Extension Office Welcomes New Butterfly Life Cycle Display

Extension Office Welcomes New Butterfly Life Cycle Display

The UF/IFAS St. Lucie County Extension office welcomes a new Butterfly Life Cycle display in its Butterfly Demonstration Garden located at the Extension office, 8400 Picos Road, Fort Pierce.

The purpose of this display is to increase understanding, awareness, and appreciation of the butterfly, an important and major group of pollinators. The creation of a self-guided tour allows participants to access information at their own pace.

The first part of the display consists of five weather proof professionally-made Dibond® signs. The first sign is the Life Cycle of the Monarch Butterfly. The Monarch was chosen both for its beauty and high recognition factor. In addition, this location is a Monarch Migration Way Station.

The four remaining signs are mounted throughout the garden and describe each of the stages of their life cycle; egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, and adult.

The second part of the display is made up of seven beautiful replicas of local butterflies. These are metal cut-outs which are mounted on the building, to act as a backdrop for the garden.

Some larval plants in a butterfly garden can look dead. This is because the caterpillar will eat leaves and flowers for 9 – 14 days and typically gains more than 3,000 times its body weight. In human terms, this would be like a 10 pound baby becoming a 3,000 pound adult. The plants will eventually grow back and so, the cycle continues.

The garden is open to the public and visitors are encouraged to come and enjoy a walk with our winged friends.

For more information about butterfly gardening visit:https://solutionsforyourlife.ufl.edu/lawn_and_garden/types_of_gardens/butterfly_gardens.shtml

 

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  • Posted 7 years ago

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