1. Have some tea (compost tea, that is!) – Compost tea is an effective, sustainable way to add nutrients to an ecosystem without relying on synthetic fertilizers.  After seeing compost tea in action at other zoos, we hope it will be the ideal fertilizer, providing gentle nutrition for our plants, butterflies and other creatures in the Wings of the Tropics exhibit.  This winter, we will be constructing our composting system, and hope to be able to apply our first batch of compost tea by late spring.
2. Go native – The gardens at the Butterfly Pavilion include both native and nonnative plants that are attractive to butterflies and other pollinators.  This year, when we buy perennials for the habitat gardens, we will choose native nectar sources.  Native plants thrive in our dry and windy setting, and our local insect fauna are adapted to use them.  This is not to say that we will get rid of all of our non-natives, however.   Certain plants, such as the butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii), provide so much nectar to so many pollinators that we will continue to include them in the habitat gardens.  We aim to create a buffet for butterflies in our habitat gardens!
3. Share the love – We horticulturists love our gardens and rainforest and nature trail.  We get to see the plants grow and bloom each day, and we get to observe the amazing animals that use these plants for food and shelter, both in the rainforest and outdoors.  But, it’s not enough to love them if no one else gets to love them, too.  In 2012, we will offer lots of opportunities to enjoy our rainforest, gardens and nature trail, through programs, events and classes.   And, if you see a horticulturist at work in the rainforest or garden, feel free to stop and chat.  You might get to eat a raspberry or sniff some jasmine…and we promise not to make you pull weeds!

 In the coming months, visitors to the Butterfly Pavilion will be able to visit the tropical rainforest and outdoor gardens to see these resolutions take fruit (pun intended!).  Here’s to a blooming and bounteous New Year!

 Amy Yarger, Horticulture Director

January 3, 2012

It was when I was in high school when I learned about the monarch butterfly migration. After seeing the pictures of forest trees covered in monarchs I knew that it was something I needed to see in person. When I think of all the insects in our world butterflies don’t always jump to the top of my list when I think of who is the most beautiful or has the best adaptations, but when I think of some of the coolest insects monarchs always make the list. It is amazing to me that these small, delicate, short-lived animals are able to travel distances, up to 3,000 miles, that is more than many humans travel in their lives.

As I continued my undergraduate education I found that my appreciation and admiration for insects had grown to the point that I needed to change the focus of my studies. When I became a student of entomology that is when I truly became who I am today. Many people link major life changes to the metamorphosis of a butterfly and without sounding corny, now I could to. Learning about insect adaptations and the feats that they are able to accomplish are overwhelmingly amazing.

So back to the monarchs…. These butterflies start off as a tiny egg, hatch into a yellow, black and white striped caterpillar (this stage is the growing stage where the caterpillar molts several times before it is ready to pupate), create a chrysalis, then emerge as an adult butterfly. This entire process takes approximately 30 days to accomplish. Once the adults emerge their primary focus is to reproduce and eat. Most adult monarchs will only live 14 – 30 days but the migrating monarch can live up to 9 months.

Why do monarchs migrate? As the temperatures become cooler and the days become shorter the migrating generation of monarchs react and begin moving southward, these insects can’t survive a cold winter. The monarchs will travel south in two major patterns: those monarch west of the Rocky Mountains will travel south to California and those monarchs east of the Rocky Mountains will travel south through Texas into the mountains of Mexico. Once the monarchs reach their over wintering sites they roost in trees, these trees are completely covered in a sea of orange and black monarch wings. It is said to be a sight to see. They stay in these trees over the winter, moving very little, until winter ends and the days become longer and warmer, this is usually in early March. At this time they begin to mate and move north in search of food and host plants to lay their eggs on. Many southern states see a second migration as the monarchs continue to move north laying their eggs. After the adults have successfully reproduced they die. Only days after being laid the eggs hatch and new caterpillars are out feeding on milkweed and growing quickly. Their metamorphosis continues and once adult this generation moves north toward their parent’s original habitat. As this process continues the adults move northward until they reach their original home. Three to four generations later their amazing migration begins again. Each year new generations of monarchs fly to the same over wintering sites, it is still unknown how they are able to accomplish this feat.

