Making Butterflies Feel at Home in Your Garden

Climate:

Butterflies usually make their appearance in the spring, once the temperature is above 60o F, and stick around through the fall. They fly best when their body temperature is between 85-100o F. If the temperature dips below 80o F you will see butterflies basking in the sun with their wings outstretched, absorbing heat. A flat rock is often included in butterfly gardens for this purpose.

Shelter:

Butterflies require a sheltered location to rest and to seek protection from bad weather. During the night they roost, often on the underside of a leaf. Shrubs and tall grasses are also useful as shelter and windbreaks.

Puddles:

Sometimes you will see a crowd of butterflies around a puddle. This is known as puddling and it is thought that butterflies are attracted to puddles because they contain dissolved minerals which butterflies need to supplement their diet.

Shallow bird baths or even placing a shallow dish of water in your garden can be attractive to butterflies.


Hibernation:

Except for the migratory Monarch butterfly, most hibernate in the same place they spend the summer. They look for places such as loose bark, log piles or even buildings. Some overwinter as adults, others as pupa and some as caterpillars.

Many people like to place a butterfly hibernating box in their butterfly gardens. Often these boxes are referred to as butterfly houses, but they are actually meant as shelters in which certain butterfly species will overwinter. Or will they?

Entomologists don’t have many encouraging words for hibernating boxes. There are simply too many other places for butterflies to choose, most more natural looking than a manmade hibernating box. However, it is not unheard of for the occasional butterfly to move in. Don’t look for occupants in the summer months. These are hibernating boxes, not homes or shelters.

To have your best chance of attracting an occupant to your box, situate it in the woodiest section of your garden. If you can mange to site it near a host plant, you increase your chances even further. If you don’t have host plants nearby, a late fall nectar source, like sedum or asters, is also good.

As for the height and color of the box, most butterflies are not that discerning. They will hibernate under logs, in tall grasses or even the eaves of your house. Since you bought your box to be attractive as well as to be obliging to butterflies, place the box to please you and then enjoy the butterfly activity knowing you tried your best to be accommodating. See what plants and shrubs you can put in your garden to begin attracting butterflies