BIO WORKS BUTTERFLY GARDEN

The BioWorks Butterfly Garden is a unique outdoor butterfly exhibit which focuses upon butterflies native to West Central Florida. Rearing and displaying native butterfly species, this garden space shows what kind of Florida-Friendly Garden a homeowner can create to attract wildlife and turn their own yard into a butterfly sanctuary. BioWorks houses an engineered marsh, a free-flying butterfly enclosure where guests can encounter butterflies, a multimedia classroom, and an animal husbandry laboratory where the butterfly lifecycle can be witnessed from egg to adult. Extensive outside gardens invite guests and butterflies to wander meandering pathways and linger among the diverse plant species.

More about BioWorks Butterfly Garden

• Lepcurious is the regularly updated blog for the BioWorks Butterfly Garden which addresses current garden topics and happenings.
• MOSI Outside is a Flickr photo-sharing group for photographers who have snapped pictures all around the gardens and forest at MOSI.
• Lepcurious Tweets is the regularly updated Twitter feed for the BioWorks Butterfly Garden. Follow us and get in the conversation!
• Lepcurious on Facebook  the BioWorks Butterfly Garden Facebook account. Friend us and keep updated with what is going on in the gardens.

Support BioWorks Butterfly Garden

You can help the BioWorks Butterfly Garden and learn all about butterflies in the process. Become a volunteer! Please contact kristeng@mosi.org for more information or with interest concerning these positions.

• Volunteer Butterfly Assistants: Butterfly assistants will be occupied with rearing larvae, pinning chrysalises, lab cleaning, lab maintenance, data recording, and helping to maintain a healthy population of butterflies. Insect collection will require some out-of-doors work, especially in summer months to collect butterflies and host plants used within the rearing lab.
  
• Volunteer Garden Assistants: Garden assistants will be occupied with tasks of grounds keeping, plant maintenance, weeding, potting, watering and some cleaning tasks such as floor sweeping and cleaning of signage. Garden assistants will work mostly outside, including in summer and winter months.
  
• Volunteer Presenters: Presenters will be occupied with answering questions and providing information on garden topics of water conservation, horticulture, and butterflies. Some light cleaning duties such as sweeping floors or wiping tables and signs may be requested during slow periods.

Rainy Days—inside MOSI

The average raindrop weighs 70 milligrams, and the average butterfly weighs about 500 milligrams; on rainy days our butterflies and wildlife will do their best to stay out of the rain, which usually means out of sight. The BioWorks Butterfly Garden, Richard T. Bowers Historic Tree Grove and Back Woods Forest Preserve are all outdoor exhibits and as such are subject to the diverse weather patterns of Central Florida. When planning a visit to the MOSI Outside exhibits, please consider the weather and how it will affect your visit.

Be Water Wise: Right Plant, Right Place

The MOSI Gardens are designed using the 9 Principles of Florida-Friendly Yards especially the concept of Right Plant, Right Place. By incorporating many Florida native and friendly plants that are well suited to this environment and also by carefully selecting the right spot for planting we work to create a garden that will thrive with a reduced need for water, fertilizer, pesticides, and pruning.

Try these tips for Right Plant, Right Place

• Make a note of the type of soil, sunlight exposure, and water conditions of the planting site before you shop. Choose plants that thrive under the conditions you noted.
• Limit the number of plants that need a lot of water or care.
• Keep only as much grass as you directly use for recreation and other purposes. Plant beds and mulched areas use less water than grass.
• Remove invasive exotic plants so they don’t steal water and nutrition from Florida-friendly plants.

Here are a few Florida-Friendly Plants from our gardens:

Tampa Verbena (Verbena tampensis) Tampa Verbena is an upright-growing wildflower with groupings of light purple blossoms. Attractive to butterflies, this verbena makes an excellent perennial in gardens and is especially native to the Tampa Bay region of Florida. It can occasionally be found for sale in garden centers, but it is a protected species so seeds or cuttings should not be gathered in the wild. Tampa Verbena prefers full sun and well-drained soil.



Maypop (Passiflora incarnata) Also known as purple passionvine, Maypop is a fast-growing vine that bears large, fragrant, and showy flowers. The matured orange fruits of the vine are sweet and edible but mostly benefit wildlife because they contain so many seeds. Maypop is the larval host for the state butterfly of Florida, the Zebra Longwing. It is also the host for a variety of fritillary butterflies, including the Gulf Fritillary and also the Julia Longwing. Maypop is drought tolerant and will thrive in many sun conditions.


Canna Lily (Canna flacida) Golden Canna is a native perennial wetland plant that blooms in brilliant yellow flowers with orange centers. Canna is host to the Canna Skipper larvae. These caterpillars roll the leaves of the Canna into tubes to provide them extra protection from predators. Canna prefers full or partial sun but needs moist soil to thrive. Canna is a great plant for low, boggy, or regularly wet areas.



Walter’s Vibernum (Vibernum obovatum) Walter’s Vibernum is a shrub to small tree with small shiny leaves. Tolerant to heavy pruning, this vibernum can be used in formal plantings or as a topiary. Allowed to keep its own shape, this plant will become a slightly rounded large shrub and settle into a tree-form with a spreading crown. Walter’s Vibernum blooms profusely in white five-petaled blossoms throughout the spring and is very attractive to butterflies. The late-autumn tiny fruits are a favorite of wild birds. Vibernum is drought tolerant and prefers full to partial sun locations.

Want to learn more about water? Take a virtual field trip to the Southwest Florida Water Management District site.

Brought to you by: Southwest Florida Water Management District/Bank of America.