Butterfly House

The For-Mar Butterfly house is better described as a ‘butterfly habitat’, a sustainable eco-system, supporting 9 species of Michigan native butterflies and their larvae (caterpillars). Plants have been planted in the Butterfly House that are used by caterpillars for feeding (caterpillar host plants), as well as plants with nectar for butterflies. You may notice a few shallow dishes filled with rocks and water. These are “puddling” areas for butterflies. The butterflies drink the water in order to source needed nutrients. The Butterfly House is open to the public at all times during park operating hours Mid May – Mid October. It is located on the south side of the parking lot, along the service drive.

Butterfly Species

· Monarch (Danaus plexippus)

· Eastern Comma (Polygonia comma)

· Eastern Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis)

· Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)

· Eastern Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes)

· Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus)

· Cabbage White (Pieris rapae)

· Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui)

· American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis) Link to Know Your Butterflies brochure: CLICK HERE.

Tagging Monarchs

Each year For-Mar orders circular, lightweight stickers (called tags) that are placed carefully on the wings of Monarchs at our yearly Monarch Festival (usually held at the end of summer). A unique ID number on each tag is used to keep track of information associated with each butterfly, tagger, and recovery. When applied as directed, the tags do not interfere with flight or otherwise harm the butterflies.

For-Mar participates in the Monarch butterfly tagging program through Monarch Watch. “The Monarch Watch Tagging Program is a large-scale community science project that was initiated in 1992 to help understand the dynamics of the monarch’s spectacular fall migration through mark and recapture. Community scientists” (like the ones at For-Mar) capture monarchs throughout the migration season, record the tag code, tag date, gender of the butterfly, and geographic location then tag and release them. At the end of the tagging season, these data are submitted to Monarch Watch and added to our database to be used in research.”

To learn more about Monarch Watch or to find more detailed information about tagging visit: https://monarchwatch.org/tagging/

Butterfly House Structure

The Butterfly House consists of a 30′ x 60′ frame with net cover. It is open to the weather and not heated. The net cover must be removed during the winter months to protect it from winds and snow loads. It also has a four foot permanent plexi-glass side wall and ends added in 2022 to help with wildlife damage. The For-Mar Butterfly House was modeled after Brenda’s Butterfly Habitat at Barson’s Greenhouse in Westland, MI. Since its opening in 2016, there have been many improvements made throughout the years.