Attracting Butterflies to your Garden

Butterfly Attraction

Chaos theory holds that an action as seemingly humble as the beat of a butterflies wings could reverberate through time and change the very course of history.

Wouldn't it be cool if it happened in your backyard?

Mathmatical theories of time and space aside, butterflies are always a welcome edition to the garden, and their fractured flight can inspire adults and children alike.

Butterflies are important for the environment and it's infinite complex cycles. In the caterpillar stage they provide food to birds, and hence will also attract birds into your garden (for more on how to attract birds read here). If a caterpillar makes it to the butterfly stage, this winged creature becomes an agent in pollination, carrying pollen from one flower to the other as it feeds on nectar. It is also important to note that birds and butterflies are sensitive to their habitat (as are we humans!). Herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides intended to ward off unwanted creepy-crawlies will also kill caterpillars, and affect the diversity of the habitat. Keep it in mind, and look for natural alternatives when possible.

So what can we do to attract the butterfly? Here are some tips...

cheeky larvae

Native wildflowers

There are 1000s of butterfly species in Australia. Finding out in rough detail which wildflowers will provide for each stage of the butterflys lifecycle (egg, larva, pupa, adult) will bring them into your home. Adult butterflys want food (nectar), caterpillars want host plants (adults lay eggs on plants that provide food for the caterpillar), and areas of shelter (stone walls, leaf or stick piles etc) for resting adults and overwintering larvae will do the job.

If you want to go the extra step, try finding out which species are in decline in the area, and provide species of plants that will provide for them.

Water

Any context for water, whether it be an elaborate water feature or a shallow pond of pebbles and sand will attract the butterflies (as well as many other forms of wildlife!)

Hope this helps. Hopefully you should be opening your doors in the morning to a garden spectacle of butterflies. What a way to start the day!