May 02 2010
The Many Ways of Attracting Butterflies
Zinnias really attract butterflies
One of the many ways of attracting butterflies is to plant Butterfly Flowers. Butterflies like flowers that have short nectar tubes, such as marigolds and Zinnias.These short tubes makes it easier for them to feed. They are also very fond of flat topped flowers like the butterfly weed and Queen Anne’s Lace. Whichever butterfly flowers you choose, be sure to plant them in large groups so the near-sighted butterflies can find them.
Using Butterfly Host Plants is another of the many ways to attract butterflies.If the butterflies can find places to lay their eggs they will stay in your garden longer. Unfortunately each type of butterfly has it’s own particular host plant and they will only lay their eggs on these plants. Some butterflies even use trees as host plants and planting a large tree in your sun-loving butterfly garden is not a good idea. I suggest picking out a couple of your favorite butterflies, and planting some of their host plants in your garden or yard.
Pesticides or insecticides will kill butterflies and their caterpillars, so if you want to attract butterflies to your yard or garden, put the pesticides and insecticides away. Those chemicals can’t tell what kind of insect they are killing, and they will kill a butterfly just as fast as they will a Yellow Jacket.
Another of the many ways of attracting butterflies is to create a permanent mud puddle in your butterfly garden.They are really easy to make, dig out a small hole and put a shallow bucket or container in the ground up to it’s rim. fill the container with equal parts of sand, gravel, and dirt. Then just keep it good and damp with a thin layer of water on top.
Butterflies are cold blooded so they need warm places to regulate their body temperature. Placing flat stones around your garden gives the butterflies places to sit and bask in the sun and is another of the many ways to attract butterflies.
Putting your butterfly garden in full sun will help not only the cold natured butterflies but it will also provide the optimum conditions for your butterfly flowers.
Butterflies need to be sheltered from strong winds.They can’t fly when it is windy outside, and a really strong gust can literally tear the wings right off of a butterfly. So if you can offer protection from the wind more butterflies are likely to call your garden home.
These are just a few of the many ways of attracting butterflies to your garden. Give them a try and see what a difference it makes.
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