The Butterfly Pavilion is now offering a trip to the Mexico monarch over wintering sites. This is an amazing opportunity, one that will allow you to witness an amazing and unexplained natural occurrence; if you ask me I’d call it an insect wonder of the world. Come join me as we travel down to see the magical and mysterious monarch migration.

http://www.butterflies.org/education/eco-trips/mexico-monarchs.php

Butterflies and Beer – Celebrating Denver’s Beer Week

Sip, Savor and Stroll

September 27, 2011 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

This will be a wonderful evening! Stroll through our conservatory and learn interesting facts about our butterflies, plants and flowers. Then, enjoy a beer tasting with Odell Brewing Company brews and light appetizer pairing!

Sign up today! Space is limited!

astruble@butterflies.org

$30/per couple for Members | $35/ per couple for Non-Members

Amanda Accamando – Curatorial Manager

I’ve chased butterflies through the rainforests of Puerto Rico, visited butterfly farms in Costa Rica, observed butterflies puddling in Nicaragua, and even spent a summer monitoring butterflies in the most exotic of places – New York City. But it wasn’t until last week, in the depths of Pike National Forest, that I observed my first federally ‘threatened’ butterfly – the Pawnee montane skipper (Hesperia leonardus montana).   I was lucky enough to join a team from the US Forest Service and the Colorado Natural Heritage Program as a volunteer in monitoring this butterfly throughout its habitat, the ponderosa pine forest

Skipper butterflies in North America aren’t your typical colorful and charismatic butterflies that one usually hopes to attract to a garden. Skipper butterflies (in the family Hesperiidae) tend to be small, often brown colored and well camouflaged butterflies. These butterflies are fast fliers darting from flower to flower, deriving their name ‘skipper’ from this flight pattern. Pawnee montane skippers are not especially distinctive, except in one respect – they are found in only one place in the world!

Pawnee montane skippers are endemic to Colorado. Actually, they are restricted to a very small area of about 40 square miles in the Upper South Platte River drainage system. Although their larval host plant, blue grama grass, is abundant in the area, recent forest fires may have impacted population sizes, putting this butterfly at risk for extinction.

To understand the habitat needs and how forest management techniques, such as tree-thinning, are affecting Pawnee montane skippers, the US Forest Service has embarked on a long term monitoring study of the butterflies. So, for about one month every August, a group of biologists and volunteers hike through ponderosa pine forest along 400 meter transects (lines) trying to count Pawnee montane skippers. On August 24, I joined the group hoping to spot one of these skippers to help out the study and to add the butterfly to my life list!

Before heading out to the transects a biologist prepared the group for monitoring by teaching us how to distinguish Pawnee montane skippers from a more common skipper, the Colorado skipper (Hesperia colorado). The main difference between the Pawnee montane skipper and the Colorado skipper is found on the off-white colored patches on the underside of the wings. Common skippers have very defined patches outlined in black on their wings, whereas Pawnee montane skippers have less defined patches that ‘bleed’ into the surrounding wing color, and will sometimes not have patches at all. We were also taught how to spot differences between male and female skippers – males have much more angular wings and a black pheromone patch on the inside of their wings. 

Once we were skipper identification experts we headed out to the field armed with liters of water and our binoculars! My group of four people was responsible for monitoring 5 transects, each 400 meters long and 10 meters wide. The four of us walked together in a straight line stopping each time we thought we spotted a butterfly. Using our binoculars we tried to focus in on the butterfly to identify what species it was and whether it was male or female.

We saw about 30 skippers that day, both Pawnee montane skippers and Colorado skippers. Many of the skippers were spotted nectaring on their preferred nectar plant, prairie gayfeather (Liatris punctata). However the highlight of the day was watching a female Pawnee montane skipper oviposit (lay an egg)! We placed a fluorescent orange flag near the egg and recorded the location of the egg with a GPS, so that the biologists could check on the egg in the upcoming months.

 Overall, it was an amazing day hiking through ponderosa pines to contribute to our knowledge and ultimately the recovery of the Pawnee montane skipper!

Amber Lynn Partridge, Zookeeper

 As we all know, May through September/October is mosquito season in Colorado. More people are spending time outdoors, and that means that people are more likely to get mosquito bites. Out of the more than 50 species of mosquitoes found in Colorado, only a few are disease vectors. Most people are familiar with West Nile Virus, but for those that are don’t know about it, here is some information about this mosquito-borne disease.

