There are over twenty thousand different kinds of butterflies, and many of them are colored so beautifully they can look like flowers in flight. And most of these beautiful creatures live only one month. Some smaller species live only one week. But in their short lives they add great beauty to the landscape and garden.
Look up as they fly through the sunlight. Sometimes the sunlight shines right though the wings like a stained-glass window.
And this is important: Butterflies love the sunlight, so any garden in which you plan to attract butterflies should be in a sunny location. The west or south side of your property is best.
Besides being a beautiful part of our world, butterflies are important because they pollinate plants, then in turn become a part of the food chain14 as food for birds. In turn, birds help spread plant seeds. It’s all part of the big cycle of life turning and rolling along.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. The change from caterpillar to butterfly is sort of a beauty and the beast transformation. Well, not really, because a lot of caterpillars are pretty and some are even kind of cute. Some have stripes and dots. Some look exactly like the leaves they like to land and feed on. Some have colored manes and what looks like hair.
But all caterpillars become butterflies or moths. They become enclosed in something called a pupa15 and, when that opens, a butterfly flies out and up toward the sun. Consider them one of nature’s great gifts and invite them into your yard.
Another Shout-out to Weeds.
Many of the weeds we try to get rid of in the yard are favorite plants of caterpillars. A great yard for butterflies and caterpillars has a diverse combination of plants, including some wild or native plants we may consider weeds.
PLANTING A BUTTERFLY GARDEN.
Besides sunshine, butterflies are attracted to color. It’s a good idea to plant groups of single colors: purple, red, or yellow. Plant different varieties so something is in bloom at all times.
What we call a butterfly garden is simply a garden that is planted with the idea of attracting butterflies so we can enjoy their beauty in the yard or landscape as well as taking part in nature’s circle. The gardens themselves can be beautiful but they’re made even more charming with the addition of these “flying flowers.”
Butterflies feed on the nectar of the flowers. Nectar is a sugary liquid the flower produces to attract insects like butterflies and birds that will help pollinate the plant.
There are lots of different kinds of butterflies and you can read about them in special books on butterflies. As an introduction I’ll simply list some plants that attract varied species of butterflies.
Plants that Attract Butterflies
Agastache
Milkweed
Asters
Butterfly Bush
Cone Flowers
Joe Pye Weed
Sweet William
Bee Balm
Black-eyed Susan
Tulip Trees
Agastache
Milkweed
Asters
Butterfly Bush
Cone Flowers
Joe Pye weed
Bee Balm
Black-eyed Susan
Creating a Butterfly Garden
Find a small area you can dedicate to some of the plants that attract butterflies. Depending on how large an area you have, select some combination of plants from the list and plant them together. The best place is a sunny spot that you can see from a window but is easy to spot from the air. Bright colors attract butterflies. There are both annual and perennial plants that attract specific butterflies. Butterflies lay eggs on what are called “host plants.” You can find specific varieties at local garden centers.
Include some greens like dill or parsley for the caterpillars to eat. And remember: Don’t do too good a job in the fall cleaning up your garden. There may be eggs or larvae under leaves and old plants that will winter over for next year.
Once you’ve discovered the fun of watching butterflies come to your garden, there’s a world of information available about specific plant, caterpillars, and butterflies available to you in the local library or garden center.
Caterpillar Bowls
You can collect caterpillars and place them in a glass bowl or jar with a cover. Make sure there are air holes through the cover. Place a host plant or healthy leaves from a host plant and some pencil-thin sticks in the container. The host plant is the one you found the caterpillar on. Caterpillars don’t need water because they get all the moisture they need from leaves. You can watch the shell form around the caterpillar (it’s called a chrysalis) and eventually watch the butterfly emerge.
It’ll be fun to watch the butterfly spread its wings and fly away. It might just head for your garden.
Caterpillar Condo: short-term care
MONARCH BUTTERFLIES. Monarch butterflies can live up to nine months. They are unique in that they will only lay their eggs on milkweed plants. Their population is dwindling because more and more fields with milkweed get turned into housing developments, roads, or shopping malls. So if you think about it, if there is no milkweed then there are no eggs and then no Monarch butterflies. The circle would be broken. Well, fortunately the Monarch has a lot of fans all over the world who follow in amazement the Monarch’s adventure.
Their Incredible Journey North
In the cold winter months in North America, the Monarch butterflies journey to the hills of Mexico to roost. They migrate almost magically to the same places every year. They return as spring come to North America. You can track their journey though an organization known as Journey North (check out their website: http://www.learner.org/jnorth/monarch/). They have lots of activities and learning experiences for kids of all ages … and that includes many of us adults.
Planting Milkweed for Monarchs
Milkweed seeds should be planted inside in early spring. Buy the perennial varieties. Try using peat pots, plastic trays, or egg cartons. Plant them in the garden in late spring when the chance of frost is gone. There are lots of varieties. Choose some that are native to your area.
Butterfly Journals
The best way to learn is to take notes about what you see. Try taking some photos or drawing pictures of the different butterflies. Note the first day you see Monarchs, and you’ll notice next year that they return at the same time every year. You can even cut, fold, and paste colored paper so a few of your pages open up into the forms of butterflies. The pages become wings.
Get creative with your journal.
14 Food chain: a sequence of living things using the “lesser” organism to feed on
15 Pupa: a stage of a changing insect as it matures