Butterfly Research

Observatory volunteers help manage butterfly gardens at Kiptopeke State Park, at the Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge, at the Williamsburg Botanical Garden, and at Jamestown Marina. The observatory participates in the annual July Delmarva Tip Butterfly Count that is sponsored by the North American Butterfly Association (NABA). In 1998 it established a Monarch Butterfly Migration Program that conducts fall surveys and tags Monarchs. Monarch numbers are declining at an alarming rate, due to a variety of factors. Several tagged Monarchs have later been found at their winter roost sites near Mexico City.

RESOURCES

Monarch Watch

Journey North

Monarch Joint Venture

For more than 20 years, the Observatory has created and managed butterfly gardens for research, conservation and the enjoyment of visitors. If you would like to create your own butterfly garden, even a small one is helpful to many species. It just takes a sunny spot. Though garden centers have many good varieties, from our experience, here are some top butterfly garden plants that thrive in southeastern Virginia and are not particularly attractive to hungry deer:

Joe-Pye Weed ( Eutrochium dubium )

Bergamot ( many varieties of monarda )

Boneset ( Eupatorium perfoliatum )

Cup Plant ( Silphium perfoliatum )

Mist Flower ( Conoclinium coelestinum )

Mountain Mint ( Pycnanthemum muticum )

New York Aster ( Symphyotrichum novi-belgii )

Coreopsis (many varieties of coreopsis )

Goldenrod ( many varities of Solidago )

Butterfly Weed (many varieties of asclepias)

Lantana, not native, ( Lantana camara 'Miss Huff' )

Butterfly Bush, not native ( many varieties of Buddleia )

Abelia, not native ( Abelia grandiflora )