How to Attract Butterflies

Watching butterflies dance around colorful flowers in the garden makes everything come to life a little bit more. There’s something magical about the way they flutter to and fro, choosing each landing spot carefully. But the most special thing about butterflies is their lifecycle—the way they transform from a caterpillar to a butterfly in a matter of weeks.

You can create the perfect environment to watch this transformation (and keep butterflies coming back) by planting a combination of host plants for the caterpillars and nectar plants for the adults, and by decorating your garden with butterfly feeders and puddling spots.

Make the Butterflies Feel At Home

Did you know that there are over 700 species of butterflies in North America? We’re used to seeing common species like monarchs, but you can attract many different types of butterflies by providing a few basic resources: sunny open spaces, shelter, fresh water, nectar, and a place to lay their eggs.

By planting an assortment of flowers, herbs, grass, vines, and trees, your garden will become the perfect place for butterfly eggs, caterpillars, and adults. Plus, you’ll be doing your flowers a favor by attracting insects to pollinate them.

You may already have some common, butterfly-friendly flowers like lilacs and marigolds in your garden, but if you’re looking to add more, remember that butterflies are drawn to bright colors like red, yellow, orange, pink, and purple.

Grow Host Plants

Host plants give the butterflies a place to lay their eggs and provide caterpillars with food once they hatch. Though there are a general group of recommended host plants for North American species, each butterfly has a special preference.

Grow Nectar Plants

Adult butterflies aren’t as picky as caterpillars about their diets. They’ll drink nectar from many different types of plants, and sometimes even prefer fruit. However, they do still have favorite flowers, trees, and shrubs if they can find them.

Make Your Butterfly Garden Even Better By:

• Growing regional plants rather than foreign or invasive species
• Planting flowers that blossom rotationally, so when one plant finishes blooming another one starts blooming
• Refusing to use pesticides and insecticides, which will kill the butterflies or make them sick
• Providing flat spaces for butterflies to sun themselves and spaces where they can gather to drink water, this is known as puddling

How to Make a Butterfly Puddling Spot

Nectar is a butterfly’s primary source of food, but they still need water to hydrate and get the right amount of salts and minerals. Because butterflies are so small, they can’t land on large bodies of water like birds might. Instead, they have a puddling ritual where they land on a muddy or sandy patch and drink water that has collected there like pictured below.

You can create a puddling spot to encourage butterflies to gather like this by filling a shallow container with dirt (avoid potting soil or dirt with fertilizers) or sand, and keeping it moist. Add rocks or other flat, solid surfaces to make it easier for butterflies to land and drink water.

When To Expect The Butterflies

Migration patterns for each species of butterfly is different. Some go only in one direction following food. Others make a two-way migration, traveling south in the fall and north in the spring. The most is known about monarch migration, which is the longest known insect migration on Earth! Around August, monarchs begin to fly south from Canada and the northern part of America, looking for warm winters in places like California, Texas, and Mexico. This means that if it’s warm in your area, it’s probably butterfly season.

Whether you want to create a complete butterfly garden with a puddling spot and feeder, or simply want to add new plants to your garden, these tips, and a warm environment, will attract butterflies in no time.

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