Butterflies and Blossoms, or Larval Host Plants and the Lepidoptera that Eat Them
Date/Time
Thursday, February 14, 2019
7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Location
Green Spring Gardens
Categories
Expert field botanist and VNPS Potowmack member Margaret Chatham will present her photographs of Lepidoptera and their host plants. 2010 was a good year for butterfly photographs around here and Margaret took a lot of pictures that year. Then she wanted to know who they were and what they ate. No year since has offered her quite as many butterflies, but every season brings something new, so now she wants to share them.
View and download Margaret’s full presentation with photos.
Beautiful butterflies and lovely blossoms, but they are all the result of trying to make a living. Plants need someone to pollinate them, but at the same time need to limit the number of caterpillars and other insects that can eat them. The butterflies and caterpillars need to avoid being eaten long enough to lay eggs for the next generation. So we’ll see lots of pretty pictures of groups of mimics, and learn native things to plant to nurture more than just monarchs.
Great Spangled Fritillary on Poke Milkweed by Margaret Chatham
Shown above: Great Spangled Fritillary on flowers of Poke Milkweed, though, yes, all the visible leaves belong to Blackberries.
