Montevideo Butterfly Garden Design

***This Blog Post is a work in progress. I will update it continuously as I learn more. 

Voy a traducir este artículo al español.

Acknowledgment: The information in this article comes from what I have learned over the last 9 years, studying with Tree Stewards of Arlington and Alexandria and Taller en Verde in Montevideo, meeting and studying the work of Doug Tallamy of University of Delaware, and meeting and studying the work of Gabriela Bentancur in Montevideo. I've also spent countless hours scouring the internet for information on butterfly/plant interactions, and planting butterfly host and nectar plants and observing the results. 

I'm currently living in Uruguay. I'm studying Sustainable Landscape Design with Lucia Ifran. The class is called Taller en Verde, a class about designing gardens with native plants.  While a vast majority of Uruguay's land is devoted to pasture for cattle, cash crops like sorghum and agroforestry for paper pulp, a growing number of landowners are realizing the role native plants play in ecosystem and biodiversity support. The plant nurseries are slow to catch on, as usual, and so they are still carrying the usual Chinese, European, African and Australian exotics that perform so well here. As I learn of nurseries here in Uruguay that supply natives, I'll post them below.

My main goals in garden design are biodiversity support and greenhouse gas mitigation for climate stabilization. Greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide, are absorbed by plants. The advantage of large woody plants like trees and shrubs is that they take up more carbon dioxide and hold it in the form of wood. The longer the wood remains in the form of wood, the longer the carbon dioxide is kept out of the atmosphere. When it is chipped, burned and decomposed, it releases its carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere. When I learn about large, long-life trees that are also host and food plants for wildlife, those are the ones I most promote by planting them myself and encouraging others to plant them as well. 

Whenever I move to a new country, every three or four years, I start learning about the local native plants. Even if I don't have a garden, as was the case for four years in Rome, I learn as much as I can about the native plants, butterflies and birds so I can talk to people about the value of choosing native plants for garden design.

For the past year and a half, I've been studying the plants and butterflies of Uruguay. I have a large garden to experiment with. Currently I'm planting different kinds of passion flower to host the Gulf Fritillaries.  I can't get enough of the local small, tender-leafed local variety, because it's not for sale in the nurseries, so I've planted some of the larger leafed Brazilian passion flower next to it.  The local variety is loaded with eggs and caterpillars, but they are about to eat it all up.  I've only seen one egg on the Brazilian plant, and none of the caterpillars have moved over to it yet. Maybe they will migrate over in desperation in the near future. Update: there are now many eggs and and caterpillars on the Brazilian Maracuja' vines. 

The main purpose of this article is to share what I've learned about gardening for biodiversity and climate in Uruguay, and encourage others who have a ranch, garden, patio, balcony or even just a window box, to plant as many native plants as possible. 

When you plant natives for wildlife, don't forget that if you plant it, they will come.  And they will eat.  The appearance of caterpillars munching on your leaves is a sign that you've chosen the right plant for the right place. If they look like they're going to eat the whole plant, buy more plants.

Try to keep your garden a little messy.  Remember that the insects and birds you're supporting use the leaves, grass and shrubs as food and shelter. Don't mow the grass too often, and let the leaves remain under trees and shrubs.  If you rake and toss the leaves, you'll be throwing away the developing butterfly chrysalises you are nurturing.

Butterflies of Montevideo and their host plants

The Gulf Fritillary, Agraulis vanillae

Espejitos on Lantana

Source: User:ComputerHotline/Wikimedia Commons

Locally called "Espejitos", this is one of the most common butterflies in Montevideo.  Their only caterpillar host plants are species in the Passiflora genus. Each regional version of this butterfly tends to prefer its local species of Passiflora, whether it be Mburucuya in Uruguay (Passiflora caerulea), Maracuja' in Brazil or the Maypop purple passionflower in Florida. The adult butterflies will take nectar from Lantana flowers.  Therefore, the best way to attract the Gulf Fritillary and support its life cycle, is to plant a lot of the local Passiflora vine, and several Lantana shrubs nearby. My gardener doesn't want the vine growing on the front fence, so he's constructing bamboo pyramid structures to support the vines away from the fence.
According to Mariposas de Uruguay by Gabriela Bentancur Viglione, the Passiflora is the host plant for several butterfly species in the Nymphalidae family here in Montevideo, such as the Hortensia, with brown and yellow spots, and the Juno and Julia, with similar orange coloring to the Espejitos, but with black stripes instead of spots. Erato is another butterfly in Uruguay dependent on the Passiflora. The Erato is black with two red splotches and two white stripes.
The favorite sources of nectar for Espejitos are Verbena and Lantana. 

