Cape Town – Butterflies are beautiful. They flit and float all over the place, as if they have no cares in the world. Butterflies add a fairy-tale ambience of enchantment to a garden for both children and adults.
There is a range of sizes and colours, and, depending on the species, they show up at different times of the year.
To attract butterflies into your garden, reflect on their lifecycle. They begin as eggs, hatch into caterpillars that eat plants, spend time as a chrysalis, and eventually transform into winged adults that flit around looking for food, mates and places to lay new eggs. During each of these stages butterflies have very different needs. The more of these needs you can provide for, the greater the chance butterflies will reside in your garden.
The most important aspect of creating a butterfly garden is to select plants with flowers that are rich in nectar, and also those plants upon which butterflies lay their eggs. This second group are called host plants, and are the plants that provide food for the caterpillars that later turn into butterflies. Each butterfly species chooses only certain host plants upon which to lay their eggs. So clearly the best host plants to choose are those found commonly in the Western Cape, and which are attractive to the butterfly species commonly found here.
Butterfly-attracting plantings can be any size, from small patches of annuals and perennials, to large flower beds. Even apartment dwellers can lure some butterflies by planting a white iron wood tree (Vespris lanceolata), and a pink pentas shrub in a big container. The white ironwood is a host plant for swallowtail butterflies, while the nectar of pentas is an irresistible lure for any butterfly.
To be successful in attracting numerous butterflies, a number of different factors in combination work best. Take into account all the following:
* Select colourful plants with nectar-rich blooms. These provide food for butterflies, and they are more attracted to brightly coloured flowers. Most butterfly species prefer the colour range of pinks through to purple, but there are exceptions such as the Table Mountain butterfly that shows a preference for red blooms. Some recommended plants are agapanthus, arctotis, bulbine, black-eyed Susan, bougainvillea, Buddleja salviifolia, freylinia, felicia, gaura, gazania, freylinia, hypoestes, kalanchoe species, lavender, limonium species, marigold, pelargonium species, pentas, plumbago, salvia species, scabiosa, verbena and zinnia.
* Some nectar-rich white-bloomed shrubs attract certain butterflies. These can be used at the back of a butterfly border, or as screening from the wind. They include all citrus plants, cheesewood (Pittosporum viridiflorum) and Natal plum (Carissa macrocarpa). Note that nectar deep in a flower cannot be reached by butterflies, for example, pinchion and protea blooms.
* If you have a herb garden you should find plenty of butterflies there, as many of these plants attract these small creatures. The best ones for butterflies are borage, catnip, chives, echinacea, dill, fennel, lavender and sage.
* Have plants that will provide food for caterpillars. Butterflies will stay longer if there are plants handy on which they can lay their eggs. Caterpillars emerge from the eggs when they hatch, and they need a food source nearby. In a short period of time, the caterpillars form cocoons and emerge as new butterflies, and once again you’ll have some beautiful butterflies to watch. It is worth noting that these caterpillars feeding on foliage won’t cause lasting damage to plants. In fact, many of them will be eaten by birds before they reach maturity.
* Three trees in particular are host plants for numerous different butterfly species: the sweet thorn (Acacia karroo), the white iron wood tree (Vespris lanceolata), and the wild peach (Kiggelaria africana).
Other smaller host plants for local butterflies are Cape plumbago, Cape honeysuckle, oxalis species, plectranthus species, barleria, indigenous salvia species, pig’s ears (Cotyledon orbiculata) and creeping foxglove (Asystasia gangetica).
Take into account the following factors as well:
* Provide a sunny spot. Butterflies are cold-blooded and need the sun in order to warm themselves up. So butterflies prefer to visit flowers that are in the sun, since they are able to keep warm and obtain nourishment at the same time.
* Create shelter. Butterflies need a calm place to rest, a place without any wind or breeze. Shrubs or small bushes suit this need well.
* Avoid pesticides. There are two main ways that pesticides affect butterflies. First, as caterpillars – if the caterpillars can’t survive, they will never turn into butterflies. Second, butterflies drink nectar. If the nectar contains poison, the butterflies will be killed.
* Make available a source of water. A bird bath of some sort, or plastic household basin filled with stones that rise above the water level, are perfect. Even a muddy or sandy spot where water accumulates works well. Butterflies will sit on the mud or sand and drink the water underneath.
* Have rest spots for the butterflies. Rocks or large stones are perfect for this task. Place the rocks in the sun, as this allows the butterflies to warm up on a cool morning.
Identifying butterflies:
When you have enticed these delicate creatures into your garden you may well wish to identify them.
Steve Woodall, president of the Lepidopterists’ Society of South Africa, has written a pocket guide to butterflies that features close-up colour photographs, habitats and details of more than 250 of South Africa’s 670 butterfly species. All the most commonly encountered butterflies are included, making it ideal for identifying butterflies in your garden. The months when you are most likely to see them are also included.
* Pocket Guide to Butterflies of South Africa by Steve Woodall. Published by Struik Nature, 2013. ISBN: 978 1 92057 247 1.
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