How to Attract Butterflies

How to Attract Butterflies

Feed butterfly caterpillars - If you don't "grow" caterpillars, there will be no adults. Bringing caterpillar foods into your garden can greatly increase your chances of attracting unusual and uncommon butterflies, while giving you yet another reason to plant an increasing variety of native plants. In many cases, caterpillars of a species feed on only a very limited variety of plants. Most butterfly caterpillars never cause the leaf damage we associate with some moth caterpillars such as bagworms, tent caterpillars, or gypsy moths.

Attract

You don't have to live in the country to keep bees. All you need is a little space, a water source, plenty of nearby flowers for them to visit, and a willingness to learn. Keeping a beehive or two in the backyard used to be a common practice. Maybe it's time to bring back this old-fashioned hobby. It does require equipment and some specific knowledge. But it's nothing an interested hobbyist can't handle. For more information, read Attracting Beneficial Bees. Having only nectar plants in your garden will certainly attract adult butterflies to feed (drink) as they flutter by and the more plants you have, the more butterflies you will see. But if you really want to attract butterflies in large numbers you may want to consider adding some host plants so the entire butterfly life cycle can take place in your backyard. That’s when things get fun!

These striking rainforest butterflies are most attracted to gardens which have nectar-rich flowers. They're drawn to the colour blue, especially the male of the species, which may fly in for a closer look if you're wearing blue clothing. The female prefers to lay its eggs on native rainforest trees such as Melicope elleryana but may also lay them on citrus trees. The caterpillar is green with a pair of white spines on its tail. Moist mud puddles attract butterflies, especially the males, where they will often congregate to find minerals and salts that supposedly increase their fertility (this is called “puddling”). I have not tried mud puddles yet but it is on my list of things to try! I often have seen butterflies probing around on moist ground and I’m sure they would appreciate it if I would create one so they have it during the many dry spells of summer! (Source: www.joyfulbutterfly.com)