Butterflies in Your Garden
by Bonney Kennedy
I saw a butterfly in my garden today and it got me thinking. . . what would I need to do to attract more butterflies to my garden? What butterflies live in Walker County and what plants attract them?
First thing I learned is that butterflies are attracted to gardens that provide adequate food for both them and their offspring. Young caterpillars eat from the plants, adult butterflies sip nectar from the flowers. They search for areas that shelter them from high winds, summer storms and rain. Properly placed trees and shrubs offer shelter to your garden from the wind. Wide-open spaces in the garden are also desired on normal warm and sunny days. Butterflies need water, but not very much. Nectar, dew and tree sap provide butterflies with moisture; puddles, moist dirt and/or sand are also good water sources offering extra nutrients in concentrated minerals.
Unlike birds, butterflies can’t drink from birdbaths or other sources of open water. Instead, flat rocks help butterflies so they can stretch out in the sun and absorb the heat that makes it possible for them to fly. Butterflies are cold-blooded insects that often start their day by warming their bodies in the sun. Be sure to include a spot where the sunlight will reach the ground early in the day.
To attract lots of these beauties, attention is needed to serve all stages of the butterfly’s life. They need a place to lay eggs, food plants for the larva (caterpillar), a place to form a chrysalis, and nectar sources for the adult. Most adult butterflies have an average life span of 10-30 days. Some live only three or four days, while others like the migratory Monarch, can live up to nine months.
Selecting plants that feed butterflies while encouraging them to stick around, lay their eggs and create a new generation is the goal. By providing plants that the caterpillars can feed on, butterflies will come and stay. Caterpillars will eat the foliage of these plants. Therefore, accept the damage and forget the insecticides. Butterfly gardens are organic gardens that use no chemicals.
In general, it is desirable to plant nectar-rich flowers in a combination of species that provide food from spring to fall and are grown in open, sunny areas. Butterflies are attracted to brightly painted plants such as aster, marigold, black-eyed susan, and butterfly weed.
To make a butterfly feeder use a plate sized ceramic dish with a lip and no drainage hole, and suspend it from an old plant hanger. Fill it with “banana goo” (ripe fruit with liquid) made from bananas that have been peeled, frozen, and then defrosted. Once defrosted, the bananas become soft and watery (it needs to be gooey to attract the butterflies) after a few hot days, if the goo needs to be moistened then add some fruit juice. Any overripe fruit can be used if too dry try adding some honey to make goo. Place the dish outside a window with a good view or suspended from a tree to keep unwanted visitors away and watch the activity begin.
Some of the Butterflies found in Walker County:
Giant Swallowtail – This adult butterfly is one of the largest swallowtail species, with a wingspan of up to 6 inches. Wings are black with yellow markings near wing margins and spots forming a diagonal band across the fore wings. Caterpillars are dark brown with creamy white mottled markings, making them appear much like bird droppings. When disturbed, caterpillars display a pair of horn-like, orange glands (osmeteria), which emit a foul smell. Adults prefer nectar from lantana, azalea, bougainvillea, bouncing Bet, dame’s rocket, goldenrod, Japanese honeysuckle, and swamp milkweed. Caterpillars feed on leaves of host plants including citrus, prickly ash and rue.
Black Swallowtail – is a black butterfly with yellow markings near the margins of the forewings and hindwings and more limited blue and red markings on the hindwings. Its wingspan can reach 4 ½ inches. Full-grown parselyworms or caterpillars can reach 2 inches in length and are smooth and green, marked with black bands and yellow spots. Adults prefer nectar from red clover, milkweed, and thistles. The larvae feed on carrots, fennel and dill.
Viceroy – closely resembles the monarch. This relationship of resemblance is known as mimicry. The viceroy butterfly receives the benefit of looking like the monarch since predators remember the bad flavor of monarchs. Viceroys can be distinguished from monarchs by their smaller size and the additional black line that runs across the hind wing. Viceroys usually have a single row of white dots on the outer margin of the wing and monarchs typically have a double row.
Monarch – a very attractive reddish brown and black butterfly. The red and black color pattern is a warning coloration to predators indicating that the butterfly tastes bad. Monarchs migrate from north to south in the fall of the year. Monarch butterflies (adults) migrate south through Texas from Canada and the eastern half of North America every fall to the 10,000 ft. tall hills near Angangueo, Mexico where they spend the winter (this site was discovered in 1976!). In the spring, surviving adult butterflies begin migrating north, breeding and developing through 2 to 4 or more generations as they spread north. Caterpillars feed exclusively on milkweed. Adults feed on nectar from numerous wild flowers. The monarch butterflies are distasteful to birds because of chemicals obtained from caterpillar feeding on the milkweed leaves.
Cloudless Sulfur – One of the larger sulfur butterfly species, wingspan of butterflies can be over 3 inches. Males are brilliant yellow above with no markings. Females have some black marginal markings. Caterpillars, 1 inch long when fully grown, are pale yellowish green with yellow stripes along their sides. Each body segment is also marked with rows of black dots. Adults prefer nectar from thistle and morning glory.
If you have any questions about information in this article please contact Bonney Kennedy at bonneyakennedy@yahoo.com or the Walker County AgriLife Extension office at (936) 435-2426 or walker-tx@tamu.edu County Agent Reggie Lepley is available to answer any agriculture or horticulture questions.
