Attracting Butterflies to Your Yard

There is something so magical about watching a butterfly soar through your yard. Maybe it's the way they flutter effortlessly, or their beautiful markings, or maybe their pixie-like faces. Whatever that magic is made of, many of us would like it in our yards for more than just a moment or two. In this week's blog, I go over steps you can take to make your yard a butterfly haven.

Question Mark butterfly on Culver's Root

Plant native
Planting flowers for pollinators is a great initiative, but not all flowers are created equal when it comes to creating a truly butterfly-friendly space. Native flora & fauna have evolved together and many have symbiotic relationships, where they benefit one another. Approximately 80% of plants in the average  garden are not native to Ontario, or are cultivars of native plants, meaning they were developed for aesthetic reasons such as colour, flower size, or plant size. Changing attributes of the plants not only changes their appearance, but changes their genetic makeup and typically leaves them with less nutrition than the pure form. You will still see butterflies feed from many of these flowers if they are available in place of native varieties, but think of them as fast food for butterflies - fills you up, but provides little sustenance. Some great Ontario-native plants that attract butterflies include:

• Milkweed species
  
• Culver's Root
• Dotted Mint
• Cardinal Flower
• Joe-pye Weed
• Black-eyed Susan
• Asters
• False Sunflower
• Serviceberry
• Purple-flowering Raspberry
• Birch, oak, maple
• Red-osier Dogwood
  
  

Painted Lady caterpillar on host plant, Pearly Everlasting

Painted Lady butterfly on host plant, Pearly Everlasting

Research host plants
In addition to providing native plants as a food source, consider what butterflies use as a host plant. A host plant is a plant that an organism lives on and lives off of, and is crucial to a species survival. Many butterfly species rely on very specific species of plants for egg laying and caterpillar rearing, and without those plants would cease to exist. When planning your gardens, try to incorporate not only what would be best as a nectar source for adult butterflies, but which plants are required to sustain them through all stages of life. Examples of native butterfly species and their host plants:

• Monarch + Milkweed species (Common, Butterfly, Swamp, Whorled, etc)
  
• Painted & American Lady + Pearly Everlasting
• Baltimore Checkerspot + White Turtlehead
  
• Northern Crescent + Ontario Aster
• Great Spangled Fritillary + Violet species (Sweet White Violet, Canada Violet, Birdfoot Violet, etc)
  
  

Mourning Cloak feeding on orange - Photo by Ann Brokelman

Offer fruit and nectar
No room for a garden? No problem, butterflies are attracted to more than just flowers. If your space is lacking in the flower department, you can still offer butterflies a place to feed in the form of a butterfly nectar feeder, or by offering a dish or tray of over-ripened fruit for them to sip the nutrients from. Some of their favourite fruits to feed from include banana, oranges, and strawberries. In addition to these foods, butterflies feed on some pretty interesting things.. like rotting flesh and poop. But I don't recommend adding those to the list of things you offer in your yard. 

Monarch butterfly extracting moisture and nutrients from damp sand

Provide water
Butterflies don't just drink nectar, they need water to survive, too. Because butterflies can't land on or near deep water, they most often get their moisture from damp sand and earth in an act called "mud-puddling". In addition to helping them stay hydrating, butterflies also extract salts and minerals that aid in reproduction. Minerals are deposited in to the males' sperm, which are passed to female butterflies during mating to help improve the viability of her eggs. You can provide a space for butterflies to take part in mud-puddling by simply leaving an open patch of soil in your gardens (mulch free), or by creating your own mud-puddling dish. This can be done with a shallow dish or tray (a large terracotta plant saucer works great), filled with half sandy soil and some pebbles for them to perch on. Keep the sand moist, and watch for butterflies! You can encourage them to find and use the dish by adding a bit of fresh compost or manure.

Avoid pesticides
This one is pretty simple to understand - pesticides kill "pests" a.k.a insects. Most widely used pesticides are designed to kill soft-bodied insects, including caterpillars and butterflies. The less pesticides we use, the better is for butterflies in all stages of life. If you must use pesticides in your yard, be sure to use them selectively, and never spray host plants or plants that are meant to attract butterflies and other beneficial insects to your yard.

Enjoy the butterflies!
- Shayna