Marco’s Butterfly Whisperer

Rhonda Gloodt, a resident of Marco Island and a member of the Calusa Garden Club, is somewhat of a Butterfly Whisperer. Loosely speaking, a butterfly whisperer is someone who can move comfortably among butterflies, and on a rare occasion, a butterfly might even land in the palm of your hand – that would be the ultimate butterfly experience!

During COVID, Rhonda was reading an article on monarch butterflies and it mentioned that 90% of monarch butterflies have disappeared from our landscape due to lack of habitat, meaning they lack the host and nectar plants to survive. 

According to the National Wildlife Federation, “Monarchs are threatened with widespread habitat loss and increased use of pesticides to control insects and weeds. Milkweed, the monarch’s only host plant on which they lay their eggs, used to grow abundantly but are also in decline.”

Rhonda wanted to bring monarchs back. It all started with her first trip to the Naples Native Plant Society to buy native milkweed species (Asclepias tuberosa). The milkweeds she bought also had caterpillars on them. Thus began her journey of attracting monarch butterflies to her landscape. She also added a large mesh cage so she could raise monarch butterflies.

To Rhonda, there is nothing more fascinating than watching the monarch butterfly life cycle emerge before her eyes, which begins when a female lays eggs on a milkweed leaf – the only thing the offspring will eat. She will lay eggs on the new growth and over the course of a week, will lay several hundred white eggs, no bigger than a pinhead. Several days later, a tiny caterpillar with its distinctive white, yellow and black bands will emerge and voraciously munch on the milkweed leaves and when ready, will seek out a safe spot to begin the pupa stage of the butterfly cycle. It takes ten days to two weeks for a monarch to transform from a pupating caterpillar to an adult butterfly – all unfolding slowly inside Rhonda’s mess cage!

Rhonda now has a Monarch Certified Garden but wanted to attract other butterfly species. As we sat outside her pool area, we observed the frequent visitors – monarchs in pairs and the Gulf Fritillary, also known as the Passion butterfly hovering over the passion flower vines. Also, a Queen butterfly looking so similar to the monarch, but a darker orange with white spots.

Rhonda also planted several bushes of Popcorn Cassia, the host plant for the Sulphur butterflies and yes, the leaves smell like popcorn! Zebra Longwing used to visit her yard more frequently and she is hoping they will soon come back.

It is easy to attract butterflies into your landscapes. According to Rhonda, you can use a large clay pot and plant herbs like fennel, dill or parsley – favorites for attracting butterflies. The fennel will accommodate the entire life cycle of the black swallowtail butterfly: eggs, caterpillar and chrysalis. This is a “sacrificial plant” and makes for an interesting science project for grown-ups and kids alike. Just make sure to look out for eggs and caterpillars before you pinch off a bunch for the salad bowl.

Rhonda mixes native and non-native plants. The Giant Milkweed, though a non-native host plant, and due to its size, the hungry munching monarchs and Queen caterpillars don’t run out of leaves to eat.

What’s on Rhonda’s wish list? During my visit, she was busy tending to her clumps of green shrimp groundcover to attract more Malachite butterflies. As we toured her yard, Rhonda would turn over a leaf to show me a pinhead-sized egg or to point out an orange-barred caterpillar munching on a cassia plant.

“Wait till you see this” is Rhonda’s favorite phrase, sharing her constant sense of wonder as she takes you through her garden filled with colors, scents, textures and butterflies. Her landscape has a “never not quite finished” look but always has room for more butterflies.