Southern Monarch, Danaus erippus and Emperatriz, Danaus eresimus 

Southern Monarch Source: Wikipedia

Both of these are cousins of the North American Monarch, Danaus plexippus, and like the Monarch, their caterpillars feed exclusively on milkweed species, Asclepias sp. The chemicals in the milkweed are what give Monarchs their superpower of being poisonous to birds who ignore the warning of their coloration and try to eat them. In Montevideo, the local milkweed is hard to find, and not usually available for sale. The butterflies have adapted to the alien invasive milkweed from Africa, the Asclepias physocarpa or "Globitos", named for its little green balloon seed pod.  You can plant these in your garden if you find some.  They spread easily from seed once they get started. My teacher says they're terribly invasive in Uruguay and she has some trepidation in recommending them as Monarch host plant. She says if you must plant it, dispose of most of the seed pods and only keep one or two to propagate next year's crop.  But she says the best thing to do is find the local milkweeds, Asclepias mellodora, "Yerba de la Vibora" and Asclepias curassavica, "Flor de Sangre". I haven't found any yet.

Peacock, Junonia genoveva

Peacock Source: Wikipedia

The local name for the Peacock butterfly is "Pavo Real".  It is similar to the Tropical Buckeye and the Mangrove Buckeye. It thrives in uncut grass and the weeds that grow in it.  Try to leave a large area of your lawn uncut. Divide it into two patches. Alternate mowing one patch each month. That way each patch gets cut only once every two months. That gives the butterflies enough time to complete their life cycle of laying eggs, hatching, caterpillar, chrysalis and then emerging as butterfly. Some landscape management guidelines recommend only mowing once, in late fall, using a high blade and leaving the cuttings in place.

To help the Pavo Real, you can plant Ruellia brevifolia and Ruellia tuberosa. Antother plant that is mentioned is Blechum, or Green Shrimp Plant.  It seems to be also one of the Ruellias.  It's hard to find in nurseries, and seems to be a garden weed.  The preferred nectar of the adults is Verbena.

Other butterflies that use Ruellia as their host plant in Uruguay are Mbatara' (dark brown with white spots), and Princesa Roja (dark brown with red center and white spots). Princesa Roja is found in Maldonado. I'm not sure if it can be seen in Montevideo. 

Painted Lady, Vanessa braziliensis

Vanessa braziliensis by Sandro Salomon
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode

The local name for the Painted Lady is Vanesa. Its larval host plants are Marcela, Achyrocline saturoides and Malva Real, Malva parviflora. 

The adult butterfly visits Lantana for nectar.

Bataraza, Ortilia ithra

Mariposa Bataraza
by Flicker Hive Mind User Gustavo Fernando Duran
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/legalcode

The host plant of this brown spotted butterfly is Ruellia, possibly R. coerulea and R. simplex.

The nectar plant preferred by the adult butterflies is Dicliptera tweediana, or Canario Rojo, which should be available in nurseries, but I haven't found it yet. Many photos on the internet show Bataraza nectaring on Lantana.

Diablito, Pyrrhopyge charybdis

Guayabo and other Myrtaceae

Laurel, Ocotea acutifolia

Polydamas, Battus polydamas

Aristolochia triangularis "Isipo Milhombres"

Mariposa de Peñarol, Heraclides Thoas and Mancha Rubi, Heraclides anchisiades

Both of these large black butterflies, each with their yellow stripe or red spot feed on Rue, Tembetari and the citrus trees lemon, orange and mandarin.

Panambi Moroti or Bandera Argentina, Morpho epistrophus

I mention this butterfly because, even though I've never seen it in Montevideo, it's just so big and gorgeous, a light blue floating dream. I saw some by a river in Minas, Uruguay. While the adult butterflies feed on the juices of rotting fruit, the caterpillars feed on three Uruguayan trees.

Coronilla, Scutia buxifolia, is a common small scrub tree in Uruguay. It is known as the best wood for parrilla barbeque because it makes the best embers that stay hot and don't disintegrate.  People cut this tree down wherever they find it because everybody does parrilla asados all the time. I'm told though, that if you plant it, you will have this butterfly.

Other trees used by this butterfly are Inga uruguensis and Lapachillo, Lonchocarpus nitidus.

And Many More...

These are not by any means all of the butterflies that can be seen in Montevideo and surrounding areas. There are those bright yellow ones, those white ones, some swallowtails that probably eat Rue, the tiny blues in the grass that rub their wings, the dirty yellow ones with the little brown spots, the skippers and of course all of the moths. Over the course of the next year, if I identify other butterflies in my garden, and if I'm able to find out what plants they need, I will add them to this article. 

