Gardening for Butterflies in Four Steps

by Gary A. Dunn, M.S., F.R.E.S., Y.E.S. Director of Education

and Lynda Thornburg

Introduction

There's something magical about the way that ugly little caterpillars can transform themselves into free-spirited butterflies. Butterflies go where they please, and they please where they go! If you would like to significantly increase the chance that butterflies will visit your yard, then butterfly gardening is for you. There are many ways to restore or improve natural butterfly habitats, or to create new ones by designing and creating butterfly gardens. Butterfly gardens can be created in window boxes, small flower beds, entire backyards, vacant lots, parks, and even indoor greenhouses.

Planning a Butterfly Garden

If you are contemplating the construction of a butterfly garden, take a few moments to assess your resources. How much time are you willing (and able) to invest in planting and maintaining your garden? How much money do you want to spend? Is the garden intended to be a formal or informal one? Are you going to provide butterfly nectar plants, caterpillar food plants, or both? How are you going to deal with pest problems without pesticides? Are you willing to discourage insect-feeding birds (no nest boxes or berry bushes)? The answers to these questions will help you determine the size and scope of your butterfly garden.

Butterfly gardens don't have to be big to be useful.  Even planters of flowers in urban and suburban settings can help feed hungry transient butterflies.

Step 1 - A Butterfly Survey. The first step in planning a butterfly garden is to conduct a butterfly survey for your area. You should plan on spending at least 4 or 5 hours a day (between mid-morning and early afternoon) on at least three warm, sunny days to determine the status of butterflies in your area. You will find binoculars or a net (for capture and release), a field guide, and a notebook useful. In your notebook record the butterfly species you see and their local nectaring choices.  Also inspect the site closely to determine what types of wildlife and insect life already live there. Try to disrupt the natural environment as little as possible.

Step 2 - Site Selection. The best site for a butterfly garden is one that is sunny (for at least 5-6 hours each day), calm (protected by a sheltering windbreak), and relatively undisturbed (only occasional visits and disturbances by humans). A water supply is also a valuable consideration. Keep this in mind: the more natural the area the greater the number and diversity of butterflies attracted.

Here is a good example of a small butterfly garden: it has a southern exposure, a windbreak (building) and a nice assortment of plants.

Determine what type of soil you have. Is it sandy, clay, wetland, well-drained, or very dry? This is very important to know when you select the plants.  It's a good idea to have the soil tested. This will provide you with valuable insight into the chemical makeup and condition (texture) of your soil. The soil testing lab will gladly provide you with suggestions for improving soil fertility and drainage, if needed.

What types of trees are in the area? This is important since most moth larvae eat tree leaves; leaves are also the food plant for some of the swallowtails and the mourningcloak.  Some trees also produce flowers attractive to adult butterflies.

Step 3 - Choosing Your Plants. Successful butterfly gardens incorporate two different types of plants (from the butterfly perspective, that is) - larval food plants and adult nectar plants. Larval food plants are those on which the eggs are laid and the caterpillars feed. Nectar plants provide nourishment for the adult butterflies. While it is possible to design a butterfly garden with only nectar plants, the number of butterflies visiting these gardens will be lower than those gardens that incorporate larval food plants. When you include larval food plants you give the butterflies a reason to "stick around" for longer periods of time by making it possible for them to mate and reproduce there, as well as get a good meal!

Generally speaking, the best butterfly nectar plants are those that are sunloving, purple, pink, yellow or white in color, and single-flowered rather than double flowered. Butterflies will seek nectar from many types of plants: ground covers (clover, alfalfa, and periwinkle), annuals (marigolds, petunias, verbena, and zinnia), perennials (butterfly weed, coneflowers, daisies, phlox, and many others), shrubs (azalea, butterfly bush, and lilac), and trees (plum, pear, and cherry).

You will also need to decide whether you want to use exotic (non-native) plants, native plants, or a mixture of both in your garden.  If you are looking for information on the native vs. non-native status of a plant, check our Planting Guide or visit the National Wildlife Federation's NativePlants Guide website.  Although there are many exciting exotic plants that attract butterflies, there are many benefits to using only native plants in your garden.  For example, they are likely to be better adapted to your specific local conditions, probably will require less watering, will not escape the garden and become invasive, and probably benefit wildlife more.

Obtaining plants for your garden can be accomplished by several means, and the method you choose will be determined by how fast you want to get your garden established and by how money you have to spend!

