Grow Your Own Biology Classroom with a Butterfly Garden
Photography by Andrew Wahlin. Andrew is an experienced creator of green spaces, and these photos show the butterfly garden grown with the help of his three-year-old daughter, Oz, at their home in Bradenton, Florida.
For many of us, the butterfly life cycle was the big fascinator of our elementary school science education. But let’s be real, here: It may have been a long time since grade school, yet butterflies remain utterly entrancing. These supermodels of the bug world present some of the greatest wonders and deepest mysteries of the animal kingdom, both in their transformation from creepy-crawly to vibrant aerial acrobat, and in the astonishing migrations undertaken by species such as the monarch (which travels annually from southern Canada to Mexico) and the Gulf fritillary (which crosses the Gulf of Mexico each year between spring homes in southern states and winter roosts in the Florida tropics).
So, when you ask your kids what they did in school that day, and with eyes aglow, they tell you about watching the classroom caterpillar spin itself into a chrysalis — yes, it’s perfectly natural to feel jealous. But you won’t have to, once you discover how easy it is to invite that wonder into your own backyard with a butterfly garden.
Step One: Pick a Place
A butterfly garden doesn’t depend on a huge amount of space; in fact, your visitors and their offspring will thrive in a cozy corner that offers a degree of protection from buffeting winds and hungry predators. Sunny spots are ideal, but even a shady grove can attract butterflies if you take the right approach to — drumroll, please…
Step Two: Pick Your Plants
Of all the steps to growing a butterfly garden, this one is perhaps the most challenging. Do your homework on the butterfly species in your area, whether they’re year-round natives or just passing through on a migratory path. Once you decide which species you want to attract, then you can pick the food sources with which to tempt them.
In order to support the full life cycle of its residents, a butterfly garden must offer the sweet flower nectar that drives the adults wild, as well as crunchy leaves to fatten up the caterpillars. Mama butterfly’s and baby caterpillar’s tastes may differ, so your garden must supply plants to feed them both. Fortunately, butterflies have a penchant for fragrant, eye-catching blooms equaling that of humans. Here are a few plant suggestions to get you started:
Aster: The daisy-like aster may be the nectar plant enjoyed by more species of butterfly than any other. Coming in an array of whites, reds, pinks, purples, and blues, asters’ fans include the black swallowtail (so dramatic!) and the painted lady (such fetching eyespots!), which roam all across the United States. Asters grow best in full sun where the summer nights are cool and moist. While adult butterflies love them best, several aster species (frost, Drummond’s, and smooth blue aster) host caterpillars of the pearl crescent butterfly.
Passionflower: Many butterflies flock to various species of this beautiful, blossoming vine for a caterpillar nursery, especially longwings, which favor the southern United States. Of the longwings, the Gulf fritillary and the variegated fritillary are common, and both caterpillars and adults are particularly fond of purple passionflower or “maypop.” This unfussy variety is very easy to grow from seed or cuttings, and recovers easily if cut back by a frost (or voracious caterpillars). Since it’s a climber, plant passionflower with a trellis or near a fence. As a summertime bonus, its delicious fruit will feed you and yours, too!
Milkweed: The primary food source of the monarch caterpillar, milkweed can be propagated all over the country. There are more than 140 known species of the plant, including 21 species that host monarch caterpillars. Like passionflower, the adult monarchs (among many other butterfly species) feed on milkweed nectar as well. One caveat, though: If you live in a region that doesn’t experience freezes, plant the species Asclepias curassavica, or tropical milkweed, with caution. Unlike native milkweeds, this exotic species doesn’t go dormant in autumn where climates are mild, and monarch colonies have been shown to settle permanently where milkweed is present year-round. This not only impedes the phenomenon of their great migration, but studies indicate that large settlements are at higher risk of infection by harmful parasites.
Step Three: Let’s Get Dirty
Now it’s time to get your seeds and seedlings in the ground! Your (and your kids’) sense of aesthetic will guide your layout and arrangement; just make sure to interplant nectar sources and caterpillar hosts to create a perfect habitat. Kids love this part, and with patience and plenty of time, they can participate in every step of garden planting and maintenance.
The “m” word shouldn’t discourage you. When planning a butterfly garden, we’re essentially talking about weeds. Compared to vegetables or exotic flowers, a butterfly garden mostly takes care of itself, especially if you choose native plant species. These are generally hardy, opportunistic plants; with a little fertilizer and regular watering, they will respond like you’re spoiling them rotten. Happy caterpillars can appear to decimate their hosts, but true to their weedy nature, the plants mostly recover on their own. Just prepare to replant any annuals, or replace perennials that don’t survive overwintering.
Obviously pesticides are a no-no, but butterflies are such sensitive creatures that broad-spectrum herbicides will harm them as well. Weeds that you don’t want competing with your chosen plants can be controlled with mulch or a ground cover plant. Blooming ground covers, such as creeping sedum or ajuga, also attract butterflies — how about that?
Step two dealt exclusively with feeding your butterfly guests, but they need water, too! Butterflies slake their thirst in a behavior called “puddling.” You can observe butterflies gathering on mud puddles, wet gravel, or other sources of moisture as they suck up water and salty minerals, the latter of which they need but don’t get from their food source. A pan filled with sand or gravel and kept damp makes for a perfect puddling station.
Step Four: Sit Back, Watch, and Learn
As you’re planning and planting, don’t leave out a nice place to sit in your garden and enjoy the show. During spring through early fall, butterflies are active during the brightest and warmest hours of the day, so be on the lookout then for feeding and puddling behaviors. It’s great fun to hunt for eggs on the undersides of leaves, and the discovery of your first chrysalis can happen in as little as two weeks after your plants are established and flowering.
Your butterfly garden is a living biology classroom, teaching hands-on lessons about horticulture, entomology, and pollination. Little ones will pick up on plant and insect identification well before they can pronounce the scientific names. Your garden can spark conversations about wildlife conservation, restoration of habitat, and the preservation of endangered species. And there’s inspiring power in the metaphors around these creatures that begin as humble worms, transform, and spread newfound wings in flight.
Now that you know how easy butterfly gardening can be — get out there, grow something, and prepare for seasons of teaching moments.
Sources and Further Reading
Butterflies
· “Attributes of Phyciodes tharos” in Butterflies and Moths of North America. <http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Phyciodes-tharos>
· “Euptoieta claudia” in Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euptoieta_claudia>
· “Gulf fritillary” in Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_fritillary>
· “Gulf fritillary butterfly” by Jaret C. Daniels in Featured Creatures, University of Florida Entomology & Nematology. <http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/bfly/gulf_fritillary.htm>
· “Loss of migratory behaviour increases infection risk for a butterfly host” by Dara A. Satterfield, John C. Maerz, and Sonia Altizer in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. <http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/282/1801/20141734>
· “Monarch butterfly” in Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarch_butterfly>
· “Monarch butterfly migration” in Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarch_butterfly_migration>
· “Monarch butterfly migration and parasite transmission in eastern North America” by Rebecca A. Bartel, Karen S. Oberhauser, Jacobus C. de Roode, and Sonia M. Altizer in Ecology. <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1890/10-0489.1/full#i0012-9658-92-2-342-Brower2>
Host Plants
· “Asclepias” in Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asclepias>
· “Aster” in The Old Farmer’s Almanac. <http://www.almanac.com/plant/aster>
· “Maypop” in The Edible Plant Project. <http://edibleplantproject.org/maypop/>
“Passiflora incarnata” in Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passiflora_incarnata>
