Tips for Creating a Butterfly Habitat

There are four elements that are crucial for any wildlife habitat: Food, Cover, Water, and Places to Raise Young. The following are suggestions for creating an attractive and successful butterfly habitat.

When creating habitat for wildlife, it is always important to provide plants of varying height for cover. In the case of butterflies, wind is an additional issue to take into consideration when providing cover. The prevailing wind in the U.S. is typically from the northwest, so planting the tallest plants at the northern perimeter of the garden and the shortest plants at the southern edge provides cover. A house or other structure can also act as a windbreak, as can a pile of stones or logs. In fact, the logs can also provide habitat to some species of butterflies that hide beneath loose bark.

When choosing plants for your butterfly garden, there are several things to take into consideration. Like many birds, butterflies are attracted to certain colors of plants more than others. It seems that butterflies prefer the following colors: purple, pink, yellow, white, blue and red (in that order). In addition to choosing plants of these colors, try to also offer a constant source of blooming nectar plants spring through fall; as one plant's blooms are tapering off, another will just be starting to blossom. Be sure to offer a combination of host and nectar plants --nectar plants will attract butterflies, host plants will keep them there. (A regional list of food and cover plants is included below.) Spacing is important too: Plant flowering plants in clusters or groups, as they would typically grow naturally. Groups of flowers are easier for butterflies to spot than single plants. You can also intersperse pest-insect deterrent plants for a chemical-free garden (often called "companion planting"). Visit our Pests! Dealing with Nuisance Wildlife! page for tips.

WATER

Butterflies need water for a variety of reasons. Humidity helps them emerge from eggs, caterpillars nibble on the stems of moist plants, and adults actively seek out water. Birdbaths, ponds, an overturned trash can lid or plant saucer buried in the ground are all excellent water sources.   Surround a pond or puddle with light colored stones or sand to provide a basking (warming) site for butterflies.   Moisture can also be provided with a pan of wet sand, preferably salt-saturated beach sand if available. If not, buy a salt or mineral block at a farm store and place it next to the watering site. The salty sand is important for male butterflies' reproductive health and is a deterrent to snails and slugs who can invade host plants and kill caterpillars.

A butterfly "house" (a wooden box with long narrow slots) can also be used to provide a butterfly hibernation area, usually in late fall or winter. Place the box in a wooded or shady area if possible. Painting tiny purple and yellow flowers on the outside of the box may provide attractive visual cues for butterflies.

Source: " Garden Butterflies of North America: A Gallery of Garden Butterflies & How to Attract Them " by Rick Mikula

For more information on these plants- photos, height, color, bloom time, conditions, wildlife they attract, etc.- you can order a free copy (or view online) the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service guide Native Plants for Wildlife Habitat & Conservation Landscaping: Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

Bee Balm (spotted; Oswego)
Blue Mistflower
Blue Phlox
Blue Vervain
Butterfly Milkweed (aka Butterflyweed)
Butterfly Pea (vine)
Buttonbush
Columbine
Common Blue Violet
Common Milkweed (#1 for attracting, hosting & feeding monarchs!)
Fall Phlox
Flame azalea
Frost Aster
Goldenrods
Greenheaded coneflower
Hyssop Thoroughwort
Iron weed
Joe-pye weed
Lupine
Maryland Golden Aster
Moss Phlox
New England Aster (beautiful fall bloomer!)
New York Ironweed
Orange coneflower
Pipevine (vine)
Pink Fuzzybean (vine)
Purple Coneflower
Spicebush (mmm...crush a leaf and smell it!)
Sweet Pepperbush



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