My Butterfly Garden

It is an easy thing to create a butterfly habitat. They require so little to bring such joy and beauty into our lives. It is a worthwhile goal for any gardener.

To start with, butterflies like bright sunny locations because they are cold-blooded. So any butterfly habitat will need to be in a sunny area. It will also need to be sheltered from strong winds.

Next, butterflies need the nectar of flowers to live. So your butterfly habitat will need lots of flowers. The type of flowers depends on the butterfly you want to attract to your habitat. Different butterflies are attracted by different flowers. In my butterfly habitat I have a lot of zinnias, and butterfly bushes because several different butterflies like these plants.

Your butterfly habitat will also need some host plants so the mature butterflies will lay their eggs on them and continue their life cycle. Host plants are the plants that butterflies use to lay their eggs on and feed the young caterpillars. Host plants are very specific to the butterfly. Tiger Swallowtails will usually only lay their eggs on parsley plants, so if you want the swallowtails in your butterfly habitat, plant parsley. Monarch butterflies only lay their eggs on plants in the milkweed family.

Butterflies are cold-blooded. They will need a large flat rock situated in the full sun where they can warm themselves by sitting in the sun. They will often do this in the early morning during the coolest part of the day.

The butterflies will also need shelter from the rain and predators. Contrary to what you may have heard; butterflies do not need, nor would they use, a “butterfly house”. They are truly creatures of nature, and prefer natural shelter, like tall grassy areas, logs that are stacked, and wooded areas. You may get lucky, and have a butterfly use your house, but more likely another insect like spiders or wasps would find them more suitable. They are beautiful to look at, and as a way to add extra beauty to your butterfly habitat they are very useful.

Last but not least, give the butterflies in your habitat a sunny area with a permanent mud puddle. Butterflies need the salts and minerals found in the mud. You will see whole groups of butterflies taking advantage of this feature. They are not hard to make, and very useful to the visitors of your  butterfly habitat.

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Tags: Butterflies, butterfly habitat, create a butterfly habitat

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