West Nile Virus was first seen in the United States in 1999 in New York and has spread across the country since that time. It is a virus in the Flavivirus family, was historically was found in Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, and was first identified in 1937 in Uganda. In these parts of the world, it is considered a “children’s disease” because most people are exposed to the virus at a young age, and are then immune to the disease for life. While several species of mosquitoes can carry the virus, Culex tarsalis is the main West Nile vector in Colorado. West Nile is mainly a disease passed between mosquitoes and birds, but when an infected mosquito bites a human, the virus is transmitted. Scientists believe that most people who are infected with West Nile Virus do not show any symptoms, while others only show flu-like symptoms, which can include:

• Abdominal pain
• Diarrhea
• Fever
• Headache
• Lack of appetite
• Muscle aches
• Nausea
• Rash
• Sore throat
• Swollen lymph nodes
• Vomiting

The incubation period for the virus is between 3-20 days following the infected bite. There is another form of the virus, called West Nile Virus Neuroinvasive Disease. This form of the virus is very serious, but far less common than the other form. This form of the virus causes encephalitis or meningitis, which is an inflammation of the brain and surrounding tissues. In this form of the disease, the first symptoms are usually headache and fever. These symptoms can quickly progress into muscle stiffness, disorientation, muscle tremors, and potential coma. There is also a potential for permanent brain and tissue damage or even death.

The good news is that you can prevent West Nile Virus in some very easy ways. Draining any standing water around your house is a very easy and effective way to prevent mosquito breeding. Limit time spent outdoors to daytime hours and try to stay inside at dusk and dawn. If this is not possible, the best defense against mosquitoes is repellent. According to the CDC, DEET is the best repellent to use. When using DEET, 25-35% active ingredient is best and will last the longest. Most people can safely use DEET without any side effects. One of the biggest complaints about DEET is that it feels very greasy. There are several alternatives to DEET that, if used, MUST be applied every 30 minutes to every hour to be effective. Picardin and Lemon Eucalyptus Oil are both effective mosquito controls and tend to cause fewer side effects. Again, please note that these must be reapplied frequently for effective mosquito control. Dressing in long sleeves and pants will also help prevent mosquito bites. Using these tips will help prevent bites, disease, and those itchy welts.

Other places to look for information:

http://www.comosquitocontrol.com/West_Nile_Virus.html

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/index.htm

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0004457/

Chad, Zookeeper at the Butterfly Pavilion

This is so rare, like 0.01% of butterflies hatch are gynandromorphs!

Read more at, http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/14108204

Ballet Nouveau Colorado (BNC) is a Broomfield based 501(c)3 nonprofit organization serving the community for nearly 20 years. BNC is committed to enriching lives through innovation in dance. An active member of the National Guild for Community Arts Education, The School of BNC serves more than 300 students per year and is committed to every student regardless of age, ability, aspiration, or socio-economic status. Under the guidance of Julia Wilkinson Manley since 2002, the school is highly respected for providing a nurturing and professional environment for students from toddlers through adults.

Recently, the School of BNC expanded its programs to include Dance With Me – a class especially for toddlers and their caregivers. This is an early childhood learning and development class designed for children ages 1 to 3 years old and their caregiver. The class explores the three basic elements of dance – time, space and energy – while promoting physiological, emotional, social and cognitive development. Dance With Me acknowledges a child’s innate sense of rhythm and movement ability, provides a safe and fun environment where they can explore and further develop these skills, strengthens family connections and builds confidence.

Dance With Me integrates the physical experience of kinesthetic learning with the other sensory experiences of visual and auditory learning through observing and listening. The class is most effective when caregivers actively participate in the class, as caregivers play an important role in a child’s development and participation is key. Caregivers don’t need to have any expertise or experience in dance – they simply need to have fun!

During the summer, the School of BNC will offer Dance With Me on Saturday mornings. BNC studios are located just off Hwy 36, near the Flatirons Cross Mall. To learn more about this class and other classes and programs at BNC, go to www.bncdance.com or call 303.466.5685.

Tasty!

Eating bugs for the first time was not as bad as I thought it would be. We had to eat one of each; there was a chocolate covered worm, a barbeque flavored mill worm, a sour cream flavored cricket, and a grape flavored cricket sucker. The texture of the bugs was the most interesting part because I did not know what to expect, but they ended up being crunchy. If I had to pick a favorite bug it would have to be the chocolate covered worm because it mostly tasted like chocolate. In the end it wasn’t as bad as I had imagined it would be. Having said that I would not make bug eating a habit!