Wildlife Viewing - In Your Own Backyard - Attracting Butterflies for the Summer

In Your Backyard

Attracting Butterflies for the Summer

photo of queen butterfly
Queen Butterfly

It's easy to attract butterflies to your garden by providing their favorite nectar-producing flowers. But to persuade them to stay all summer, you must grow those plants that supply food for the larval stage. Zebra swallowtail larvae, for example, feed only on pawpaw plants, while tiger swallowtails consume leaves from many broadleaf shrubs and trees, especially willows and tulip poplars. The larva of Florida's state butterfly, the zebra longwing, feeds on passion flower.

Provide at least one puddle area for your butterflies, since they cannot drink from open water. Wet sand, earth or mud are the best butterfly watering holes. To make a "watering station," take a large empty coffee can, punch the bottom with 5 or 6 holes using an eight penny nail and a hammer. Then fill it to the brim with beach sand, and bury it level to the ground in a sunny area close to your butterfly garden. Drench it with water and keep it moist to attract butterflies.

You can also make a watering station by adding sand to the saucer of a bird bath to reduce its depth. Add a rock in the center that can act as a resting spot. A large saucer designed to fit beneath clay flower pots will do the same job handsomely.

Let a few sunny areas in your yard go wild. Grasses and wildflowers native to your region are the best and most permanent draws. Over time, introduce other native butterfly-attracting herbs, shrubs and trees, especially vegetation that has staggered blooming seasons so you can offer a steady progression of flowers. For more information about attracting butterflies to your backyard, visit http://nsis.org/butterfly or read our butterfly gardening fact sheet on adult and larval plant food. (This file is in PDF format. To access you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, version 4 or above. ) You can also checkout the Butterfly section of Planting a Refuge for Wildlife.