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May the wings of the butterfly kiss the sun
And find your shoulder to light on,
To bring you luck, happiness and riches
Today, tomorrow and beyond.
~Irish
Blessing
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Gardening for Butterflies
Many of the prime habitats for butterflies have been lost to urbanization
over the years. Widespread use of pesticides and herbacides have also contributed to the loss of the milkweed and other
nectar sources. By creating or protecting these habitats, we are contributing to the conservation of some wonderful species.
There are hundreds of different species of butterflies and moths in North America. They hatch into larvae or caterpillars,
become pupae, and develop into colorful adults. How long the process takes depends on the species and the climate.
Butterflies need a place to lay their eggs and two types of plants for survival. One plant will provide food
for the caterpillars, and another plant will provide food for the butterflies. Some larvae consume tremendous amounts
of plant material, seemingly devouring plants overnight. Adult butterflies require food in liquid form such as plant-produced
nectar. They get some of it from flowers and from juices of extra-ripe fruit. The types of flowering plants you grow will
determine the kinds of butterflies you attract to your backyard.
Butterflies also need a source of water. A shallow
dish of water or a depression in a rock that retains water is all they need. Butterflies need to be warm in order to fly.
They love to warm themselves on rocks that have been warmed by the sun. You can replicate this by placing flat rocks in sunny
locations through out your garden.
Before you begin, find out what kinds of butterflies frequent your area. You
can do this by watching and using a butterfly guide, call your local extension agent, or check some of the listings below.
Host Plants for Caterpillars and Butterflies
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Milkweeds (Asclepias species) |
Butterfly Bush (Buddleia species) |
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Coneflower (Echinacea species) |
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Parsley
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Zinnias
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Cosmos, Dwarf Sensation Mix (Cosmos bipinnatus)
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Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium purpureum)
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Floss Flower, Blue Horizon (Ageratum houstonianum)
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Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
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Tithonia Torch, Mexican Sunflower (Tithonia)
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Other Options for Attracting
Butterflies
Flowers and plants are the butterflies favorites choice for food, but there
are other options they love as well. Over ripe Fruit: Butterflies
love over ripe fruit such as apples, bananas, plums, cherries, pears, etc. Simply place pieces of the fruit on a clean plate
or dish. You can also hang the dishes in trees or place them on the ground. Nectar
in a dish: Place a clean sponge or scrubbie (a dish scrubber made of plastic) in a bowl. Fill the bowl with nectar
to just above the height of the sponge. Mud Puddles: Butterflies
love mud puddles for a drink. They also get some nutrients from the soil.
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 - The largest threat to butterflies is loss of habitat.
- Monarch butterfly caterpillars only eat milkweed. The milkweed has poisonous chemicals that
make them taste bad to preditors.
- Butterflies taste with their feet.
- An average butterfly species has an adult life span of 2 weeks or less.
- Butterflies range in size from 1/8 of an inch, up to 12".
- Butterflies can see red, yellow and green.
- Butterflies smell
with their antennae.
- Butterflies can not fly unless their body temperatures
are over 86 degrees F. This is why you see them sunbathing in the mornings.
- Butterflies are the second largest group of pollinators.....next to bees.
- Caterpillars shed their as they grow.....just like snakes have to.
- There
are more than 20 butterflies and moths listed as endangered.
- Antartica
is the only continent without butterflies.
- Some people say that
when the black bands on the Woolybear caterpillar are wide, a cold winter is coming.
- The
top butterfly flight speed is 12 miles per hour. Some moths can fly 25 miles per hour!
- Monarch
butterflies journey from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, a distance of about 2,000 miles, and return to the north again
in the spring.
- Representations of butterflies are seen in Egyptian frescoes
at Thebes, which are 3,500 years old.
- There are about 24,000 species of butterflies.
The moths are even more numerous: about 140,000 species of them were counted all over the world.
- The
Brimstone butterfly (Gonepterix rhamni) has the longest lifetime of the adult butterflies: 9-10 months.
- Some Case Moth caterpillars (Psychidae) build a case around themselves that they always carry with
them. It is made of silk and pieces of plants or soil.
- The caterpillars of some
Snout Moths (Pyralididae) live in or on water-plants.
- The females of some moth
species lack wings, all they can do to move is crawl.
- The Morgan's Sphinx Moth
from Madagascar has a proboscis (tube mouth) that is 12 to 14 inches long to get the nectar from the bottom of a 12 inch deep
orchid discovered by Charles Darwin.
- Some moths never eat anything as adults
because they don't have mouths. They must live on the energy they stored as caterpillars.
- Many
butterflies can taste with their feet to find out whether the leaf they sit on is good to lay eggs on to be their caterpillars'
food or not.
- There are more types of insects in one tropical rain forest tree
than there are in the entire state of Vermont.
- In 1958 Entomologist W.G. Bruce
published a list of Arthropod references in the Bible. The most frequently named bugs from the Bible are: Locust: 24, Moth:
11, Grasshopper: 10, Scorpion: 10, Caterpillar: 9, and Bee: 4.
- People eat insects
– called "Entomophagy"(people eating bugs) – it has been practiced for centuries throughout Africa,
Australia, Asia, the Middle East, and North, Central and South America. Why? Because many bugs are both protein-rich and good
sources of vitamins, minerals and fats.
- YOU can eat bugs! Try the "Eat-A-Bug
Cookbook" by David George Gordon , 10 Speed Press.
- Many insects can carry
50 times their own body weight. This would be like an adult person lifting two heavy cars full of people.
- There are over a million described species of insects. Some people estimate there are actually between
15 and 30 million species.
- Most insects are beneficial to people because they
eat other insects, pollinate crops, are food for other animals, make products we use (like honey and silk) or have medical
uses.
- Butterflies and insects have their skeletons
on the outside of their bodies, called the exoskeleton. This protects the insect and keeps water inside their bodies so they
don’t dry out.
Useful Links for Butterfly Gardening:
Butterflies and Moths of North America
Monarch Watch
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