10:50 a.m., Oct. 13, 2009----Butterflies, moths and skippers -- also known as Lepidoptera --not to mention birds, bees and other insects have a new habitat in the University of Delaware Botanic Garden on South Campus, the Lepidoptera Trail, which has been created just for them.

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The trail features native plants that provide a natural setting for the insects and the birds that they attract and helps them survive and thrive.

Located behind Townsend Hall and the UD greenhouses near the Herbaceous Garden, the Lepidoptera Trail was officially opened Oct. 2 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, although the new residents had already moved in.

John Frett, director of the University of Delaware Botanic Gardens, welcomed approximately 125 guests, followed by remarks from Robin Morgan, dean of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Douglas Tallamy, chairperson of the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology.

“The trail is not a butterfly garden, which is designed to attract butterflies to feed on nectar,” Frett said. “It is an ecosystem to attract Lepidoptera during their life cycle. It's a place for them to lay their eggs, which become larvae or caterpillars before entering the inactive pupal stage and then emerging as butterflies, moths or skippers.”

The Lepidoptera Trail, like other UD Botanic Gardens, is designed as an outdoor laboratory, he said, and can be used for a variety of classes from sculpture to entomology.

Tallamy pointed out that there are 3,500 species of Lepidoptera in this area but just 187 of these are butterflies. “We are dependent on all forms of life, and we have decreased natural habitats by paving over so much land and have to learn to share our landscapes. This is a fantastic garden and shows what can be done that is both natural and aesthetically pleasing,” he said.

The trail is a dream come true for Melinda Zoehrer, assistant director of the UD Botanic Gardens, who has been advocating the trail for a long time. “It is habitat gardening that is doable and beautiful and can serve as a model for the public. The garden can be used by students for learning to identify insects,” she said, pointing out clusters of busy bugs on milkweed plants, “and can be used for research.”

The trail is self-guiding with signs that identify the various plantings, which are native to this region. It has a natural look with trees, shrubs, wild flowers and grasses. “We have a chorus of sounds here from birds and insects,” Zoehrer said. “We even have a small pond, and I'm waiting for frogs to move in and join in.”

Steve Hutton of Conard-Pyle Co. provided financing for interpretive signs, and Steve Castorani of North Creek Nurseries and others provided plants while volunteers did a great job in making the trail become a reality, Frett said.

Article by Sue Moncure
Photos by Ambre Alexander