Tulsa Audubon's annual Wildlife Habitat Garden Tour and Plant
Sale features local gardens and yards that have been turned
into animal-friendly spaces, along with a plant sale from
companies featuring native and wildlife friendly plants. Many of
the plant vendors listed above are featured on this tour each
year.
Cherry Street 15th and Peoria, Tulsa, OK Every Saturday Apr. 1-Oct. 21 7-11am
Brookside Whole Foods Parking Lot 41st and Peoria, Tulsa, OK Every Wed., Apr. 12-Oct. 11 7:30-11am Winter Market: Mar. 11 & Mar. 25 8:30-11am
Monarch Butterflies
Monarch Watch
is a nonprofit education, conservation, and research program
based at the University of Kansas that focuses on the monarch
butterfly, its habitat, and its spectacular fall migration.
Oklahoma Friends of Monarchs is a Facebook group promoting
Monarchs in the state of Oklahoma, supportive to those who are
interested in providing habitat, or in bringing in Monarchs to
raise. We are a network of resources for seeds, plants, and
sharing eggs/caterpillars within the group.
Since Monarch conservation is
a responsibility of Mexico, Canada and the United States, theMonarch Joint Venture works throughout the U.S. to conserve
and protect monarch populations and their migratory phenomena by
implementing science-based habitat conservation and restoration
measures in collaboration with multiple stakeholders. They have
alibrary of free downloadable handouts on monarchs, milkweed,
establishing habitat, and monarch conservation topics.
Monarchs on the Mountain is an annual celebration of the
vital role eastern Oklahoma play sin the amazing migration of
Monarch Butterflies. Held at Tulsa's Turkey Mountain Urban
Wilderness area.
Butterfly Gardening
When you create a garden, you usually grow plants
When you create a butterfly garden, you strive to grow butterflies
Location
Plant your garden in sun as butterflies need sun (they are solar powered) and plants produce more nectar in the sun.
In the hot Oklahoma days of July and August it helps to have some of your garden in partial shade during the afternoon as it can get too hot for butterflies in full sun.
Shelter from the wind in all or part of the garden is beneficial.
Plants: Types and Distribution
There are two categories of plants for butterflies. Nectar plants for adults and food plants for the caterpillars.
Choose mainly nectar plants to get started. A variety of butterflies will come to the same nectar plant, but food plants for caterpillars usually are specific for only one or a very small range of butterfly species. Native plants are best as they provide for both.
Nectar Plants
Choose plants that will do well in the local environment. Not all flowering plants are a nectar source for butterflies. Find out which ones work from local resources.
Plant your nectar plants in masses. It is better to have a large number of a few varieties rather than a few plants of a number of varieties.
Choose plants so that your garden will give continuous bloom once the butterflies find your space. Each variety does not need to be always blooming, but part of your garden needs to be blooming all the time.
Food Plants
To select the proper food plants you need to know what butterflies are present in your local area. Butterflies are selective on which plants they lay their eggs. So you need to know the butterfly species to know which plant to use.
An easy group to start with is providing parsley or bronze fennel for the Black Swallowtail. Then you can learn about the specific needs of other butterflies.
Except for rare instances, caterpillars use only native plants for food plants.
Miscellaneous Butterfly Attractors
Damp area in soil, rocks or mulch
Areas for basking in early morning sun.
Over ripe fruit or tree sap.
Don’t Use Chemical Pesticides
Pesticides kill insects and butterflies are insects.
Don’t worry about destructive bugs and in time the beneficial ones will establish a healthy balance in your yard.
Enjoy
Enjoy the show that results from the stage you have set.
Butterflies Your Are Most Likely To See In Your Tulsa Backyard
In 1979 Dr. John
Nelson, Professor Emeritus of Biology at ORU, published A Preliminary
Checklist of the Skippers and Butterflies of Oklahoma in the Proceedings
of the Oklahoma Academy of Science. In that initial list he listed 149
species. Since then, the Oklahoma state list has grown to 200 documented
butterfly species.
