of butterfly and flower co-evolve with each other, a specialization of feeding begins to evolve, giving rise to two distinct butterfly feeding classifications; nectar feeding specialists, and nectar feeding generalists (Tekulsky 1985). Feeding specialists tend to be less common and more limited to both feeding options and habitat diversity. Generalists tend to be more common and more diverse across habitats. Antennae-
Butterflies have a pair of long outstretched appendages on the top of their head termed antennae. The antennae are long and cylindrical. The end of each antennae flares outward to form a club-like shape. The antennae are equipped with specialized cells which detect scent. The receptors are so sensitive, that they can detect the presence of nectar within the flower without landing on them, thus if the flower is lacking in a food source, the butterfly can keep flying on to the next flower. The antennae serve not only to detect scent of flowers, fruit, mud or minerals, but can also detect the pheromones of the opposite sex. Being small and short-lived animals, finding a mate quickly and reproducing quickly is a worthy pursuit.
Some species of butterflies travel great distances or even seasonally migrate. The ability to find their way during migration is accomplished through an internal navigational sensory system within the antennae. Additionally, this organ allows the butterfly to sense the time of day. The butterfly uses the antennae daily as a clock. When evening begins to approach, the sensory antennae will trigger the butterfly to begin looking for a safe place to rest for the night. Much like a human’s inner ear which helps us maintain our balance, the butterfly has a specialized organ at the base of the antennae called the Johnston’s organ. This organ helps the butterfly retain its balance during flight. The Johnston’s organ also helps with recognition of flight patterns of other butterflies within the area, allowing the butterfly to locate mates easier (butterflycircle.blogspot.com).
Thorax-
The center segment of the butterfly’s body is the thorax. The thorax is equipped with strong muscles which attach to the iconic wings to which most people identify butterflies from. The wings are a set of forewings towards the front of the body and the hindwings residing towards the back. Butterfly wings facilitate their locomotion, but also communication with other butterflies through color and patterning. The wings also help in the avoidance of predators through their ability to fly as well as with concealment through cryptic patterns, shapes and camouflage.
Beneath the thorax are three sets of legs to which they grip onto their environment or walk along the ground. The legs have padded feet that are equipped with taste sensory organs. Female butterflies use these taste organs to sample vegetation for appropriate host plant choices.
Abdomen-
The abdomen is where the butterfly’s digestive, circulatory, respiratory, and reproductive organs reside. Unlike people, butterflies lack lungs. Rather than lungs, butterflies have tiny holes in the side of the abdomen called spiracles, these spiracles deliver oxygen directly to the body tissues through tiny tubes called tracheae.
The male’s reproductive system is equipped with an external set of claspers at the tip of the abdomen to which he holds onto the female with during mating. Females store the male’s sperm and her own eggs within her abdomen.
Introducing the framework
In this guidebook I present the concept of butterfly gardening based on butterfly life histories of life cycle, butterfly needs, and butterfly behaviors.
The ideas presented to the viewer may be already known by some who read this document, or these concepts may be completely new to the reader. Regardless of people’s sophistication to the knowledge of butterflies, it is my hope that all who read and examine this document gain an understanding of the diversity of the butterflies that share our urban habitat within the city of Eugene and how we as concerned individuals can better understand how to design habitats that ensure the survival of butterflies. It is my further hope that these basic principles and design framework can be transferable across place and scale, and that all persons wanting to provide butterflies with suitable habitat can find this process useful.
In short, I wanted to provide a guidebook that helps people help butterflies, because the world just is a better place with them in it.
The Guidebook
I’ve created a step by step butterfly habitat garden process framework that designers can use to create butterfly habitat gardens. The complexity of information that was accumulated to produce this book culminates into a very simple step by step process to the designing of these habitat gardens.
I first introduce you to the habitats that can be found in and around the city of Eugene. It is important to understand the habitat theme of the garden before design can transpire, as specific habitats provide for specific butterflies. Because this guidebook advocates for the designing of habitat gardens and not habitat restoration, there is a fair amount of flexibility to how intensive the design goals need to be to bring back a “pre-settlement”
habitat. There is however, a generally accepted set of thoughts that advocate to create gardens that reflect the pre-settlement landscape, as the gardens can have greater success with native plants and animals that would have existed there traditionally (Tallamy 2007). Pre-settlement habitats that existed within the Eugene area were the wet prairies, upland prairies, oak savanna, woodlands, riparian forests, and upland forests (Christy 2011). Each of these unique habitats is discussed in detail further in the guide. Once you have established the habitat theme that the garden will provide, the design framework process is very straight forward.
