Visiting butterflies need food, shelter

Q : My kids and I planted some perennials that were supposed to attract butterflies, but we haven’t seen any. What else can we do? A : If all you want to do is attract adult butterflies, then you need to provide them with food, water, shelter and a food plant for the caterpillar stage of their life cycle.

Caterpillars eat plants, and adults drink nectar from flowers. They go to different species of plants in each stage. There are only a few plants that provide both food for the caterpillar and nectar for the adults. For North American gardens, the following plant groups can be used for both purposes: aster, cherry, clover, marigold, milkweed, Queen Anne’s lace and thistle.

Many species only lay eggs on a few types of plants, so if you want them, you need to find out the name of the plant. For example, fennel and parsley are both good for attracting black swallowtail butterflies. Birch and elm trees are good for attracting mourning cloak, white admiral and question mark butterflies. You must remember that caterpillars only have chewing mouth parts and cannot walk very far, so they will eat as much of the plant as they can. Chewed-up plants are part of the butterfly game.

Adult butterflies do not harm plants; they help pollinate.

Some of the best nectarproducing plants are coneflower, coreopsis and rudbeckia. Good prairie plants include liatris, monarda, goldenrod and milkweed.

Good shrubs include butterfly bush, caryopteris, clethra, privet, spirea and lilac. Good annuals include cosmos, lantana, nicotiana, petunia and zinnia.

Some butterflies are attracted to mud puddles, where they get not only needed moisture but also extra nutrients. Lay a birdbath top on the ground, and fill it up with water and a quarter sand or mud. Keep the bath in a sunny spot.

A butterfly garden in the sun will be more successful than one in the shade. Email questions to Jeff Rugg at info@greenerview.com.