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To attract butterflies to your yard, and more importantly to see their entire life cycle, it is important to follow these simple guidelines:
Your garden must be in full sun, as butterflies need the sun to warm their bodies. It is also important to note that many of the plants that attract butterflies require full sun anyway. If space permits, plant several plants to make your yard more identifiable/visible to butterflies (and it will encourage them stay longer!).
Flowering plants produce the highest levels of nectar, and are a great food source for butterflies. Bright colored flowers usually work best. Butterflies seem to prefer red, yellow, dark pink, orange and purple flowers. Be sure to incorporate fragrant plants, too. The antennae of a butterfly are able to detect scent.
This is an important element of a butterfly garden that is often overlooked. While most of us plant the colorful, flowering plants that butterflies enjoy, it is as equally important to provide host plants for the butterflies to lay their eggs on; these plants later become a food source for the caterpillars. By providing host plants, you get to enjoy the life cycle of the butterfly. Those few “chewed” dill plants will be well worth it!
To put it simply, pesticides not only kill the “bad” insects, they kill the “good” insects, too. Pesticides are detrimental to the delicate caterpillars and butterflies, as well as other beneficial insects, such as ladybugs and praying mantis.
While we have included a list of nectar and host plants that will attract various butterflies to your yard/garden, you may want to attract a certain type of butterfly (black swallowtails, for example). Each zone attracts certain butterflies, and each butterfly has it’s own set of specific plant wants. To learn more about the various butterflies in North Carolina and what plants each butterfly prefers, visit the Butterfly and Moths of North America. Here you will learn about each butterfly in NC, see a picture of each, learn about their size, range, habit and nectar/host plant wants (and much more!). This is a wonderful resource!
It is important for butterflies to have a source of water, too, so consider incorporating this element into your butterfly garden. A water source can be something as simple as a shallow bowl of water or a nearby bird bath, to something more elaborate, such as a water feature.
Whatever your level of interest or the size of your butterfly garden, one thing is for certain... if you plant it, they will come! Read on for our list of plants: annuals, perennials, trees & shrubs, to incorporate into your butterfly garden or landscaping plans. We have also included a link to a butterfly quiz as well as some monarch video footage that is a must-see (and will help you get a “birds eye view” of exactly what these marvelous creatures endure to become the colorful creatures they are)! Enjoy!
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