Monday, August 1, 2011

Monarch Butterflies can swim!

I recently had the wonderful opportunity to visit Shady Oak Butterfly Farm in Brooker, Florida. Edith Ellen Lee Smith is the owner of the farm along with her husband, children and grandchildren. They raise and supply butterflies for weddings, funerals, but mostly for live educational exhibits. They ship butterfly chrysalises all over the country. I went on a tour of the farm. They had a green house full of host plants to feed the caterpillars. There were sterilized boxes with munching caterpillars and more boxes of chrysalises. They had breeding cages for adult butterflies to mate along with host plants for the female to lay eggs on. They are very careful  keeping the place sanitary and use bleach to clean the eggs. I was shocked when she told me that! I thought that bleach would kill the egg for sure! We went into "the bleaching room" and watched Edith bleach the tiny caterpillar eggs. She used a diluted solution of bleach and water and rinsed the eggs for about 15 seconds and then she rinsed them with just water. Just this small amount of time reduces the risk of the disease. The newly hatched caterpillar often eats the shell of its egg upon emerging so the bleaching ensures a tasty, free of germs meal! Another surprise I encountered was that butterflies can survive being submerged into water and will actually use their wings to propel themselves to the surface. It almost looks like they are swimming. Maybe this is how the swim stroke was called "The Butterfly". Edith demonstrates this in the following video.


I have had many comments on Facebook and Twitter asking why anyone would submerge a butterfly in water. Some of you have said that it is cruel. It was not intended to and did not hurt the butterfly in any way. It was intended to show people just how strong butterflies are. In many ways they seem so fragile to us. A Monarch must travel great distances and be subjected to harsh weather, storms, wind, rain. They often have to fly over lakes, and streams. It was to demonstrate how awesome they are! Please know that the butterfly was not hurt during the making of this video. To learn more about butterflies and what Edith does visit her at Butterfly Fun Facts. She adds something amazing almost everyday!


Enjoy!


Mindy


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