A gulf fritillary butterfly. UF/IFAS

I find that observing butterflies is one of the greatest joys of maintaining a garden. My garden has numerous nectar plants that attract a variety of butterflies, yet my only butterfly host plant was milkweed, which is used by monarch butterflies.

I had often seen gulf fritillary butterflies, but without a host plant available in my landscape their visits to my nectar plants were sporadic. I knew that passionflower vine varieties were the fritillary’s host plants, so I visited the plant shop at the Edison Ford Winter Estates to purchase a passionflower vine. I came home with a lush and full purple passionflower vine which was covered with blooms, and dutifully bought a trellis to support my new vine.

Within days the fritillaries had found the vine and were busily laying eggs, and soon the vines were covered with larva defoliating my vine! One of the first things I noticed about the larva was the similarity of their color with the tendrils that support the passionflower vine; this made it more difficult to find the larva on the vines.

Then the first pupa appeared, and I was amazed at the appearance of this chrysalis; it looked almost identical to a withered leaf of the passionflower vine. Unlike the monarch chrysalis, which changes color as the butterfly prepares to emerge, the fritillary pupa doesn’t change and continues to appear like a dead leaf on the vine. There is no indication when the butterfly is ready to emerge, which is an ingenious adaptation. Of course, I constantly monitor my butterfly population, and one morning I was fortunate enough to find a newly emerged fritillary hanging from its spent chrysalis!

My passionflower vine has been through several cycles of being totally defoliated and then sprouting new leaves which are soon covered with larva, followed by beautiful fritillaries flitting through the gardens. Butterfly plants constantly amaze me with their regenerative powers; I don’t know of any other plants in the garden that will recover from being totally stripped of leaves to bursting with new life to support another generation of beautiful life!

A gulf fritillary butterfly emerging from its chrysalis. CATHY DUNN

The gulf fritillary, Agraulis vanillae, is a bright orange mid-sized butterfly with black markings and three black-rimmed white dots on the upper wing surface. The word fritillary is from the Latin for “checkerboard,” describing the butterfly’s markings. The fritillary is a medium-sized butterfly, with a wingspan of 2.5 to 3.2 inches. Found throughout the southern United Sates, Mexico and Central America, the fritillary is present in all 67 counties in Florida.

This butterfly is most often found in open, sunny habitats, and is a frequent visitor to urban gardens. The fritillary has distinct seasonal migrations, moving northward in spring and forming temporary breeding colonies throughout the southeastern United States. From late summer throughout the fall the butterflies migrate south to Florida, where they overwinter in frost-free areas.

Females lay small yellow eggs singly on the purple passionflower (Passiflora incarnata), corkystem passionflower (Passiflora suberosa) or yellow passionflower (Passiflora lutea). The eggs hatch within five days, and the emerging larvae are bright orange with tufts of branched black spines. After seven to 10 days the larvae form a mottled brown pupa (or chrysalis) that resembles a dead leaf. The metamorphosis from larva to adult fritillary butterfly takes approximately 20 days. The average lifespan of the fritillary is between 14 and 27 days.

When I purchased my purple passionflower vine, it was covered in beautiful purple blooms which served to attract the fritillaries to my new host plant. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen a flower since the first group of larvae began feasting on my vine! For the past several weeks I questioned whether the vine would recover; it was just a mass of bare stems attached to the black trellis I installed. But now the bright green leaves are emerging again, ready to support another generation of these magical butterflies.

If you enjoy observing nature, I urge you to add some butterfly host plants to your landscape. Watching these beautiful butterflies in your gardens, it is easy to understand the mystery and symbolism of butterflies, which are thought to represent a metaphor of spiritual rebirth, transformation, change, hope and life. I believe nature has a message for us: What lowly caterpillar ever dreamed of emerging as a bejeweled soaring butterfly?

A gulf fritillary larva. UF/IFAS

Cathy Dunn is a Lee County Master Gardener Volunteer and Garden Club of Cape Coral member.