Butterfly Facts
Largest: The Queen Alexandra Birdwing Butterfly from New Guinea has a wingspan of up to 12 ½ inches. Fastest: Hawkmoths can fly up to 30 miles per hour. Longest Life Span: Monarchs, & Mourning Cloaks can live for about 6 ½ months.
Ancient Fossils: The earliest butterfly fossils are about 130 million years old from the Cretaceous period.
Butterflies Stages of Life: Butterflies go through 4 life cycle stages in their lives: The Egg: Butterflies start their life as an egg usually laid on a leaf.
Larva: This is where the larva caterpillar hatches from the egg. It eats leaves & flowers nearly constantly where the caterpillar will increase in size up to several thousand times. Pupa: This is where it turns into pupa (cocoon) which is a resting phase.
Adult: Finally the butterfly emerges from the pupa / cocoon.
Successful butterfly gardens have plants that meet the butterfly’s needs during all 4 life stages from egg all the way to adult. Butterflies can be attracted to your garden by providing them food, water, shelter, and places to lay their eggs. Butterflies love nectar and growing nectar rich flowers will go a long way in doing that.
When you plan your garden use a mix of flowers that bloom much of the year so there is a steady supply of nectar all season. Butterflies also like sunlight & shade so provide a place for them to be in both zones. Note: Do not use chemical insecticides in your butterfly garden. Some of the more popular and easy to grow flowers for butterflies include:
 |