Phase One: Building the Palette
The first phase of this design framework is to build the butterfly, hostplant and nectar source palette. This palette is exactly that, these are the species that make up the basis to your design. You pick the butterfly species that will occupy your garden based on the habitat that the garden rests upon. You pick the butterfly hostplants (food for the butterfly caterpillars), based on the butterfly species and pick the nectar sources (food for the adult butterflies), based on the habitat that the plants naturally occur. It’s that simple.
This forms your design palette. In addition to fulfilling the needs of the butterflies, the plants chosen that make up the palette can provide functions of shade, wind buffering, structure, form, color, texture, and so on. The beauty of this process is it is a one stop shop experience for picking the living features of the garden.
In this guidebook I have focused almost entirely on the use of native vegetation to fulfill all biological and design needs of the garden, but there are no rules against adding in exotic plants to the mix as well, as long as the plants in the selected palette make up the core of the planting design.
The Guidebook
The Guidebook
Phase Two: Designing the Garden
The second phase of the design framework is addressing the life history components of the butterfly life cycle, butterfly needs, and butterfly behaviors. Analyzing, understanding and then designing for each butterfly life history provides a deeper understanding to design and can likely result in greater butterfly usage of the garden and success for the survivability of these butterfly visitors.
This phase, phase two, is based on as much complexity as phase one, but once again has been transformed into a simple step by step process that helps the designer know exactly what each design step is intended to accomplish (Fig 3.4).
The first butterfly life history to look at is the butterfly life cycle. This life cycle consists of four distinct stages; the egg, the caterpillar, the chrysalis, and the winged adult. Each stage has unique characteristics which lead to unique design decisions. Each stage is discussed further within the guidebook. The next butterfly life history that is examined are the butterfly needs. These needs are the need for sunlight, the need for shelter, the need for food, and the need for water. The adult butterfly also has the added need of the need to reproduce. The final butterfly life history that is examined are the butterfly behaviors. These behaviors are how the butterfly interacts with its environment. Some of these behaviors specifically are; nectaring, puddling, perching, patrolling, basking, roosting, and hilltopping.
The way this framework process works, is you make design decisions based on the stage of the life cycle, the need that you are designing for and the behavior that results from that need (Fig. 3.2) Its that simple.
To help the reader understand this design flow of life cycle-need-behavior method, I have designed a graphic language using icons that follow each design maneuver and allows to reader to quickly look at what design maneuver is being carried out and for what exact purpose. The icons are
termed “design elements” and their description and the usage of them is discussed further within this guidebook.
Figure 3.2 Process Flow Diagram Simplified
How to use this Guidebook “ A Simplified Diagram”
Phase One Building the Palette Choose the Habitat Choose the Butteries Choose the Hostplants Choose the Nectar Plants Phase Two Designing the Garden for: Life Histories Life Cycle Butterfly Needs Butterfly Behaviors
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Expanded diagram showing of building the palette
The palette comprises of the butterflies, hostplants and nectar sources that will occupy the garden, but he first step is to determine the habitat type of the butterfly garden (Fig. 3.3). Habitat determination should be based on the native vegetation community that existed on the site before it was altered by European settlement (pre-settlement).
The next step is to determine the butterflies that you wish to garden for. Determining the butterflies is achieved by accessing the butterfly to habitat quickguide to determine which species of butterflies occur in the chosen habitat. Once you've made a list of the butterflies, you will want to research each species of butterfly by using the butterfly color plates. The color plates have detailed information about each species. One particular detail found on the color plates is the “abundance” tab. The abundance tab will show you if the butterfly occurs within Eugene as common or as uncommon. It is recommended that you chose butterfly species that appear within Eugene as common species, as these species are likely to show success with butterfly gardening efforts.
The next step is to determine the hostplants for the chosen butterflies. This is accomplished by accessing the hostplant to habitat quickguide to determine the hostplants that feed your butterflies. The hostplant color plates provide details about each hostplant.
The third and final step is to chose the butterfly nectar sources. This is accomplished by accessing the nectar source to habitat quickguide. Build your nectar source plant palette based on the habitat these plants naturally occur in. Once you have selected the nectar sources, you access the nectar source color plates to find out details about each plant, such as height, bloom color, bloom time, and water and soil requirements.
Phase One provides the designer with the garden palette.