SOURCE	Pros	Cons	Tips
potted plants (nursery stock)	biggest plants, fastest results	most expensive method	buy plants at end of season sales; buy most plants from local sources and use mail-order sources to get rarer varieties only
divisions from established plants (transplants)	fast results	need to find a willing source	check to see if any garden clubs/wildflower groups in your area run plant exchanges; let friends and neighbors know you'll take surplus plants as they thin their gardens each spring or fall
cuttings from established plants	inexpensive or free	need to find a willing source; relatively time consuming	ask friends and neighbors if you can take cuttings from some of their plants
grow from seed	inexpensive (sometimes free)	longer time to establishment and sizeable plants	start seeds indoors in early spring; or, better yet - start seeds in special garden area in midsummer and transplant young plants to permanent locations that fall or the following spring; ask friends and neighbors if you can take seeds from some of their plants

There are four basic guiding principles in arranging your chosen plants: (1) place shorter plants in the front (or outside edges) and taller plants in the back (or center); (2) place larval food plants in hidden and less obvious areas; (3) plant in large groups of one color rather than single plants of different colors; and (4) plan for a continuous bloom through the entire growing season with spring, summer, and fall blooming plants. Before you put any plants in the ground, however, sit down and draw a sketch or two - remembering to consider sun, wind, and access to shelter and water. Only after considering all the possibilities is it time to visit the nursery!

Lone flowers are generally not very attractive to butterflies!

Butterflies can more easily find large, colorful plantings of flowers.

While it is often suggested that flowers be planted in clumps of the same types, we have found, from experience, that broadcasting a wide variety of seeds will also work. Think of it as a "flower prairie." For one site, I purchased very inexpensive, good nectar flower seeds and added some tomato, carrot, parsley and dill seeds. They were then mixed one part seeds to three parts sand and broadcast into a sunny area that had been prepared. This flower prairie attracted many butterflies, but wasn't very successful in feeding the caterpillars. The larval food plants should be separate from the nectar sources. In some cases, the larval food plants should not be clumped together. The monarch eggs and larvae I have gathered in the wild are found more often on solitary plants rather than plants that are clumped together. There was a field filled with milkweed near where I lived, yet I gathered more eggs and larvae off the dozen plants on a nearby corner. On the other hand, larvae of the painted lady seem to be found more often when the thistles are clumped rather than solitary.

Step 4 - The Finishing Touches. Including any of the following items will improve the attractancy of your garden to butterflies: (1) damp spots or shallow puddles (for drinking); (2) large field stones (for basking); (3) pieces of fruit or a butterfly feeder (for supplemental nectaring); and (4) butterfly hibernation boxes (for overwintering). And don't forget, avoid the use of pesticides in and around your butterfly garden!

Butterflies love to sun themselves by sitting on rocks, so be sure to include some in your butterfly garden.

Hibernation boxes.  Many people wonder if these birdhouse-like boxes really work.  The truth is butterflies are not very likely to use them.  The boxes will get used by other insects and spiders, but generally not butterflies.  Why is this?  Well first of all, there are very few butterfly species that overwinter as adults.  Monarchs do (but they migrate to overwintering sites) and so do some brush-footed butterflies such as mourningcloaks, painted ladies, red admirals, and other anglewings.  However, the nymphalid butterflies are woodland inhabitants and they seem to prefer more natural overwintering quarters -- therefore you are more likely to provide shelter for these butterflies by building a lob-cabin style pile of 1-2" sticks topped with canvas and sod that is located along the edge of a woodlot, than with an expensive butterfly house.  Admittedly, a highly decorated butterfly house really looks great in a butterfly garden (along with butterfly crossing signs), and even though it's very unlikely, it could get used - so go ahead and include one if you wish.

A butterfly house (hibernation box) is mainly a decorative feature, as it is not likely to be used by butterflies.

Add a Butterfly "Table".  In addition to nectar feeders, you can also supplement the diet of butterflies through the use of a butterfly table.  There are two different types of butterfly tables.  One type has a 1' x1' platform with about a dozen equally spaced pegs (nails driven through the "table" and blunted for safety).  The table top should be sloped (about 20-30 degrees) and placed so as to face south.  A ledge made from 1" x 1" wood will help to capture juices that run down the table after a rain shower.  Pieces of fruit (citrus, banana, apple, peach, nectarine, and/or plum) are placed on the pegs.  Periodically rotate the fruit to expose the juicy side, and when the fruit is completely dried and/or shriveled, replace it.  If ants become troublesome, place a ring of petroleum jelly or tanglefoot around the post that holds up the table.

Another type of table can be made from plastic PVC pipe.  Use a 5' piece of 2" diameter pipe for a post and at the top glue a 2" to 4" (or larger adapter).  Find a shallow container that will set into this holder.  Place pieces of fruit, or fruit juices, into the container.  If you use fruit juices place a plastic dish scrubby in the container for the butterflies to perch on while feeding.  Be sure to periodically clean and sterilize the dish and scrubby!

The Young Entomologists' Society offers a wide selection of materials on butterflies and butterfly gardening (such as books, field guides, butterfly replicas, butterfly feeders and nectar, butterfly crossing signs, and much more) in the Minibeast Merchandise Mall.  All sales support the nonprofit, educational programs and services of the Society.

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This educational resource was prepared by the Young Entomologists Society, 6907 W. Grand River Ave., Lansing MI 48906-9158, phone/fax 517-886-0630, e-mail YESbugs@aol.com.  Support minibeast youth education - join Y.E.S. today!