1 / 18

Butterfly Gardening 101

Butterfly Gardening 101. Red Admiral feeding on pentas at Mercer. Butterfly Gardening 101. Butterfly Basics Butterflies Found in Texas - Monarch vs. Gulf Fritillary Planting a Butterfly Garden - The Basics (use NABA brochure) - Nectar Plants - Host Plants - Additional Tips

mmarcel
Download Presentation

Butterfly Gardening 101

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Butterfly Gardening 101 Red Admiral feeding on pentas at Mercer.

  2. Butterfly Gardening 101 • Butterfly Basics • Butterflies Found in Texas - Monarch vs. Gulf Fritillary • Planting a Butterfly Garden - The Basics (use NABA brochure) - Nectar Plants - Host Plants - Additional Tips • Resources - Books - Websites - Local resources

  3. Butterfly Basics • Butterflies go through 4 stages: egg  caterpillar  chrysalis  imago (adult) • Butterfly species vary in seasonal timing and length of life cycle • Adult butterflies are usually active only during the growing season when the day is sunny or warm. • Butterflies annual cycle typically includes a period of diapause (inactivity) during very cold or very dry weather. Source: “Straight Talk About Butterfly Biology by Ann B. Swengel, 1995, www.naba.org

  4. Butterfly Life Cycle

  5. Gulf Coast Species • Swallowtail (Black, Giant, Spicebush, etc.) • Sulphur (Cloudless, Little, Cabbage, Sleepy, Orange, Large) • Monarch • Queen • Gulf fritillary • Red Admiral • Viceroy • Painted Lady • Buckeye • Skipper

  6. Monarch vs. Gulf Fritillary

  7. Monarch vs. Gulf Fritillary

  8. Monarch vs. Gulf Fritillary

  9. Monarch vs. Gulf Fritillary

  10. Monarch vs. Gulf Fritillary

  11. Monarch vs. Gulf Fritillary

  12. Planting a Butterfly Garden Goal: Improve your yard so more butterflies are attracted to live there! • Sunshine – Butterflies need to be warm to be active. • Plants • Combine nectar and host plants to provide the best habitat. • Allow native “weeds” to grow if possible. Source: “Basics of Butterfly Gardening by Ann B. Swengel, 1995, www.naba.org

  13. Planting a Butterfly Garden • Moisture – Puddle edges and moist dirt are popular because they also provide nutritious minerals leeched from soil. • Cover • Let a corner of your garden grow “wild”. • Provides cover for caterpillars, chrysalides. • Provides cover for butterflies at night and in winter. • Pest Control • Avoid insecticides if at all possible! • Be tolerant of pests. • Look into “integrated pest management”.

  14. Nectar Plants • Cosmos • Marigold • Zinnias • Pentas • Verbena • Butterfly Bush • Indigo • Lantana • Mountain Laurel • Aster • Senna • Black-eyed Susans • Passionflower vine • Mexican false heather • Firecracker plant • Indian Blankets • Buckwheat • Gayfeather • Milkweed • Coreopsis • Goldenrod • Lupine • Purple Coneflower • Sage / Salvia • Sunflower • Sweet clover • Yarrow • Morning Glory • Trumpet vine • Honeysuckle

  15. Host Plants • Dill • Parsley • Anise • Fennel • Rue • Citrus • Milkweed • Snapdragon • Nettle, false nettle • Passionflower vine • Shrimp plant • Aster • Hollyhock • Thistle • Willow • Cottonwood • Sweet bay, Red bay • Spicebush • Sassafras • Senna • Canna • Sunflower • Mislletoe • Hammerwort • Purslane • Flax • Partridge pea • Pipe vine

  16. Additional Tips • Sit back and enjoy the butterflies that come to your garden! • Go slow. • Go low. • Approach from behind. • Don’t cross the butterfly with your shadow. • Avoid sudden movements. • Visit local parks and arboretums and observe what plants the butterflies are attracted to to get an idea of what to plant in your own garden.

  17. Resources • Books • Butterflies of Houston and Southeast Texas by John & Gloria Tveten • The Butterfly Gardener’s Guide a Brooklyn Botanic Garden All-Region Guide • Beginner’s Guide to Butterflies by Donald & Lillian Stokes • Websites • North American Butterfly Assoc: www.naba.org • Monarch Watch: www.monarchwatch.org • Local resources • Cockrell Butterfly Center • Mercer Arboretum

  18. The End

More Related