Butterfly garden caterpillars - the start of a butterfly garden
Planting a butterfly garden is all about providing for the needs of the butterflies at all stages of their lifecycle. So don't just consider what flowers to plant that will attract full grown butterflies, but also provide a place for them to lay eggs so you can also get butterfly garden caterpillars.
One of the first steps you need to take when planning a butterfly garden is to consider the species of butterflies that are native to your area. The butterflies that are native to North America are the Monarch, Black Swallowtail and the American Painted Lady.
The caterpillars of the Black Swallowtail are black and white and yellow striped and the adults are black. Females have a blue band with yellow spots and males have a yellow band.
American painted lady caterpillars have thin black bands on a yellow background. The American painted lady butterfly has black designs on two large white spots.
The Monarch butterflies have medium bands and are orange. The caterpillars are a light greenish blue with gold markings. No matter what type of butterfly you attract to your yard, they are all beautiful and can add a lot of whimsy to your summer days.
Not all plants that are attractive to butterflies are flowers. Some species of butterflies actually like vegetables too. Things such as carrots and parsley are a favorite for the black swallowtail caterpillars. The grown butterflies prefer zinnias.
American painted lady caterpillars like thistles and the butterflies enjoy sunflowers and black eyed Susans.
Monarch caterpillars live on milkweed and the butterflies like goldenrod and cat's tongue.
There are some common traits shared by most butterflies. For one thing, they don't like a lot of wind. They prefer more sill locations so keep that in mind when you are planting your garden. Try to plant in a protected spot in your yard.
They also like a little water so adding a small water feature is a good idea. It can serve two purposes; it will keep your butterflies happy and it can also add interest to your garden.
Adding a small shelter of some sort is great too, it gives the butterflies a place to go to get out of the heat of the day or overnight to roost. It also looks nice and you can really let your imagination run wild.
Make sure you use composting material to keep the soil filled with nutrients and mulch to keep moisture in. This is just good gardening practice for any type of garden.
Using a rain barrel of some sort so that you can "recycle" runoff rainwater can save you money on your watering bills. It can also give your gardens (and yard) better water since much of the water from municipal water sources is chlorinated and chlorine isn't the best thing for your plants.
When planning your new garden area, make sure you make it hospitable for butterfly garden caterpillars too and not just the adults. Keeping all the life stages of butterflies in mind when you design your garden is the best way to ensure that you get a lot of butterflies to your backyard, season after season.
Article Source: Messaggiamo.Com
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