Blog #13C Attracting Wildlife: Butterflies and Moths
Blog Description: How to attract butterflies and moths to your garden, and why you would want to.
If you’ve ever struggled with transformation, just consider the butterflies and moths of the world. Imagine transforming from a caterpillar to a stunningly beautiful insect with patterned wings. Or maybe you have been through such a transformation, metaphorically. It’s a whole new lease on life!
Welcome to the third part of our attracting wildlife series.
For general tips on attracting pollinators, refer back to the first blog post in our mini series, Attracting Wildlife: The How-to Guide. For more information on exactly what pollinators are, refer back to the second blog post in our mini series, Attracting Wildlife: Bees.
Butterflies are important pollinators, much like bees. As they flutter from flower to flower in search of nectar, they unintentionally transfer pollen, aiding in the fertilization and reproduction of plants.
By creating a garden that appeals to butterflies, filled with an abundance of nectar-rich flowers and host plants for their caterpillars, you are providing them with the resources they need to complete their life cycle.
Each blog post in this mini series builds on itself, so consider the following factors in addition to what I’ve included in the previous posts.
How to Attract Butterflies, Moths, and their Larvae to Your Garden
- Butterfly Feeders can be easily created by filling shallow dishes or plates with a solution of water and a small amount of sugar or fruit juice. The sweet scent will lure butterflies to these feeders, where they can sip on the nourishing mixture. Be sure to clean them and refill regularly for a steady supply of food.
- Plant a diverse array of flowers that produce abundant nectar. Include a variety of plants that bloom in staggered windows to ensure nectar throughout the year.
- Including host plants, plants that provide shelter and food for caterpillars, encourages the larvae to stay in your garden and construct their chrysalises there.
- Provide overripe fruit, such as bananas, for your winged friends to feast on. Hang the fruit from a string or place on a feeding station in your garden, the sweet aroma will lure them in. Clean out spoiled fruit regularly so as not to attract pests.
- Create a puddling area by making a shallow depression in your garden filled with moist sand or mud. This puddling area will attract butterflies seeking essential minerals, and you may even witness them gathering in colorful groups.
Plants to Attract Adult Butterflies and Moths
- Milkweed (Asclepias)
- Purple Coneflower (Echinacea)
- Butterfly Bush (Buddleja)
- Lantana (Lantana camara)
- Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia)
- Zinnia (Zinnia elegans)
- Verbena (Verbena bonariensis)
- Aster (Asteraceae family)
- Marigolds (Tagetes)
Plants to Attract Butterfly and Moth Larvae
Why grow larval host plants? Aside from attracting more adult butterflies for the egg-laying opportunities, the larvae of every type of butterfly or moth can only eat from a limited and specific range of plants. If they eat anything else, they will die. Much of their habitat is being lost, and most adults live only a couple of weeks. It doesn’t matter that they can drink nectar if they can’t lay eggs to birth the next generation. Your bringing in just one new type of plant can provide much needed habitat, helping an additional species of butterflies survive.
Plant choice largely depends on the species you are attempting to attract, but here is a general list to get you started:
- Dill, Fennel and Parsley are food for some of the Swallowtail family of butterflies
- Milkweed – the entire Milkweed family is food for Monarch and Queen butterflies
- Coontie – a FL native plant for the lovely Julia butterfly
- Passionflower feeds babies of the Gulf Fritillary and Zebra Longwing butterflies
- Hibiscus is food for Io moth larvae
- Dutchman’s Pipe feeds baby Pipevine Swallowtail butterflies
- Citrus – any kind of citrus can play host to the Citrus or Giant Swallowtail, which is a very large and beautiful butterfly. These larvae eat very slowly, so cause no real damage to your fruit production.
There are so many more plants that host these beautiful “flying flowers” to our gardens. I plan on doing posts on some specific species, but in the meantime do an internet search for butterflies in our zone, or pick up a printed butterfly guide for south Florida.
You may notice that many flowers that attract bees will be good food for adult butterflies as well, as they use a similar means of drinking through a “straw”. Looking at the structure of a butterfly, you will see they have very long, hollow tongues that normally sit rolled into a coil. In order to drink, the butterfly unrolls its tongue and reaches into the flower with it. Their tongues are longer than bees’, so they can drink from some trumpet-shaped flowers, but they prefer flat ones. The diversity in flower shapes also means not all nectar drinking creatures have to compete for all the nectar-producing flowers. Hummingbirds, for example, feed best from trumpet-shaped flowers, so they rarely compete with bees and butterflies.
Attract Butterflies, Moths, and their Larvae for a Healthier Planet
Butterflies are indicators of a healthy environment. Their presence signifies a balanced ecosystem with sufficient food sources and suitable habitats.
By attracting butterflies to your garden, you contribute to the preservation of these delicate creatures and the biodiversity of the surrounding area. So, let your garden become a haven for butterflies, where they can find nourishment, lay their eggs, and continue their mesmerizing dance of pollination.
There are myriad species of butterflies, and some of them travel thousands of miles during their migrations. Offering a respite on their travels encourages their survival and provides you a garden with an eye-catching view. What’s not to love?
What butterflies and moths frequent your gardens? I’d love to know! Also, if you have any questions about attracting butterflies and moths to your little slice of heaven, ask away!
Part 4 of our Attracting Wildlife mini-series is devoted to birds, check it out!
Happy Gardening!
Mary