HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2009-05-07, Page 18Butterflies can add beauty and
whimsy to a garden, but they are del-
icate insects with a short lifespan.
Many gardening enthusiasts want
to learn more about how to attract
these winged creatures to their yards
so they can enjoy them as much as
possible.
To attract butterflies to your yard,
first you should understand the life-
cycle of the butterfly and provide an
environment that is conducive to the
insect at all stages of development.
BUTTERFLY BEGINNINGS
Butterflies begin life as tiny eggs
that are laid upon plant leaves. Upon
hatching into tiny larvae, they dine
voraciously on most greenery that
comes in their path, growing into
caterpillars.
To ensure that caterpillars will
hatch and grow, you’ll need food
sources that they enjoy. Milkweed,
fennel, parsley, hollyhocks, carrots,
and wild lilac plants are all appropri-
ate food sources for different types of
butterfly caterpillars.
Once caterpillars are well fed and
have molted their skin several times,
they will find an undisturbed place to
form a chrysalis, the pupa stage of
development. Eventually an adult
butterfly will break through and
emerge from the chrysalis. He will
fly off in search of food.
ADULT BUTTERFLIES
Adult butterflies are nectar drinkers
and will seek out flowers that provide
ample quantities of the sweet stuff.
To attract adult butterflies back to
your garden, provide a variety of
flowers that offer nectar, such as
asters, azalea, butterfly weed, golden-
rod, impatiens, and marigolds.
Butterflies are near-sighted, so a
large planting of similarly coloured
flowers will better attract the insect
for a meal.
Because they also enjoy abundant
sunshine for warming their wings and
enjoying a brief respite from flying,
allow for some areas of bright sun-
shine in your garden and roost spots,
such as stones or sticks.
The insects will also need a place
to hang out in windy conditions, so a
sheltered nook is ideal. At night or
during bad weather, butterflies will
usually hang from the undersides of
leaves, or crawl into crevices between
rocks or other objects, and sleep.
The average life span of butterflies
is two to 14 days, though there are
some rare butterflies, like the mourn-
ing cloak, that can live for 10 to 12
months. Females generally live
longer than males. Butterflies that
hibernate or go into reproductive dia-
pause also tend to live longer.
WHAT’S IN A BUTTERFLY
NAME?
People have often wondered where
the name “butterfly” came from.
The Anglo-Saxons used the word
“butterfloege” because their most
common butterfly was the yellow
brimstone butterfly. When the
English culture and language was
brought to the new world, people
claimed that at night witches would
turn into winged creatures and steal
butter.
In some other languages the butter-
fly’s name means “licker of milk”
and “milk thief.”
For other cultures the name “but-
terfly” was not used. The Sioux
Indians called them “fluttering
wings.”
The French call butterflies “papil-
lon,” also the name of a large-eared
dog. Interestingly enough, parking
tickets in France are also called papil-
lon because when placed on car
windshields the yellow tickets flutter
like the wings of butterflies.
BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS
Both of these insects come from
the same family of insects, “lepi-
doptera,” meaning that they have
wings covered with scales.
However, butterflies are usually
bright, while moths are drab. Apart
from colour, you can tell a moth from
a butterfly by the antennae. Butterfly
antennae are shaped a little like golf
clubs with a bulb at the end.
Most moths have either simple fila-
ments tapering to a point, or compli-
cated affairs with many cross-fila-
ments.
PAGE 18. THE CITIZEN,THURSDAY, MAY 7, 2009.How to attract butterflies to your garden
Natural beauty
Butterflies bring colour and whimsy to a garden.
Understanding the lifestyle will help you find ways to attract
them to your backyard haven. (MS photo)
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