Wormsloe Butterfly Gardens

http://butterflygardens.weebly.com/

Ania Majewska, Sonia Altizer, Andy Davis
Odum School of Ecology
University of Georgia

Unprecedented decline of pollinators is a pressing conservation problem arising from climate change, disease and habitat loss. Pollinator--‐friendly gardens could afford lost natural habitat and serve as corridors between fragmented habitats. Further work is needed to quantify the effects in a variety of pollinators, including butterflies, which have not been examined. To elucidate the role of gardens on abundance and recruitment, we use a field-based experimental approach, the first to our knowledge, to assess whether gardens are beneficial to butterfly communities.

The Gardens

• 12 gardens, 25 by 50 feet, fenced, equally watered
• 12 types of perennials /garden
• 128 plants arranged in 8x16 matrix with random positions
• Gardens consist of all native or all exotic plants and receive high or low maintenance (weeding)

Can the intensity of garden maintenance and native vs exotic plants affect butterflies?

• Higher weeds, as seen on the right, might provide effective hiding sites from predators
• Exotic plants may be attractive but serve as poor quality food for adults and caterpillars

How do we know gardens help butterflies?

• By monitoring host plants for eggs and caterpillars, we can assess reproduction.
• We collect caterpillars to rear them in lab and check them for parasites and disease
• We observe gardens for presence and number of predators
• Using capture--‐mark--‐recapture, we determine abundance and survivorship

What are the threats to butterfly survival?

• Natural enemies include birds and invertebrate predators: praying mantids, wasps, and assassin bugs
• Butterflies are also victim to parasites: protozoans such as Ophryocystis elektroscirrha and parasitoids such as tachinid fly

2013 Butterfly Gardens Basemaps