Christina Reiman Butterfly Wing

This year our education programs are full of color. Guests of Reiman Gardens explore color usage while participating in nature painting or outdoor photography classes. Hundreds of students this summer have discovered unique patterns of color on their visits. But one of my favorite ways we are interpreting the theme […]

Glasswing butterflies are always a special treat for visitors to the Christina Reiman Butterfly Wing. They have amazingly transparent, membranous wings that don’t have many scales, so they are somewhat transparent and blend into their surroundings. We usually have one type of smaller Glasswing (Greta oto), but for the next […]

When someone asks me what is the “rarest” butterfly ever flown in the Christina Reiman Butterfly Wing, I usually talk about the Leopard Lacewing (Cethosia cyane) gynandromorph we received back in May of 2008. Gynandromorphs—the term used for an organism exhibiting both male and female characteristics on the same individual—are […]

This month in the Christina Reiman Butterfly Wing keep an eye out for the gorgeous batwing butterfly (Atrophaneura semperi). This native of Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines is large with a wingspan of more than 4 inches. Its coloring is dramatic black with red or salmon-colored markings. But the really […]

Although we are constantly replacing plants in the Christina Reiman Butterfly Wing, it isn’t often that we introduce an entirely new plant. But now, for the first time, we’ve added a Brazilian grapetree (Myrciaria cauliflora). It’s ideal for the Butterfly Wing because its tiny white flowers produce nectar for certain butterflies. […]

The Christina Reiman Butterfly Wing, in keeping with our sustainable gardening philosophy, uses beneficial insects to attack pest insects. There’s an interesting example going on right now. A couple of the West Indian jasmine plants (Ixora), have been attacked by aphids, so we introduced a tiny parasitic wasp to the […]

Reiman Gardens recently received a shipment of 52 different species of butterflies in a single shipment, which is a significantly more varied than usual. They include the Magnificent Swallowtail (Papilio garamus) which is large and showy with a cream colored band running across its wings and the New Guinea Birdwings […]

Like during the month of October, we received another butterfly species never before flown in the Christina Reiman Butterfly Wing. We’re excited about receiving Black-Patched Crackers (Hamadryas atlantis). Over the years we have received seven different species of butterflies in the genus Hamadryas, otherwise known as cracker butterflies, a name which […]

I’m always excited when we receive a butterfly species that has never been flown in the Christina Reiman Butterfly Wing, and now that we have been open for almost 13 years, it happens less and less. We received the Pearly Leafwing (Consul electra) a Central and South American butterfly typically associated […]

Hi, this is Jessica again. No one knows what their future will be like. We have the general route in mind but, like any road trip, we don’t take into consideration all of the pit stops and detours that seem to suddenly spring. This is the same for my future. […]