Nothing completes the beauty of a garden more than a visit by the Canadian Tiger Swallowtail. Butterflies provide the ultimate final touch. The Monarch is well known to most, but there are many equally attractive large butterflies in our area that come to flowers as well. Excellent new field guides are available to identify them. If they are feeding on flowers, or basking in the sun, they often allow close approach, even to within inches, when a look with the naked eye will reveal all the pattern and colour detail. While not necessary, there are new binoculars that focus as close as three feet, which are great for butterflies as well as birds. Over 80 different species of butterflies live in our area and use local wildflowers as nectar sources for the adults, and food for the caterpillars. So it is
possible, here in Parry Sound, that with the right plants and other ingredients in the garden, they will visit.
Butterflies will fly long distances searching for nectar sources. Almost every garden will have the occasional visit. They may stop to investigate the Pansies, Petunias, and Impatients, but after a brief check, will move on. Annuals that produce blooms all season long are usually not the best nectar sources. The challenge is finding the right offerings that attract butterflies from afar and entice them to stay to feed. There are countless publications on butterfly gardening, all recommending various plants. Many grow best in southern climes and may or may not work here in Parry Sound. The grand champion in more southern areas is Butterfly Bush (Buddleia), but it’s a challenge to grow and keep alive in our climate. It needs lots of sun and warmth in summer, and protection over the winter. Other garden plants often recommended for butterfly gardens, and which may work here, are: Lilac, Bergamot, Bee Balm, Marigold, Zinnia, Purple Coneflower, and Daisy. New varieties of garden plants appear all the time and some are going to be better nectar sources than others, so experimentation is necessary. Usually larger beds, rather than isolated plants, are best.
Try the proven winners, wildflowers. Since butterflies normally use plants growing in the wild, it is logical that they will be good additions to a butterfly garden. Some are exotic plants, originally from other lands and now established in the wild here, but most are native species. Blend them in with the other garden plants, or create a wildflower garden of our local specialties. Turn that sunny lawn area into a butterfly meadow, enjoy the colourful blooms, and watch the butterflies come. If you have a low soggy area on your property, some of the best butterfly plants will thrive there. Included is a glossary of select wildflowers frequently used by our local butterflies.
Sun is an important ingredient, the more the better. A south-facing garden, with sun all day, is best. Flowers produce more nectar on warm sunny days. Butterflies are cold-blooded creatures and need to warm up each day in order to fly, which is usually in the heat of the day from late morning until late afternoon. Shelter created by buildings, shrubs, or trees around the garden can block the wind and help the heat to build up. Buildings on the north side can effectively reflect sunlight onto plants. Butterflies often alight on a larger leaf or a warm rock surface and open their wings flat to bask in direct sunlight, so rocks or stone surfaces should be included in your garden.
Most local butterflies are non-migrants, spending the winter as eggs, caterpillars, or pupae. When warm weather arrives, the life cycle continues until eventually the adults emerge from the pupae. They spend a while pumping fluid into their wings, and then fly off. Butterfly enthusiasts say they are “on the wing”. Throughout their short life, on average only a few weeks, the adults – while sustaining themselves with nectar – mate and lay eggs. Accompanying photos, all taken in Parry Sound district, show some of the larger, more spectacular of our butterflies, ones that will immediately catch the eye if they visit a garden. The butterflies, all flying free in the wild, were photographed taking nectar on local wildflowers or basking in the sun.
Even living in the woods with lots of shade you can see butterflies. Some of the most beautiful, the Mourning Cloak, Commas, and Tortoiseshells, with their exquisite patterns and rich colours, stay near wooded areas. They usually don’t come to flowers for nectar, instead preferring to feed on tree sap, rotting fruit, or even animal dung. In this group, the adults live up to 11 months and spend the winter as adults, hibernating under loose bark, in logs, or other sheltered spots. On warm days in early spring, they often come out to fly around on a sunny edge and may stop to bask. If you see a large dark butterfly patrolling back and forth in a sunny patch, often a laneway, watch it for a while until it lands. If it opens its wings to bask, approach slowly from behind, keeping your shadow well clear of the butterfly so it is not startled. Your reward may be a close-up look at one of our most wonderful of creatures.
