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Butterfly Gardening
Facts
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Butterfly gardening can be grown
throughout the United States. There is a wide variety of both butterfly
attracting (nectar) plants and host plants covering climate zones
throughout the country.
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Butterfly gardens can range in
size from a few containers placed in a sunny spot to several acres.
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Nectar-producing plants will
attract butterflies to your garden. In order to support a full butterfly
lifecycle, host plants (for laying eggs and for a caterpillar food
source) must also be present.
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Throughout the country, the
general requirements for a butterfly garden are the same: full sun,
nectar source plants, larval host plants, a pesticide-free environment,
and knowledge of the local butterfly fauna.
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Butterfly gardens are best planted
in the spring with younger plants or in the fall with mature plants that
will become dormant quickly and re-emerge in the spring (perennials). It
is best not to plants in the heat of the summer or the cold of the
winter.
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Many butterfly-attracting plants
are natives and require little attention, as they are naturally adapted
to the region in which they live.
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Placing shallow dishes of water
around the garden will draw butterflies to drink. Males of several
species congregate at small rain pools, forming puddle clubs. Permanent
puddles are very easy to make by burying a bucket to the rim, filling it
with gravel or sand, and then pouring in liquids such as stale beer,
sweet drinks or water. Overripe fruit, allowed to sit for a few days is
a very attractive substance to them as well.
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One of the most common mistakes in
butterfly gardening is planting only one nectar source. Adult
butterflies have a very short lifespan. Planting a variety of nectar
sources will encourage more butterflies to visit the garden. Planting an
adequate supply of host plants gives butterflies a place to lay their
eggs, which will successfully hatch and result in butterflies that will
continue to visit the garden.
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Butterflies typically lay their
eggs in late spring and hatch 3-6 days after they are laid. It takes 3-4
weeks for a caterpillar to pupate and 9-14 days to emerge as an adult.
Click here to learn more about
plants that attract butterflies!
Host Plants
Each butterfly species uses only one
of a handful of specific plant species as a host plant. For example,
Monarchs will only lay eggs on milkweed plants, and Monarch caterpillars
will only eat milkweed. If they run out of milkweed they will die, as they
will not eat anything else.
It isn't practical for most people
to provide host plants for every species that lives in the area - there can
be over 50 different species in your area! It is, however, possible to grow
plants for a large variety of species. The following varieties can host up
to 20 different types of butterflies. They are divided up into groups based
on their size and shape. Please keep in mind that these size/type divisions
are only a rough estimate. The amount of light, water, soil conditions, etc.
can affect how big some of these plants will get. |
