New garden spreads its wings

Butterflies fluttered by as Newport-Mesa residents gathered Sunday

for the grand opening of the butterfly garden at the Environmental

Nature Center.

The center, located behind Newport Harbor High School in Newport

Beach, is now home to the first educational butterfly garden in

Orange County and will contain plants and butterflies only native to

the area.

“That was the fun part,” said Nature Center grounds coordinator

Reginald Durant. “Not only finding what plants and butterflies are

available commercially, but which ones are native to Orange County.”

There are currently five species at the center: Red admirals,

Lorquin’s admirals, monarchs, painted ladies and mourningcloaks.

Eventually, there will be up to 12 different species flying around

the center’s butterfly garden, but different species emerge later in

the year.

“All the plants in the butterfly house are hosts or nectar

plants,” said Bo Glover, executive director of the center. Host

plants are where the eggs hatch into caterpillars, and nectar plants

are where the butterflies get their food, he explained.

Glover, who has been with the center for 14 years, said the garden

was modeled after a larger butterfly garden located in the Natural

History Museum of Los Angeles County.

“We’ve seen a lot of growth over the past few years,” he said.

“And this butterfly house is going to make us a destination for

people to come and learn from and appreciate nature. That’s our

mission -- to provide quality education through hands-on experience

with nature.”

The butterfly habitat was mainly funded by the Okazaki Rotary Club

and the Rotary Club of Newport-Balboa, as part of their centennial

project, with additional funding donated by The Home Depot and

Pacific Life Foundation. The cost of installing the garden was about

$35,000, and there are ongoing costs, such as purchasing new plants,

Glover said.

Judy Smith of Fullerton brought her granddaughter, 8-year-old

Nicole Hostert, to the butterfly house opening because she loves all

things nature.

“It’s magnificent; it’s wonderful,” Smith said. “And to think it’s

always going to be here.”

Durant, who did most of the research involved in getting the

garden started, as well as a lot of the gardening itself, spent the

day in the screened-off habitat, answering questions and educating

visitors.

“They’re kind of like you and I, when we first wake up in the

morning,” he explained to a woman who watched as a painted lady tried

to get its wings working, shortly after emerging from its chrysalis.

Butterflies go through a four-stage metamorphosis: they start off

as eggs that then hatch into caterpillars, which eventually attach

themselves to a twig and form a hard outer shell, called a chrysalis,

which is where the caterpillar turns into a butterfly.

Different species remain in their chrysalis’ for different lengths

of time, but they won’t emerge until they think the outside is

suitable, and some species can remain in there for several years,

Durant said.

The Environmental Nature Center is a nonprofit organization that

relies on memberships, gifts and grants to stay open. The center

offers many educational programs geared toward Orange County students

and residents to learn about nature in Southern California.

“It’s really our membership that is the backbone of the

organization and keeps us going,” Glover said.

For more information about the butterfly house or other programs,

contact the center at (949) 645-8489.

* LINDSAY SANDHAM is

the news assistant. She can

e reached at (714) 966-4625

or lindsay.sandham

@latimes.com.