Deering Estate in Palmetto Bay recorded 297 butterflies during the 2026 NABA Miami Blue Coral Gables survey, the highest count in the annual tally's history, according to Ana Rojas, conservation and research specialist at the estate.
The number reflects three years of habitat work. Since 2023, the estate's Native Pollinator Habitat Restoration program has grown more than 40 species of native pollinator plants in an on-site propagation station and nursery that doubles as a public exhibit and experimental lab.
"We are proud to serve as a butterfly sanctuary in a highly urbanized area," Rojas said.
The program is part of Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces' Parks for Pollinators Initiative. Staff are working to transform the estate's Addison Clearing into a functioning nursery, pollinator sanctuary and visitor space.
Planting for the Schaus' swallowtail
The estate is planting torchwood, a preferred host plant of the federally endangered Schaus' swallowtail butterfly, with the long-term goal of attracting the species to the property. The Schaus' swallowtail currently survives only in tropical hardwood hammocks on a few keys within Biscayne National Park and the upper Florida Keys, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Conservation partners including the National Park Service, the University of Florida and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have helped the species recover from near-extinction in 2012 through lab rearing and habitat enhancement. Its numbers have been steadily increasing.
Deering Estate also uses wild lime to attract the giant swallowtail and is restoring Marsh's dutchman's pipevine, an endemic South Florida vine, as a host plant for the polydamas swallowtail.
Fairchild connection and free starter kits
Nearby Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Coral Gables runs a free Native Plant Network that distributes starter kits and trains participants to monitor pollinators. Fairchild's Conservation Team works with Miami-Dade County preserve managers and Biscayne National Park, the same federal preserve where the Schaus' swallowtail survives.
How to participate
Deering Estate partners with the NABA Miami Blue Chapter for annual butterfly counts and with the UF/IFAS Master Gardener Program for conservation workshops on pollinators and Florida-friendly landscaping. Workshop details are posted at deeringestate.org. The Deering Estate Foundation also accepts donations through its Adopt-a-Pollinator Program to fund nursery renovation.
Upcoming events
Butterfly Walk — Saturday, July 25, 11 a.m. to noon, Deering Estate, 16701 SW 72nd Ave., Palmetto Bay. $18 for adults ages 15 and older, $10 for youth.
Butterfly Walk — Saturday, Aug. 22, 11 a.m. to noon. Same location and pricing.
Butterfly Walk — Saturday, Sept. 26, 11 a.m. to noon. Same location and pricing.
Information: 305-235-1668.
