Invite Butterflies to your Garden

Compiled by John Weber Jr.

Design your garden around the sun and wind: maximize sunny areas and minimize the impact of the wind.

Plant for the caterpillars —— recognize they are “eating machines” ——      and because many of our northern butterfly species have trees and shrubs as their caterpillar hosts, you may want to place your garden to take advantage of these nearby hosts.

Plant adult nectar sources with these points in mind:

• Different generations of butterflies are on the wing from early spring until the frosts of fall ... so a long season of blooms is important
• Nectar content of flowers may be more important than any color preferences butterflies may have —— many “horticultural” varieties do not produce enough nectar to entice butterflies.
• Caution: many of the area’s most popular “natural” nectar sources are alien exotics (the only true “weeds”), such as Spotted Knapweed, and should not be planted in your garden.
• Watch how butterflies are using the flowers in your garden because some of the most popular “butterfly flowers” don’t always work in everyone’s garden —— see what does in yours.

Don’t use any pesticides —— let the diversity of nature do its thing.

For both caterpillars and adult butterflies, plant as generously as possible of each type of plant you put in your garden.

Accomodate what adult butterflies “do” in your gardening plans —— i.e. basking in sun, nectaring, mating, laying eggs ... and sometimes sipping water, mud, sap and even rotting fruit.

Make room for a comfortable place to sit and watch butterflies eat, court and lay eggs —— an up—to—date butterfly guide (such as recommended on last page) and close—focusing binoculars (less than 8 feet) will aid your enjoyment of these winged wonders.

Even though you are planting for butterflies, your efforts will benefit many other living things . as well as providing many hours of pure enjoyment and nature education for adults and children alike.

Prefered nectar sources for northern Minnesota gardens:
      milkweeds   cosmos      Black—eyed Susan
      common yarrow     Joe—Pye weed      zinnias
      asters      sunflowers ‘      wild bergamot/bee balm/monarda
      daisies     blazing stars!    mints
      purple coneflower   gayfeathers     buddleia/butterfly bush

Gardening Books

—Butterfly Gardening (Xerces Society) (Sierra Club Books, revised 1998)

—Landscaping for Wildlife, by Carrol L. Henderson (Minnesot~ DNR)

Butterfly Guides

—Butterflies of the North Woods, by Larry Weber (covers Minnesota, Wisconsin & Michigan —— Second Edition available mid—August 2006 —— disclosure: contains one of Marlene’s photos; 96 of John’s)

—Butterflies Through Binoculars: The East, by Jeffrey Glassberg (Oxford University Press, 1999)

—Eastern Butterflies, by Paul A. Opler (Peterson Field Guides, revised 1998) —Butterflies and Moths, by R.T. Mitchell & H.S. Zim (a Golden Guide revised and updated by St. Martin’s Press, 2002) (does illustrate some caterpillars)

Caterpillar Guides

—Caterpillars in the Field and Garden: A Field Guide to the Butterfly Caterpillars of North America, by Thomas J. Allen, Jim P. Brock, Jeffrey Glassberg (Oxford University Press, 2005)

—Caterpillars of Eastern North America, by David L. Wagner (Princeton University Press, 2005) (includes butterflies & moths)

Organization

North American Butterfly Association (NABA, 4 Delaware Rd., Morristown, NJ 07960 www.naba.org): membership includes two magazines American Butterflies —— Butterfly Gardener