Our final unit this year is butterflies. Over the next week or so, as we wind down the Pathfinder year, we will share a bit about a few local butterflies, and encourage our SAIL supporters to go out and find some butterflies yourself while enjoying nature.
How can you attract butterflies tov your yard? The first step is to understand what they eat at each of their life cycles. Most of our local butterflies have a larval stage that prefers one type of food, and an adult stage that prefers another. You need to consider both when you are trying to attract butterflies.
Lets take one of our more striking common local butterflies, the Guild Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae). These butterflies are orange above, with a few black and white markings. Below, they have shiny silvery-white markings that seem to flash when they are in flight. The larval stage (caterpillars) love to eat passion vines. The adults (butterflies) like Lantanas. When you plant both, you provide an ideal location for these butterflies.
Lets take one of our more striking common local butterflies, the Guild Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae). These butterflies are orange above, with a few black and white markings. Below, they have shiny silvery-white markings that seem to flash when they are in flight. The larval stage (caterpillars) love to eat passion vines. The adults (butterflies) like Lantanas. When you plant both, you provide an ideal location for these butterflies.
Want the bright yellow and black Giant Swallowtails (Papilio cresophontes)? The larva like citrus (small lime trees in a patio pot, for example), or our local prickly ash (sometimes referred to as tickle tongue or toothache tree, as chewing its leaves can numb your mouth). The adults prefer lantanas, goldenrods, and other Asteracae. Be sure to have both, and you may start to see these butterflies more frequently in your yard.
But a few other things to keep in mind. First, reduce the amount of insecticides you use in your yard (ideally to zero if you can). Second, consider increasing the overall diversity of the ecosystem - more native plants, even if in pots, a combination of low plants, shrubs, and some trees, etc. Finally, be sure to have some water around, even if just a small bird bath that you change frequently (to avoid mosquitos). Simple steps like these can increase your chance of attracting butterflies (and other interesting animals), and bring a little bit of nature closer to you, even if you live in a city.
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