The Garden
The Bonner Butterfly Garden is an undergraduate-led butterfly conservation project in partnership with the Perry Lab at UC San Diego. The goal of this garden established in March, 2022, is to create an accessible place for plants, pollinators, and people to learn and grow together on campus. Located outside of Bonner Hall along Ridgewalk, this garden is home to over 60 plants that help conserve local butterfly populations. Whether you want to see caterpillars munching away on our host plants, take a break at our picnic bench, or smell our flowers blooming in the Spring, we hope you can stop by!
Garden News
New Species
Phoebis sennae, also known as the Cloudless Sulfur, was spotted enjoying their hostplant the Popcorn Senna. These caterpillars get their camoflauge from the part of the plant they eat--eating leaves turns them green and eating the flowers turns them yellow!
Beautiful Blooms
Our Penstomon spectabilis, common name Showy Penstemon, recently started showing off its dazzling pink and violet petals. This California native naturally grows in chaparral, scrub, and woodlands along the coast. Its nectar provides an attractive food source for a variety of pollinators.
Tachinid Terror
Not all garden news is good news for butterflies, and unfortunately for some of the garden's residents, tachinid flies have moved in and made a meal of a few monarch caterpillars.
Virtual Tour