Dr. Nelson has retired and John Fisher now maintains the butterfly and
moth lists for the state. The Oklahoma Butterfly Species by County list
is updated as new records are reported and the Oklahoma Moth Species by
County list is updated at least annually. In December, he sends lists of
new county records to theLepidopterists Society
for inclusion in their Season Summary data base and report of butterfly
& moth records in the US & Canada.
Since many species only fly for a few weeks each year, a species may not
be listed in a particular county simply because no one was at the right
place & time to see it. For example, the Olive Juniper Hairstreak,
Callophrys gryneus gryneus, was first documented in Osage County in
June, 2002 and Tulsa, Pawnee, Creek, & Washington Counties in April,
2004. Does that mean the Olive Juniper Hairstreak was a new immigrant
into these counties? Probably not, it does mean no one had seen,
documented, and reported the Olive Juniper Hairstreak from these
Counties before.
If you find a new county record, please report your find with a photo or
specimen and the usual who, what, when, & where information to John
Fisher atrgs455@cox.net or John
Fisher, 8009 W Parkway Blvd Apt 302, Tulsa OK 74127
Native Gardening, Pollinator & Butterfly Books
Here are some books suggested by Jim Thayer on getting started in studying butterflies. Many of these books are available for purchase at Tulsa Audubon events, Oxley Nature Center , Wild Bird Unlimited, or through Amazon.com. By using the Amazon links provided below Oxley Nature Center & Tulsa Audubon receive a percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you.
Doug
Tallamy is an entomology Professor at the Univ. of Delaware. His
research goal is to better understand the many ways insects
interact with plants and how such interactions determine the
diversity of animal communities. We have brought Dr. Tallamy to
Tulsa several times in recent years, and his books are a
favorite of native plant gardeners.We highly recommend this
book!!
Butterfly & moth species records by county for Oklahoma
From John Nelson, Professor Emeritus of Biology at ORU, who has graciously allowed us to post these lists of the documented butterfly & moth species records by county for Oklahoma
The Tulsa Master Gardeners web site
has a section of information about the butterflies of Tulsa County, featuring photos by TAS member Jim Thayer. (Click on lawn & garden help. Click on Butterflies. There are pictures of the butterflies of the 5 families that are listed on the handout "Butterflies you are most likely to see in your backyard"
TAS member John Fisher has created the OKLeps Yahoo Discussion Group
for sharing information about the butterflies of Oklahoma.
Hershel Raney's Random Natural Acts web site
has lots of good photographs of Arkansas butterflies (many of which also occur in Oklahoma) along with a few other critters and some wonderful essays on being out in the woods.
Butterflies
of America is a comprehensive online resource that will include information on
taxonomy and identification, distribution and habitat, life history and
bibliography for all butterfly taxa in America, including species,
subspecies and undescribed geographic variants.
North American Butterfly
Association (NABA), founded in 1992 is, by
far, the largest group of people in North America (Canada, United
States, and Mexico) interested in butterflies. It is a membership-based
not-for-profit organization working to increase public enjoyment and
conservation of butterflies.
OPTICS INFORMATION
Tulsa's Wild Bird
Unlimited Located at 61st & Yale, they offer a nice selection of
books, binoculars and
other optics.
Oklahoma Butterfly Watching Locations
Listed species are included because they
are either abundant at a given location or are uncommon/rare or hard to find elsewhere.
Butterfly
garden near park office – Byssus Skipper
Red Rock Canyon State Park
East side of
canyon along rim trail – Giant Yucca Skipper
Lake Murray State Park
Gardens near
Tucker Tower – Great Purple Hairstreak
Wichita Mountains National
Wildlife Refuge
Soapberry
Hairstreak
ODWC Wildlife Management Areas
Please remember that collecting is not
allowed on Nature Conservancy Preserves, City of Tulsa Parks, Tulsa County
Parks, Oklahoma State Parks, or National Wildlife Refuges.