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Seen More Butterflies Lately?

Nursery Releases 100 Zebra Butterflies

KATHY WATERS/Highlands Today

Butterfly enthusiast Logan Sivils prepares to release about 100 longwing zebra butterflies on Tuesday in Sebring.

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By MANDY SHEETS | Highlands Today

Published: September 26, 2007

It took two months to raise about 100 zebra longwing butterflies, and in less than five seconds, they all fluttered away.

Logan Sivils raised the group of the official Florida state butterfly in a flight cage in his back yard, where they were kept safe from predators and given plenty of nectar to grow.

"Last year these butterflies were rare, so I wanted to do something to increase the population," Sivils said. "I started raising them after I noticed I wasn't seeing as many of them around."

The back yard of Sivils' Sebring home is a haven for butterflies with more than 100 different species of plants and at least one of every host plant for the 30 species of butterflies that call his yard home.

As Sivils lifted the lid on the net, a swarm of the black and white butterflies flew out, all on a different path. Some headed straight south, a small group flew in a synchronized pattern and some found buds of nearby passion flowers for a nectar snack.

"Just like that, they're gone," Sivils said. But he expects a lot of them to return within a few days.
His yard certainly doesn't have a shortage of butterflies. If he stands still for a minute, they will fly within inches of him.

Butterflies of all colors and sizes flutter from flower to flower restlessly.

"They never seem to stop until nighttime or if it's raining," Sivils said. "Otherwise, they are always active."

A bright orange butterfly hops between large green leaves doing what looks like a gymnastics move that requires pulling its rear end up to the leaf.

Sivils, who spends hours watching the habits of the creatures, knows exactly what's going on — the butterfly is laying yellow eggs so minuscule they can only been seen by someone who knows what they are looking for.

"These are his babies," said his wife, Vivian Sivils.

This time of year, until the first freeze, is when the butterflies are the most numerous and the most active, though it's difficult to recognize a pattern.

"They are kind of like the people from up north," he said. "They come and go when they are ready without a real set schedule."

In addition to spending time caring for the plants, Sivils keeps the bird feeders full, so the birds aren't tempted to feast on the caterpillars who will someday become additions to his butterfly garden.

Sivils runs a small nursery for butterfly gardeners near Lake Josephine, which is open to the public by appointment only.

For more information, call 214-3778.

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