Butterflies need a place to rest too

Pat Holloway, left, and Laura Conner had fun populating the butterfly pavilion with plants.

Where would butterflies be without plants? Greenery and flowers provide nourishment and their leaves and stems give the butterflies places to rest from all that fluttering about.

So when the UA Museum staff decided to host a butterfly exhibit, one of their first contacts was Pat Holloway, SNRAS horticulture professor and director of the Georgeson Botanical Garden. Dr. Holloway has worked for years to attract butterflies to GBG and is writing a publication to advise local gardeners on what plants attract native butterflies.

Laura Conner, director of public programs for the museum, said it was only natural that she contact Holloway. The botanical garden is one of Conner’s favorite places in Fairbanks, and she knew that Holloway could help provide an attractive setting for the special exhibit.

On Thursday, Conner and Holloway transported plants from the West Ridge Greenhouse to the museum, where they arranged them in a brand new mesh pavilion.

“This is an experiment,” Holloway said. “We don’t know what’s going to happen.” But she said she never thought of saying no to the museum request. In addition to being a fun learning experience for all involved, the museum will be a handy place to store plants that might be temporarily displaced if the proposed Life Sciences building comes to fruition. (UAF plans to build Life Sciences on the greenhouse’s current location and to construct a new greenhouse for SNRAS adjacent to the southwest wing of Arctic Health Research Building.)

Huge elephant ears, coleus, ferns, and small flowering plants were set up in the pavilion. “We want to create an environment with lots of greenery and lots of color,” Holloway said. She had researched plants that provide nectar and found that canola does. Surprised by that discovery, she borrowed canola seed from her co-workers and got the plants started.

Lantana was highly recommended for butterflies, but Holloway wasn’t able to find any. After checking every nursery in Fairbanks and Anchorage and even some in Palm Springs, Calif., where she attended a horticulture conference, she had to let that go.

Conner will supplement the insects’ food supply by installing feeders in the pavilion. Butterflies have only a one or two-week life cycle, so she will be replacing the stock routinely. The types of butterflies are all North American species native to Florida, including monarchs, zebra longwings, queens, cloudless sulphurs, and giant swallowtails.

While the museum does an excellent job attracting tourists, Conner said this exhibit is designed for locals. “It should be very engaging,” she said.

Holloway loved the idea so much she suggested the museum make it an annual event.

The grand opening is Saturday, Sept. 18 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the exhibit will remain open through Dec. 31. Hours are Monday through Friday from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. and 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturdays. Admission is $2, with children under 6 and museum members getting in free. Call 474-7505 for more details.

Further reading:
"Butterfly pavilion opens at Museum of the North", Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Sept. 17, 2010, by Suzanna Caldwell