Palawan Butterfly Garden in Philippines tourists are surrounded by butterflies in this garden of exotic Philippine flowering plants. Occasionally, one can witness the emergence of a young butterfly and other unusual insects such as the praying mantis, stick and leaf insects, giant scorpions, atlas beetles and other jungle insects. Palawan Butterfly Garden is a conservation project that can be successfully done on nearly any site from an urban rooftop to a suburban schoolyard, from a landscaped island at a business, to an expansive golf course garden. Imagine if we all did it? Our landscapes would not only be more beautiful, but they would provide corridors of habitat to sustain native butterfly populations across the Philippine.
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| Palawan Butterfly Garden |
All butterflies go through dramatic changes before becoming the beautiful winged creatures we recognize. Butterflies start out as eggs, most often laid on the underside of a leaf or branch. Caterpillars are born with a hearty appetite and often eat their shells as their first meal. As caterpillars grow, they molt that is, they shed their outer layer of skin, at least five times before they become suspended in a cocoon or chrysalis. They may remain within this waxy pupal case for weeks or months, until they finally emerge as adult butterflies. The average life of a butterfly ranges from a couple of days to around six months. During this time they are looking for mates and places to lay their eggs. Some butterflies don’t eat at all as adults, but those who do are looking
to dine on the sweet nectar that comes from flowers.
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| Palawan Butterfly Garden |
Like other insects, butterflies are cold blooded. They rely on the sun to raise their body temperature and metabolism so they can fly. Hence, butterflies can often be found in sunny meadows or basking on rocks or roads with their wings perpendicular to the sun for optimal solar absorption. Butterflies probe flowers for nectar using a proboscis a long, tongue-like projection on the top of their head. Caterpillars, on the other hand, simply chew their way through the world and often have strong food preferences.
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| Palawan Butterfly Garden |
Indeed, while adult butterflies will feed on almost any nectar- producing plant, caterpillars usually feed on only one or a few specific plants. Food sources for caterpillars are called host plants since they welcome distinct species of butterfly caterpillars. Adult butterflies lay their eggs on the host plant preferred by their young so that a convenient meal is waiting when they hatch from the egg.
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