Tuesday, September 17, 2019 Springs Preserve Butterfly House

The Butterfly House at Springs Preserve in Las Vegas opened on Saturday. I went to see it yesterday on my way back to Ash Meadows after visiting my brother and his wife in Henderson over the weekend.

As you look at these photographs you may notice that the flower most prevalent in the Butterfly House is Lantana. In Illinois, Lantana is grown as an annual plant because it can not tolerate cold winters. Here in southern Nevada however, Lantana is a perennial plant that grows like a small shrub. The Butterfly House is designed with adult butterflies in mind. It doesn't contain host plants for caterpillars. 

This is a Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly.  They usually live in forests, not deserts, and are sometimes seen in central Illinois. Pipevine Sawllowtail butterflies have a wingspan of 2.75 - 5.1 inches.
As is the case with the Pipevine Butterfly, the butterflies in the Butterfly House are not necessarily native to Nevada. In addition, the butterflies living in the Butterfly House may not normally be found living together in nature. 

This is a White Peacock butterfly. It is native to the southeastern United States. Its wingspan is
2.0 - 2.5 inches.

Male White Peacock butterflies are territorial. These two were trying to claim this single flower.

This is a Common Buckeye butterfly. It can be found throughout much of southern United States into Mexico. It overwinters in Florida. I have seen it in central Illinois. The wingspan of a Common Buckeye butterfly is
1.75 - 2.75 inches.

This is the body and underside of the wings of a Gulf Fritillary Butterfly. It can be found throughout the southern United States from Florida to California and southward through Mexico. Its wingspan is 2.5 - 3.0 inches.

These are the top sides of the wings and body of a  Gulf Fritillary butterfly. 

This is a Julia Heliconian butterfly. It is a tropical butterfly ranging from Brazil to southern Florida and Texas.  The wingspan of a Julia Heliconian butterfly is
3.25 - 3.62 inches.

This is a Zebra Longwing butterfly. It can be found in the southern United States from Texas to Florida and into Central America.  It is Florida's state butterfly.  Its wingspan is 2.75 - 4 inches.