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7.19.08
LANDSCAPING CREW SPECIAL RECOGNITION:
The Crooked Garden is very fortunate to have the expertise and the physical assistance of "Cranor's Crew",
the landscaping crew for Pelican Preserve. These gentlemen are there for us to do the "heavy lifting" in the garden, by assisting with
the trimming, mulching, and the planting of the plants that we purchase with the donations from our visitors and residents.

(L to R) David, Pedro, Robert Cranor (supervisor), Julio, Christian, and Luis
See the other CONTRIBUTORS of TIME AND TALENT

6.11.08
June 5, 2008

Now visitors to the Crooked Garden can get "Up close and personal" with the caterpillars that create the magic in the butterfly metamorphosis. There are butterfly enclosures in the pergola area of the garden that are

holding and protecting two different special of butterflies from our garden.

The Monarch and Black Swallowtail butterflies are regular visitors in our garden. The females deposits their eggs on the milkweed, parsley and dill, and their caterpillars are beautiful to behold. Unfortunately,

we have found way too many chrysalis that have been attacked and killed while they were waiting to emerge. These "butterfly castles" are a way to protect them so that they can safely complete their life cycle

under our protective care, and then, when the butterflies emerge, be released into the garden.
This is also a wonderful learning experience for those who have not had the pleasure of watching this progress "up close and personal".

June 12, 2008
There are now twelve (12) chrysalises in the Monarch enclosure. They are hanging around the rim of the plant container, and several have secured themselves on the sides and top of the enclosure too.

There are four (4) chrysalises in the Black Swallow tail enclosure. Three have formed on the plant sticks placed in there for that purpose, and one has formed in the front right corner of the enclosure.

It won't be long before we have butterflies emerging in these enclosures

June 7, 2008 - Adult caterpillars moved from June 12, 2008 - Adult Monarch caterpillars final instar to chrysalis
Crooked Garden milkweed to enclosure

June 12, 2008 - Adult Monarch caterpillars final instar to chrysalis

Black Swallowtail enclosure, June 5, 2008 Black Swallowtail caterpillars, June 6, 2008

Black Swallowtail chrysalides, June 12, 2008 Black Swallowtail chrysalis "up close" June 12, 2008

We hope that you visit the Crooked Garden to personally monitor this amazing metamorphosis.

6.01.08

The Giant Swallowtail butterfly in The Crooked Garden
The female Giant Swallowtail visits the Crooked Garden and deposits her eggs (a single egg at a time)

on the underside of tender leaves on the Wild Lime and Calamondin Orange trees.

Her eggs are perfectly round and golden in color. This egg was laid on the underside of the Wild Lime tree.

In about a week a caterpillar is hatched, and it immediately becomes an eating machine. The caterpillar looks just like a bird dropping. It uses this clever disguise to keep it from

being a part of the birds (and other natural predators) food chain. This first caterpillar (left photo) is on the stem of the Wild Lime tree, and the other (right photo) is on a leaf of the Calamondin Orange.

In a few short weeks this caterpillar will grow to 27,000 times its original size from when it originally hatched.

The head of the Giant Swallowtail caterpillar looks a lot like the head of a dog, and when the orange growers in Central Florida found them on their orange trees, they nicknamed them "Orange Dogs".

The following images were taken just a few days after the ones above. This caterpillar is an eating machine.

This caterpillar looks like it has a head and eyes, but they are Just protective features that give the caterpillar a "fighting chance" to complete it's life cycle.

The little red horns that protrude from the front of the caterpillar are called osmeteria, and are extended when the caterpillar fells threatened.

The osmeteria secrete a foul order that is supposed to ward off or repulse a would be predator. Not all caterpillars have the osmeteria. They are a special feature of the Swallowtail family of butterflies.
This Giant Swallowtail caterpillar has grown to the size where it will soon begin it's final instar (shedding it's skin), and transform into a chrysalis.

The Crooked Garden curator is securing a mesh observation enclosure, that will be on display in the garden pergola. In the near future you will be able to visit the Crooked Garden and observe these caterpillars (in this mesh enclosure) in their various stages of metamorphosis. This protective enclosure protects these caterpillars from the many garden predators like wasps and birds, and allows them to pupate (become a chrysalis).

in the safety of the enclosure. When the butterfly emerges for the chrysalis, we will release it into the garden.

This will provide a wonderful learning experience for those who have not been able to see these caterpillars or the chrysalis in their previous visits to the Crooked Garden.

This is just another reason to make the Crooked Garden one of your regular destinations.

5.20.08
If you are a night owl, and out and about in Pelican Preserve after 8:45PM (Hey, quit chuckling. This IS an over 55 community you know!)
You will see that the Crooked Garden butterfly statue and the information kiosk at the garden entrance are now
illuminated with "solar" flood lights.

The Sable palm and the Strangler fig out in front of the garden hedge has lights on it as well.
If you are inclined to late summer evening walks, or bike rides, or golf car rides along the
West side of the Preserve perimeter path, there will be a little flood light show for your enjoyment.

P.S. The garden light show is not yet completed...

5.18.08
A Zebra Heliconian butterfly release
On the afternoon of May 17th, 2008, local butterfly expert Nick Bodven, donated a dozen newly emerged Zebra Heliconian butterflies to be released in the Crooked Garden.
The butterflies were brought here in hopes that the females would deposit their eggs on the garden's various Passionflowers.
The Zebras would then become a regular visitor here.

5.11.08
A New butterfly "emerges" from our Crooked Garden
This Palamedes Swallowtail caterpillar was donated to the Crooked Garden during the April 8th Open House, by local lepidopterist, Nick Bodven.
The caterpillar was placed on the leaves of it's host plant, the Red Bay tree (the trees are by the picnic benches) using a silk bag to protect it from predators.
Those are not eyes on the caterpillar, but merely "eye spots" that are used as a defense mechanism so that it looks more like a lizard or snake to it's predators.

Once the butterfly emerged and his wings were fully developed, the bag was removed from the tree and the Palamedes Swallowtail
"hung out" until his wings were fully dried and strengthened. Within the hour, this beautiful new, (but fully adult) butterfly took his first flight.
He effortlessly lifted off of the tree were he was hanging around, took a gentle arch across the edge of the nearby lake and flew "full speed a head"
into his new life as a majestic butterfly.

To learn more about the butterfly life cycle, Click on THIS LINK to watch the PowerPoint slide show presentation on the Amazing Metamorphosis.

4.15.08
THE CROOKED GARDEN OPEN HOUSE Photo Album
Celebrating the first anniversary of our Crooked Garden: (Click here to view the photos)
April 8, 2008 - Photography by Carol Armstrong

Our Open house was a tremendous success with an estimated 175 visitors during the two hour garden reception
(and that's not counting all the visiting butterflies either).