Native Plant Garden Design

Trees

Planting trees is relatively easy if you have the space.  Simply get a list of the trees that support biodiversity, figure out their size and spread, soil and water needs, and plant them in the right place. Water it weekly for the first year or two, until the roots get well established. Voila'!

The great trees of Montevideo:

Guayabo del Pais, Acca selowiana, native small fruit tree, 7 meters

Taruman melifero

Ceibo

Coronilla

Inga'

Lapachillo

Tala

Espinillo

Laurel, Ocotea acutifolia, 15 meters

Lemon

Orange

Mandarin

Tembetari', Fagara rhoifolia, spiny tree, 8 meters

Shrubs

Lantana camara, 1.5 meters high, good nectar for many butterflies

Duranta, Duranta repens, up to 4 meters, good nectar plant, purple flowers, yellow fruit

Cedron de Monte, Aloysia gratissima, 3 m, small white flowers, nectar, sun, moist, sand

Pitanga

Plumerillo

Sen or Rama Negra Senna corymbosa, evergreen shrub, 2.5 meters high

Chilca de Olor, Eupatorium inulifolium, 1-3 meters, moist areas, nectar for many butterflies

Marcela, Achyrocline saturoides, 1 meter high, flowers in March in Souhern Hemisphere

Eugenia and other Myrtaceae

Vines

Passiflora

Aristolochia triangularis "Isipo' Milhombres"

Perennial herbs

Ruellia brevifolia, "Tropical wild petunia" red flower, 0.5 - 1 meter high, part shade, dry

Ruellia tuberosa, 0.5 meters, blue flower, moist shade

Dicliptera tweediana, "Canario Rojo", 0.5 - 1 meter high, or small shrub, red tubular flowers

Ruellia blechum "Wild Hops" or "Green Shrimp Plant". Sun to part shade. 0.6 meters high

Ruellia coerulea, R. simplex, R. tweediana could all be the same local herb, 1 m high

Ruta graveolens, European herb, 0.5 meters, dry, sun
Verbena bonariensis, 1 - 1.5 meters high, purple flowers

Annual herbs

Milkweeds, Asclepias sp.

Cafecillo Senna occidentalis

Malva parvifolia, Native to Africa, Europe and Asia. 0.5 meters, sun,

Grasses

None that I've found so far

Groundcovers

Clovers

Design of the Garden

After I get more familiar with the shapes and sizes of these plants listed above, and as I learn which ones are available in plant nurseries, I'm going to design a low butterfly hedge, located all along the window of my living room.  I'll add the design to this document when I finish it.

In the meantime, I'm going to plant as many of these plants around the garden as I can, as I find them in nurseries and at my teacher's house (she shares!).  

As my teacher always says, "A plantar!". 

Native Plant Nurseries in Uruguay

Pachamama

Pinar Sur, Canelones

Although this nursery claims to only supply food plants, I found some nice butterfly host and nectar plants such as Mburucuya, Malva, Plumerillo, Lapachillo, and Cedron del Monte. I was not able to find the elusive Asclepias. 

Vivero El Ceibo
Carrasco, Montevideo
This lovely suburban garden center has many exotic ornamentals but also you can find some native Uruguayan butterfly hosts and nectar plants in amongst the exotics. While I was there I saw Espejitos and Erato butterflies. Available plants form this list were Verbena, Lantana, Duranta, Ruta, Ruellia, Eugenia and Plumerillo. There were several native trees, such as Anacahuita, Lapachillo, Ceibo, and Palo Borracho.

Vivero Parati
Toledo Chico, Montevideo
Many native trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants are available at this nursery. They will deliver your order after you choose your plants. The native plants I saw were Espinillo, Tembetari, Pata de Vaca, Pitanga, Ibiriapita (Arbol de Artigas), Timbo, Cina Cina, Tala, Anacahuita, Taruman, Tacoma, Ceibo, Araza, Plumerillo Rosado, Duranta, Lantana, Canelon, Verbean bonariensis, Eupatorium macrocepahlum, Rama Negra, Buddleia Amarilla, and several Ruellias. See the catalog on their website for pictures of the available native plants.

Vivero Lavender
Carrasco, Montevideo
Vivero Lavender and Tea Room is a lovely oasis just off the main street of Carrasco, Avenida Arocena, at the corner of Divina Comedia and Mones Roses. The staff is very helpful and the selection of plants is beautiful. The native plants I was able to find from my list were Verbena, Lantana, Duranta, Ruta, Ruellia and Plumerillo. The tree selection included Anacahuita, Ceibo and Palo Borracho.