LILESVILLE — In a continuing sign of Lilesville’s tourist attraction potential, Whimsical Wings Butterfly Farm will be opening this April, introducing the area to the ins and outs of raising endangered Monarch butterflies.
Buying the expansive land for the farm from Travis Goodwin, owners Donna Pless and Pamela Christian anticipate a spring opening to accommodate area school field trips and the migration cycle of the monarch.
“Our monarch presentation dovetails perfectly with the North Carolina state curriculum on butterflies,” Pless said.
Operating by appointment only, Whimsical Wings Farm primarily caters to educating students and schools are encouraged to book a field trip out to the farm. The farm will offer “Community Days,” where Whimsical Wings will be open to the public to come out and tour the farm.
Pless and Christian, bonding over their shared love of monarchs, farming and working with plants, decided to open a butterfly farm jointly and began searching in earnest for a track of land to support their needs. Running into a land shortage in Union County, the two branched out to Anson County, finally lighting on the sprawling lake-front property located at 120 Whimsical Way in Lilesville. This spring is the pair’s first full year operating Whimsical Wings Farm.
“A lot of research, as well as trial and error, have gone into creating the monarch experience at Whimsical Wings Farm,” Pless said.
Interestingly, the Monarch Butterfly is one of the only known of its species to conduct two-way migrations in the same way as birds. Not able to survive harsh winter temperatures, monarchs rely on environmental cues to know when it is time to head south for the winter. The butterflies have been known to fly as far as 3,000 miles to reach their winter haven. In order to get on the monarch route, Pless and Christian recommend planting plenty of milkweed plants in your area. Milkweed plants are the chosen host plant of the monarch butterfly, though one plant cannot sustain more than two growing caterpillars. When planting additional milkweed plants in order to accommodate more than two caterpillars, they recommended planting them close together, even allowing the leaves to touch.
In an effort to assist the endangered monarch population, butterfly growing kits are available through www.whimsicalwings.com and consist of a milkweed plant, eggs which evolve into caterpillars, then chrysalis, before finally emerging into the world as the dainty, colorful monarch butterfly beloved the world over. The kits not only make excellent gifts, they allow individuals, families, and students to experience the magical metamorphosis of the monarch.
“We encourage kit buyers to plant their milkweed plant after releasing their monarchs in order to encourage seasonal butterfly visits,” Pless said.
Pless and Christian raise their monarchs in netted containers, harvest the butterflies in their chrysalis form and then hatch them in the Flight House, a netted building that provides a safe space for their tiny, winged charges. Inside the Flight House, Pless and Christian have created a habitat of imaginative whimsy filled with plants to attract butterflies, such as butterfly bushes and milkweed. As monarchs feed through a tiny straw-like appendage called a proboscis, hummingbird feeders work as perfectly for them as their petite bird counterparts. The feeders can be filled with a mix of Gatorade and soy sauce to entice and nourish the butterflies.
“Monarchs love fruit, particularly rotted bananas and watermelon,” Christian said.
Beside the butterflies’ Flight House is a greenhouse, where Pless and Christian grow their milkweed plants on site.
“When students tour the farm they can expect to get to dress up like butterflies, learn all about the life cycle and flight paths of the Monarch butterfly and then put it all together when they step inside the magical world of the Flight House,” Pless said.
Gazing around the sanctuary of the Flight Room, Christian said, “It is great to see the light bulb go off when students interact with the butterflies. When you get to touch, feel and learn about the process- you learn to care about it more, the experience becomes more meaningful.”
Appointments can be scheduled through the Whimsical Wings website, by calling (336) 687-1814 or visiting the farm’s Facebook page.