What could be more enjoyable, on a warm sunny day, than a yard full of butterflies?
You can encourage butterflies to visit your yard by planting native prairie wildflowers.
Many prairie plants provide nectar as food for the winged adult stages of butterflies.
Just as importantly though, prairie plants are important food for the larval stages of
many butterflies, the caterpillars. Butterfly gardens can play an important role in conserving
both our butterflies and our wildflowers!
Some Suggestions for a Butterfly Garden
Here are some plants to consider for your butterfly garden. We have seeds of all those
mentioned here. Some are "nectar-sources" and some are "host plants", or caterpillar-food.
It's important to have both kinds in a real butterfly garden.
Nectar Sources
Grow a variety of plants as nectar sources so there will be flowers available throughout
the growing season. Perennial wildflowers are more attractive to butterflies than
horticultural annuals. Here's some plants to consider:
Smooth Fleabane (Erigeron glabellus) - white flowers in June
Smooth Aster (Aster laevis) - blue flowers in September
Host Plants
Grow a variety of host plants so caterpillars of several species of butterflies can find
food. How will the caterpillars get there? Don't worry, if the plants are there, female
butterflies will find them to lay their eggs. Here's some plants to consider:
Like all wildlife, each kind of butterfly needs food, water and shelter to survive.
You can help butterflies meet all their needs.
Food: For caterpillars, this means having the right host plant to eat. For adults,
food can be nectar, sugar water in a "butterfly feeder" or rotting fruit.
Food: For caterpillars this means having the right host plant to eat. For adults,
food can be nectar, sugar water in a "butterfly feeder" or rotting fruit.
Water: Caterpillars and adults usually get enough water in their food or nectar, but
a puddle or bird bath may be visited by adults.
Shelter: Thick foliage offers protection for caterpillars or roosting adults. Caterpillars
often make their chrysalis (pupa) away from their host plant on buildings or nearby trees
or shrubs where they are out of sight and protected from weather.
For more information on butterfly gardening in Manitoba consult
The Butterflies of Manitoba from our bookstore.
Night Flying Beauties
And don't forget about Manitoba's moths! We see butterflies more often because they
are active in daylight, while moths are nocturnal. We have more species of moths than
butterflies in Manitoba and many are just as beautiful!
