Attracting butterflies to our homes

Most of us enjoy watching butterflies fly by; children get excited and understandably want to follow them and see their stunning colours. We find butterflies fascinating... here’s why! 

1. They are one of seven creatures that undergo a four-stage transformation from birth to adulthood.
2. Butterflies do not have mouths, they feed through two straw-like tubes, so they live on a completely liquid diet.
3. They taste through their feet! When butterflies land on food and plants, their feet have sensors that help them find the best food.  The sensors also determine if a leaf is suitable for laying eggs on. This is significant since the leaf on which the butterfly's egg hatches becomes the first food source for the baby caterpillar.

How can we attract butterflies? 

The Big Butterfly Count starts soon, so this could give you a head start in attracting some to your home. Butterflies only eat plants and fruits as they are herbivores, this is because they drink their food. Here are a few of their favourite things: 

• Muddy puddles – what?! Yes, muddy puddles. They love the nutrients found in the mud around water sources. 
• Nectar from plants, vegetables and herbs, especially buddleia, lilac, honeysuckle, and lavender. 
• Animal droppings – they suck the nutrients out of cow poo, bird poo, and other animal poo. 
• Tree sap. 

You might not want to go out and collect cow pats for your garden or have the space to create a muddy puddle, but you can attract them to your garden by making a butterfly feeder – here's how: 

There are two simple ways: 

1) Use old fruit

They particularly like plums, pears, melons, oranges, bananas, apples, and strawberries. Tinned fruit, such as grapefruit, can be used with its juices or a simple solution of white sugar and water. 

Put out a plate of old fruit, fruit juice and/or sugar water somewhere in your garden. It can be hung from or can rest in a bush or a tree, or can be placed on a safe surface.

2) Sponge sugar solutions  

Poke a hole in a new kitchen sponge and tie string through – this will be used for hanging the sponge outside. Make a mixture of white sugar, mashed overripe bananas, a sugary liquid such as fruit juice or stale beer and water. Soak the sponge in the mixture and hang it outside. 

 
For more information on the Big Butterly Count, go to...

Big Butterfly Count (butterfly-conservation.org)