(Mascagnia macroptera)(Mascagnia macroptera)  

The clusters of dainty flowers on butterfly vine shine as brilliant as the summer sun. But it's the seed pods that give the plant its name.

During summer, chartreuse 'wings' unfold on the seed pods that look like butterflies. The papery pods will turn tan to brown as they mature, and they can be harvested and planted.  It refers rich, well-drained soil. Plant the frost-tender vine on the south or east side for winter protection.

BULBS PLANTED

Freesia, Single Mix   


PLANT INVENTORY

Alyssum
  'Snow Chrystals'
 
American Beauty Berry  (callicarpa Americaca) 
 
Bee Balm

Black-Eyed Susan, Goldsturm  (Rudbeckia) 

Blue Porterweed  (Stachytarpheta vahl) 

Bridal Wreath (Spirea reeves)

Butterfly Bush (Buddleia davidii)
  'Buzz Magenta'
  'Buzz Ivory'

Butterfly Vine Mascagnia  (Mascagnia macroptera) 

Buttonbush
(Cephalanthus occidentals) (Sputnik)

Canna lily
  'Firecracker Red' 
  'Black Knight'
  'President' 
  'Bengal Tiger' 
    
Chrysanthemums

Coneflower
   Purple

Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia)

Cuphea   
   Bat Face
   David Verity 'Firecracker Plant' 'Cigar Plant'

Fire Bush Compact (Hamelia patens) 

Firespike
  
Foxtail Fern (asparagus densiflorus 'Myers')

Gardenia
  (Gardenia volkensii)
  (Stephanotis)

Gayfeather  (Liatris pycnostach) 

Ginger

Lantana
  Little Lucky, Pot of Gold
  Purple 

Larkspur

Lilac chastetree (Vitex)

Lily, Pink Rain
  (Zephyranthes citrine)
  (Habaceous robustus)
    
Lime

Mallow
  Crimson Eyed Rosemallow
  (Hibiscus moscheutos)
  (Peruvian pavonia)
 
Milkweed, perennial
  Asclepias tuberosa
  Asclepias curassavica
    Silky Gold spring 

Mint

Mistflower
  (Conoclinium gregii, formerly Eupatorium greggii)
  Also West Texas Mist Flower, Boneset or Gregg's Eupatorium
  
Parsley 
   Extra Triple Curled
   Flat

Passion Flower

Pentas (Lancelata) 
  Butterfly Deep Rose 
  Hot Pink Upright
  Graffiti Red Lace 

Pincushion Flowers (Scabiosa caucasa)       

Pineapple Guava (Feijoada sellowiana)

Plumbago 'Skyflower' 
 
Poppy
  Large double pink  

Purslane (Portulaca) 

Rhyella

Rose, 'Cinco de Mayo'
Rose, 'Double Knockout'
Rose, 'Martha Gonzalez'
Rose, 'Milano Kolorscape'  
Rose, 'Salaro Vigorosa'

Rosemary, Huntington Blue (Rosemarinus officials) 
 
Ruellia

Sage
   'Cherry Chief'
   'Cherry Stampede' (Salvia greggii stampede) 
   'Coral Autumn' (Salvia greggii coral) 
   'Evolution' 
   'Golden Delicious' 
   'Jerusalem' (Phlomis lanta)
   'Lady in Red' (Salvia coccinea)
   'May Night'
   'Mexican Bush' (Salvia leucanta)
    'Summer Red Jewel' in Buchanan Bed
    
Salvia
    Blue (Salvia farinacea)
   'Indigo Spires' 'Balsalmisp'  
   'Mystic Spires' Dwarf   
   Red Hot Sally 

Snapdragon 'Solstice red'

Spiderwort
 
Tickseed 'Jethro Tull'

Turk's Cap  (Malvaviscus drummondii)
  Also Bleeding Hearts, Sleeping hibiscus, Texas mallow, Red mallow, or   Drummond's  Turk's Cap

