Butterflies’ Bed and Breakfast

Part I:

It was my intention to add perennials to my garden this year that would entice the butterflies to stick around. Every year Monarchs and Yellow Swallowtails flit through my yard, daintly sipping from the many butterfly bushes (buddlea sp) I have cloned and planted throughout. Last year I was honored to make the aquaintance of a  Giant Lepoard Moth, nearly three inches across vivid white with dark circles. At my insistance my entire family had to meet it and not long after that I realized I wanted to see what else I could draw to my yard.

Sedum sp. ‘Brilliant’ with Monarch Butterfly

 

In reading what makes butterflies feel right at home, it seems that I have merely been offering a dining hall to the adult of the species and completely dissing the little critters in all their previous incarnations. How Rude! That’s like opening a buffet and only serving purreed foods, thus aiming at those toothless foodies and totally ignoring fanged guests.

 

Well turns out that if you want to cultivate a varied faction of fancy winged butterflies and moths you must offer a host plant/tree for the mother moths and butterflies to lay their eggs where they will be safe, and offer delicious host plants for her voracious young to feed on as they instar through to the point where they pupate. And then you must supply a sturdy and guarded area for the little caterpillars to do so, and then when they emerge from their cacoons (moths) or chrysalis (butterflies) then they will be free to frolic on the types of plants that mature butterflies and moths sup from.

 

Quite complicated indeed.

But, not impossible.

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