Outdoor Elements
Tigers in the Prairie
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Thanks to a tip from a viewer, Evie was in the prairie at Boot Lake Nature Preserve, part of Elkhart County Parks, to find Tiger Swallowtail butterflies. We'll explore how to identify the male and the female, and learn about their short life span where they need to find a mate and produce the next generation of Tiger Swallowtail butterflies.
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Outdoor Elements is a local public television program presented by PBS Michiana
Outdoor Elements
Tigers in the Prairie
Clip | 3m 7sVideo has Closed Captions
Thanks to a tip from a viewer, Evie was in the prairie at Boot Lake Nature Preserve, part of Elkhart County Parks, to find Tiger Swallowtail butterflies. We'll explore how to identify the male and the female, and learn about their short life span where they need to find a mate and produce the next generation of Tiger Swallowtail butterflies.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipA viewer tipped me off that here at Boot Lake Nature Preserve in Elkhart County, there were loads of tiger.
Swallowtails.
One of our largest butterflies.
And in fact, here in the, created prairie, there is lots of nectar sources, lots of flowers in bloom, wild sunflower varieties, monada or bee balm.
And those are all great nectar sources for butterflies in late summer.
Tiger swallow tails live as adult butterflies in July through September, and they rely on good nectar sources to give them energy to find a mate and for the females to lay eggs on the host plant.
One of the great things about Tiger Swallowtail is it's kind of fun to try to figure out the males and the females.
Males typically are yellow and black, striped like a tiger.
Females, however, can be yellow and black with a little bit of blue scales on their hind wings, but they can also be dark, primarily a dusky gray, almost black, with a little bit of blue scales on those hind wings.
So that's how you can tell a male from a female.
Of course, the goal of an adult butterfly is to mate and lay eggs, and it does require that there's a host plant nearby for those adults to lay eggs.
The great thing about Tiger Swallowtail is they're not finicky.
They will eat as a caterpillar a variety of leaves, tulip tree leaves, and basswood leaves.
Wild black cherry, sometimes even spice bush.
Once those adult females lay eggs, the caterpillars munch away.
They form a chrysalis, and those pupa will overwinter and then hatch out as an adult in spring.
Of course, tiger swallow tails get the swallowtail name from the hind wing.
Formation those two little tails, and by this time in late summer, with their short lifespan, tiger swallowtail butterflies are looking a little ragged.
Sometimes the tails break off or fall off, or the scales rub off.
Sometimes the edges of the wings can be really rough, but hopefully in their 6 to 14 day period as an adult, they'll find a mate and lay eggs and start a new generation next year.
Remember, you can find your own outdoor elements when you visit area parks and natural areas.
We'll see you soon.
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Outdoor Elements is a local public television program presented by PBS Michiana