Verbenia, Colonial White

Yellow Bell (Esperanza)
 
Zinnia
  Short Stuff Cherry Shades 
  Magellan Orange 
  Dreamland Red 

 
SEEDS PLANTED

Alyssum 'Carpet of Snow' 
Alyssum 'Tiny Tim' 

Aster (Prairie Aster)
  (Machaeranthera tanacetifolia)
  (Tahoka Daisy)

Bachelor's Button, Dwarf Blend 

Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)

Butterfly Flower (Asclepius tuberosa)

Candytuft, White Pinnacle

Chives, Garlic (Allium tuberosum)

Cosmos (Cosmos sulphureus)
   Bright Lights  

Dill, Bouquet
Dill, Mammoth

Forget-Me-Not, Victoria Blue

Fennel, Florence (Finocchio)

Hollyhock 'Summer Carnival Rosy Red'

Kale (dwarf blue scotch curled)

Lobelia, Crystal Palace

Lupine, The Governor 

Lupins, Minarette Dwarf 

Marigold, Petite Yellow

Parsley 'Triple Curled'

Poppy 'American Legion'
  (Papaver rhoeas)
Poppy 'Brilliant Oriental Poppy'

Sage, Scarlet (Salvia coccinea)

Shasta Daisy 'Alaska '
     
Stock, Dwarf Ten Weeks

Wildflower - North American Mix

Zinnia
  Thumbelina 
  Giant Purity 
  Giant Violet Queen






 






 



 






 

Blooming center of front north berm bed (Butler Bed).  What is it?

The iniation ... errr ... orientation of our recently assigned zone leader, Sylvia was a clean sweep bunch of fun!  She did manage to sweep part of the gazebo before the trick worked and the taped together (just enough) broken broom flew apart.  She is off to a good start with her sense of humor and is ready to begin a new role with the ZL folder and orientation from Jean.  Also welcoming this long time friend of the butterfly garden were Loretta, Shirley and Joan on this productive and fun Workday October 17, 2014.  

Thanks to those volunteers who showed up today and to at least Cathy, Janet and Georgeine (maybe others) for helping earlier and making a difference at the garden.

Helpful big brother reads juvenile sign to his sister.

Some of the 2014 donations from the Lakewood Forest Garden Club were used to purchase this Mistflower (Conoelinium greggii) planted this spring and growing in the south fence row bed.  

Milano Roses are fragrant are blooming profusely in the fence row bed.  When strolling in the garden "take time to smell the roses."  This one brings a smile!

Kim teaches her children at home and like many parents finds the butterfly garden to be a great setting for science lessons.  Here they are watching one of sevral Gulf Coast Frittilary caterpillars using the Passion Vine as a host plant today.  

Report:

The monarch butterfly is one of the most iconic insects in the world, best known for its distinct orange and black wings and a spectacular annual mass migration across North America. However, little has been known about the genes that underlie these famous traits, even as the insect's storied migration appears to be in peril.

Sequencing the genomes of monarch butterflies from around the world, a team of scientists has now made surprising new insights into the monarch's genetics. They identified a single gene that appears central to migration -- a behavior generally regarded as complex -- and another that controls pigmentation. The researchers also shed light on the evolutionary origins of the monarch. They report their findings Oct. 1 in Nature.

"The results of this study shift our whole thinking about these butterflies," said study senior author Marcus Kronforst, PhD, Neubauer Family Assistant Professor of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Chicago.

Every year, millions of monarchs fly from as far north as Canada to spend the winter in Mexico. Predominantly a North American species, the monarch also exists in South and Central America, and has relatively recently spread across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Only North American monarchs migrate.

A North American Original

To better understand monarch genetics and the basis for migratory behavior, Kronforst's team sequenced and compared the genomes of 101 butterflies, including migratory North American monarchs, non-migratory monarchs from around the world and a few closely related species.