Butterflies in this group can sometimes be attracted to a garden, not by flowers, but by butterfly bait. This “Butterfly Brew” is a fermenting mixture of fruit, brown sugar, and beer. Any overripe fruit will do, but a classic recipe using bananas is provided. Pour a little on the underside of a small slab of bark, and place it in the sun to warm up and give off aroma. If a butterfly visits the brew, it will likely be so engrossed in feeding, that it will allow close approach. It may be wise to put the piece of bait bark in a sealed container and place in a protected spot overnight to avoid attracting unwanted animals.
Butterflies sometimes land on the ground to sip mineral solutions from mud, damp gravel, or the edge of a small puddle. Occasionally a number of butterflies, of different species and sizes, will find one of these special spots to “party”. Keeping a small damp area present in the garden can provide the ingredient for this “puddling” behaviour.
If your garden is successful and butterflies are coming, the next step could be to include host plants, on which the butterflies lay their eggs, and the caterpillars feed. A well-known host plant is Milkweed, used by Monarch butterflies. Even with only one or two Milkweed plants present, it is possible to find adult Monarchs laying eggs, Monarch caterpillars munching on the leaves, and the lime green Monarch pupae adorned with gold-like spots. It is even possible, with luck and frequent checking, to see the adult butterfly emerge and slowly expand its wings, before flying away. Butterfly gardeners never use pesticides, and even come to look with favour on a plant defoliated by caterpillars, because they know the caterpillars are destined to become the adult butterflies enjoyed so much. The host plants for each butterfly are normally given in the field guides to butterfly identification.
GLOSSARY - LOCAL WILD BUTTERFLY PLANTS - PROVEN WINNERS
Joe Pye Weed - A native large perennial, five feet, flowers in mid-to-late summer after the Milkweed. Maybe the best or our native species, a definite champion. It needs damp rich soil
Chokecherry - A native shrub flowering in the spring. Prune it heavily to keep it bush size, so the flower spikes are at eye level. In good sun it will attract American Lady and many others.
Lilac - A garden shrub blooming in late spring. Attracts the stunning Canadian Tiger Swallowtail.
Common Blackberry (Brambles) - A straggly, thorny, native perennial flowering in early summer. Will grow in very dry soil. Best in the more wild areas of your garden. Excellent attraction for many butterflies including the White Admiral.
Red Clover - An exotic that blooms through mid summer. This larger clover attracts many butterflies including the Painted Lady and Red Admiral.
Milkweed - A native perennial that flowers in early summer. This well-known plant, singly, or in mass plantings, is a good candidate for your wildflower garden. It is the host plant for the Monarch, and its fragrant flowers also attract the Great Spangled Fritillary.
Alfalfa - An annual exotic of farm fields blooming in summer. Larger than the clovers, it grows to about two feet.
Meadowsweet - A native shrub, with very attractive flower clusters, that attracts the smaller butterflies, especially Hairstreaks.
Goldenrod - Many native species in our area blooming in late summer and early fall. It is a favourite garden plant in many parts of the world. The beautiful blooms attract Fritillaries and late season fliers such as Whites and Sulphurs. GOLDENROD DOES NOT CAUSE HAY FEVER. Its sticky pollen is not airborne, but is carried from plant to plant by insects. The real culprit is the inconspicuous Ragweed, which blooms at the same time.
Flat-topped White Aster - An excellent native perennial species blooming in late summer.
Purple-stemmed Aster - Another excellent native species blooming in late summer.
Dogbane - A tough native perennial which attracts many butterflies.
Canada Thistle - A native perennial with smaller attractive mauve blooms used by Fritillaries. The flowers of all thistle species are excellent attractants.
Butterfly Bait Recipe "The Brew"
Use a fork to mash overripe bananas on a paper plate.
Add an equal amount of brown sugar and mix.
Fold the plate and slide the mixture into a container with a lid.
Add about a quarter bottle of beer, or less, to get fermentation started.
Place a lid on and shake. Then carefully loosen the lid and leave it loose, as the pressure will continue to build up over time.
It can be used immediately, but will become most effective if left to ferment; the longer the better.
Store in a protected spot, safe from animals. Remember to leave the lid loose.
