Panther Island Adventures!

Panther Island is 2,800 acres of restored wetland and upland habitats situated in the northwest corner of Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary's 13,000 acres. It is home to numerous plants and animals including the Florida panther and the iconic wood stork.
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Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Critter of the Week Aug 23: Giant Swallowtail

The Giant Swallowtail butterfly is one of my favorites! These beautiful and large butterflies lay their eggs on trees and shrubs in the Rutaceae family (this includes cultivated citrus!). Their caterpillars called "orange dogs" resemble bird poop (talk abotu awesome camo!).
With a wingspan of 4-6 inches, the adults flit around in search of nectar plants like swamp milkweed, lantana, goldenrod, honeysuckle and more. They prefer habitats like rocky and sandy hillsides along waterways (streams, etc) up in the northern portion of its range. In the south, they prefer pine flatwoods, citrus groves, and even towns (with lots of lovely gardens!).
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1 comment:

  1. ~Kim at Golden Pines~August 25, 2010 at 10:33 PM

    What a great picture (as always!) and good info too! We've seen a lot of Swallowtails this year, and I don't know if it's because we have more flowers, or there are just more of them--All I know is that we really enjoyed having them around this summer! :-)

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