The researchers analyzed the monarch's evolutionary origins using genetic comparisons. They traced the ancestral lineage of monarchs to a migratory population that likely originated in the southern U.S. or Mexico. The monarch's current worldwide distribution appears to stem from three separate dispersal events -- to Central and South America; across the Atlantic; and across the Pacific. In all three cases, the butterfly independently lost its migratory behavior.

The monarch's North American origin runs counter to a long-standing hypothesis that the butterfly originated from a non-migratory tropical species, which later developed the ability to migrate. While historical records have suggested that the monarch's dispersal across the Pacific and Atlantic occurred in the 1800s, the analysis indicated the monarch actually crossed the oceans thousands of years ago. The authors note that more work needs to be done to fully document the butterfly's evolutionary history.

"In order to clearly resolve the history of monarch butterflies, we still need additional fossil, archaeological and genetic data, as well as more advanced technology, becoming available in the future," said study author Shuai Zhan, PhD, a professor in Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences and a former joint postdoctoral fellow at the University of Chicago and the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

Slow and Steady

To study the genetic basis for migration, the team compared the genomes of migratory butterflies against the three non-migratory populations. They identified more than 500 genes -- most of which are involved in muscle, developmental and neural function -- that differed to some degree. But a single gene disparity stood out.

Migratory butterflies expressed greatly reduced levels of collagen IV α-1, a gene involved in flight muscle formation and function. The team discovered that migratory monarchs consumed less oxygen and had significantly lowered flight metabolic rates, which likely increases their ability to fly long distances compared to non-migratory butterflies.

"Migration is regarded as a complex behavior, but every time that the butterflies have lost migration, they change in exactly the same way, in this one gene involved in flight muscle efficiency," said Kronforst. "In populations that have lost migration, efficiency goes down, suggesting there is a benefit to flying fast and hard when they don't need to migrate."

The Color Gene

The researchers also investigated the genetic basis for the monarch's famous coloration. A small percentage of monarchs, most notably in Hawaii, possess white and black wings instead of orange. Comparing the genomes of these butterflies against normally colored populations, the team discovered a single gene appears to function as a pigmentation switch.

This gene, which codes for a protein of the myosin motor protein family, has never before been implicated in insect coloration. Its mutation likely disrupts the pigment transport to the wings, making the monarchs white. A related gene in mice, myosin 5a, has been shown to affect coat color in a similar way. The gene represents a new genetic pathway to explore insect coloration, according to Kronforst.

Migration in Peril

Although the monarch isn't in danger of extinction, its famous mass migration across North America appears to be in peril. In 1996, around one billion monarchs migrated to Mexico for the winter. Estimates for the past year place the number at around 35 million. A likely culprit is the loss of milkweed, the monarch's primary habitat, due to agricultural herbicide use. Meanwhile, monarchs that used to migrate are transitioning into non-migratory populations around the Gulf Coast.

The results of this study emphasize the need for conservation efforts to preserve the iconic migration and extend the extraordinary evolutionary history of the monarch butterfly, according to the authors.

"You used to see huge numbers of monarchs, clouds of them passing by," said Kronforst. "Now it looks quite possible that in the not too distant future, this annual migration won't happen."

The study, "The genetics of monarch butterfly migration and warning colouration," was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and Neubauer Funds from the University of Chicago.

Additional authors include Wei Zhang from the University of Chicago, Kristjan Niitepold and Jeremy Hsu from Stanford University, Juan Fernandez Haeger from the University of Cordoba, Myron P. Zalucki from the University of Queensland, Sonia Altizer from the University of Georgia, Jacobus C. de Roode from Emory University and Steven M. Reppert from the University of Massachusetts Medical School.


Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by University of Chicago Medical Center. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.


University of Chicago Medical Center. "Genetic secrets of the monarch butterfly revealed." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 1 October 2014. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141001133012.htm>.



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