FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – Carol Ann Aldinger knows a lot about the Eastern Giant Swallowtail Butterfly. So much so that she wrote a book called “The Eastern Giant Swallowtail Butterfly … Nature’s Transformation”, but she doesn’t know too much about the other varieties of butterfly that call Washington Oaks Gardens State Park home.
Attending a talk on butterflies on Saturday, September 26th, the author was among dozens who had gathered for the ranger-led presentation by Joe Woodbury on butterflies.
New Life Brings New Interest
“I got into butterflies in 2016 and I decided to come here to see what the talk was about,” said Aldinger. “I brought my book, and I hope they share them in gift shop.”
Carol’s fascination with butterflies started after her mother passed away and she found a caterpillar. Unable to find the information she was looking for, she became a citizen scientist.
“I decided to set up cameras and I took video 24-7, watched what they did, put it into a book and put the videos with it,” she said.

Her work focused on the swallowtail, while the rangers’ presentation encompassed a wider variety of butterflies.
Ranger Woodbury led the discussion offering a primer on the lifecycle of butterflies before delving deeper into a discussion on the five or six main kinds of butterflies known to frequent the property. Showing examples, local butterflies ranged from the colorful Long-tailed Skipper and Gulf Fritillary to the Monarch, Cloudless Sulphur, and the Zebra Heliconian.
The talk touched on the best types of plants for local gardeners interested in hosting and feeding the delicate wildlife and included a discussion on multi-generational migration patterns.

“What I do want to do is instill a love for butterflies so you guys all go out and become conservationists for butterflies,” shared Ranger Woodbury.
A storm rolled in just as the group began to explore the gardens, and Ranger Woodbury invited attendees back another day for butterfly watching.
Tips from the Ranger Station by Ranger Joe Woodbury
Nectar Plants
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Lantana, the native variety
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Pentas flowers, must be the tall growing variety
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Buddleia
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Firebush, the Zebra Longwing prefer these
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Milkweed

Host Plants
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Milkweed, for the Monarch Butterfly larva
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Passion Flower, for the Zebra Longwing and Gulf Fritillary larva. It’s very important to plant the purple passion flower, not the red.
*Note: Stay away from Dutchman’s Pipe as a host plant. It can become invasive in this part of Florida.
