How to Attract Butterflies to your Garden

Butterflies are beautiful winged creatures that live nearly everywhere. However, while every garden does have its share of butterflies, there are ways to attract butterflies to your garden than would normally visit. Those who are interested in conservation may even want to videotape the butterflies that come to visit and see which butterfly species are more prolific in a certain area. However, even those who are not studying wildlife will appreciate the beauty that many different butterflies bring to a garden or yard.

Butterflies are naturally attracted to flowers. They drink nectar from the flowers for food. A garden that has plenty of flowers is sure to attract butterflies, especially if the flowers are particularly rich in nectar. Interestingly enough, some flowers do have more nectar than others do. Zinnias and lantanas in particular seem to be favorites with most butterfly species. Echinacea coneflowers, Asiatic lilies, and purple or pink verbenas are also good options. Building a small garden pond or fountain is also a good idea. Butterflies, as all other forms of animal life, need water to live.

Another good way to attract butterflies to the garden is to grow plants that caterpillars like to eat. A mother butterfly is likely to lay her eggs on plants that the larvae will find nutritious. Some good plants for this are the American Painted Lady, Daisies and Hollyhock. There are also certain plants that are good larval hosts for certain butterfly species. A person that is serious about planting a butterfly garden should look up what types of butterflies are common in the area, and then plant accordingly.

Setting up a butterfly feeder is another good way to attract butterflies. These animals enjoy decaying fruit. Make a small butterfly feeder, place mashed bananas, and cut citrus fruits inside. One can also place small bowls with fruit juice inside the feeder. This juice should be squeezed at home so that it will not have the additives and preservatives that store bought fruit juice would have.

Insecticides should never be used in the garden. Insecticides are poisonous to butterflies. If there is a small pond or fountain in the garden, then the insecticides will contaminate the water, posing a danger to any wildlife that comes to the garden.

Many people set up a butterfly garden with the end goal of being able to film the butterflies. Filming butterflies is not easy, but it can be done. The first step is to purchase a camera with a good zoom. It is ideal to get as close to butterflies as possible, even if the camera has a good zoom lens. However, butterflies are easily frightened that will fly away if someone approaches them unexpectedly.
Choose a cloudy or overcast day for filming. These weather conditions will highlight the butterfly’s natural colors. It is also important to wear dark colors; a person wearing dark colored clothing will be able to get fairly close to butterflies without scaring them away.

Creating a butterfly garden may take a bit of initial work, but it will pay off. A butterfly friendly garden is sure to attract a number of butterfly species year round. A person that enjoys filming can then videotape the many butterfly species that come to the garden, using the tips mentioned above. Those who are not into filming butterflies or other forms of wildlife can still enjoy the colorful beauty that a multitude of butterflies can bring into a garden or yard. Butterflies not only bring beauty to nature; they can also help flowers to grow better, as they fly from flower to flower distributing pollen.