tucson Botanical Gardens and volunteer when I can in the Butterfly Pavilion there.  Most butterfly pavilions are closed now and quite frankly that's a good thing......it's just too hot to function is this weather.  However, we don't need pavilions here in the desert southwest during this time of year as we have lots and lots of our own native butterflies to enjoy here.  I have a series on butterfly plants written back in March so it's not too late to put a couple of those plants in for your own enjoyment:) 

The main differences between the two butterfly pavilions are that the Tucson display is enclosed and smaller while the Phoenix display is airy, open, and surrounded by a net.  The types of butterflies and moths are also different.   Our shipments come from Costa Rica, Africa, etc. and the Phoenix butterflies come from Florida.  All of them are very cool and that's what I loved about this particular butterfly pavilion.  There were lots of oranges and yellows flying all around us.  

These Julia(Dryas julia) are taking a break from their warm day and catching up on some fresh citrus.

I secretly shot my friend looking at something.  She had a stowaway butterfly on her shirt as she was trying to exit.  Many of the butterflies found in this pavilion can also be seen in the Sonoran desert.  There were Sulfurs, Buckeyes, Queens, Malachites, Longwings, and Swallowtails.  The mister would come on every several minutes to keep the moisture levels up for the butterflies.

A Swallowtail which can be commonly seen in our desert takes a break from the afternoon sun.

The Queen butterfly is a popular and welcome guest during our warm summer months in Tucson.

Stay tuned for more.........

The Zebra Longwing