Plants for Butterflies in the Garden
- Written by David Rees
A garden should not be work, work, work all the time. It is also to enjoy. It is perhaps in the garden that one can truly rest and feel at one with nature, simply by walking around the garden and appreciating what is there.
It is enjoyable not only to see the fruits of one’s labours, but also to see the attraction of the garden to the wildlife of the area. Particularly visible are the butterflies that visit the garden. Butterflies are perhaps the most ephemeral of all garden visitors, and perhaps the family of animals that gives the most pleasure as one watches in wonder a Swallowtail feeding from a flower.
The dry summer climate of the Algarve actually means that there are fewer butterflies around in the summer than in the more northerly countries. This is because the essential nectar supplies for butterflies are in short supply in the summer, and also the essential green leaves for the caterpillars are dried up in the summer sun. It is for this reason that most butterflies are seen up until the end of May, and then many species spend the dry summer months as eggs or as pupae.Those species that do stay around for the summer, however, are obviously attracted to gardens where there is a plentiful supply of nectar and water.
Butterflies drink nectar by uncurling their long proboscis which they poke into the flower, past the stamens, down into the nectary. Some flowers are specially adapted to be pollinated by butterflies, other flowers, suited to other insects, provide nectar in such a way that butterflies cannot get to it. Butterflies also need to drink in hot climates, and appreciate water. Many species can be attracted by ripe or even rotting fruit.
The plants needed the attract butterflies into your garden fall into two groups: those upon which the larvae or caterpillars feed and those that have flowers from which the adult butterflies can drink nectar. The first group is difficult to provide in a garden. The countryside is full of wild flowers that the caterpillars feel on which are often flowers unavailable to buy or even to grow. Some of them, such a wild fennel, can be dug up and transplanted into the garden to provide food for the larvae of the Swallowtail, but otherwise it is better to concentrate on the provision of nectar for the adults.
Buddleia davidii, also known as the Butterfly bush, is one of the very best plants to use, but choose a standard purple variety, as butterflies do not like the white flowered variety at all, and are not very keen on the red hybrid either. Lantana camara also provides a rich source of nectar, and again, it is best to use the ordinary species which is a mixture of yellow and red, rather than the single coloured hybrids.
Climbers, such as Jasminum polyanthemum (Jasmin), Lonicera periclymenum (honeysuckle) and Ipomoea purpurea (Morning Glory) also provide nectar and are particularly popular with the Humming-bird Hawkmoth which hovers in the air like a humming bird, flying back and forth as it probes the flowers. The yellow-flowered Senecio mikanoides provides a useful nectar source in the winter months, and Wisteria floribunda (not the white form, with its Buddleia-like flowers in another good butterfly plant.
The brightly coloured Lampranthus species and hybrids are highly desirable in the summer as are Cestrum purpureum and cestrum newellii. Another member of this family, the strongly scented Cestrum nocturnum emits its powerful fragrance from evening to dawn and is highly attractive to moths. The Hebe family is a useful source for early summer as is the Hydrangea. Lavandula stoechas (French lavender) and Lavandula angustifolia (English lavender) are long-lasting sources of nectar as the nectarines open successively from the base to the top of the flower.
Rosemarinus officinalis (rosemary) is another herb of benefit to butterflies. Common privet, Ligustrum japonicum, often used for hedges in Britain, forms an attractive bush when grown on its own and produces white compound flowers, much enjoyed by many butterflies. Tamarix gallica is a particularly useful source for coastal areas where one can also plant Teucrium fruticans and hope to be visited by the superb Spanish Festoon butterfly. If you want a wilder-looking garden, then you can copy nature by providing a sources of nectar for July and august by planting different members of the Thistle and Echinops family.
For a choice of useful herbaceous plants, select a few from the following: Ajuga reptans, Arctotis stoechadifolia, Asclepia curassavica, Centranthus ruber, Chrysanthemum species, Echium candicans (one of the best choices), Kniphofia uvaria, Leonotus leonorus, Mirabilis jalapa (for moths), Nepeta mussini, Osteospermum fruticosum, Salvia farinacea, Salvia officinalis, Stachys lanata, and Thymus serphllum.
I mentioned earlier that some butterflies enjoy rotten fruit. Instead of collecting all the windfalls, leave some fruit on the ground. The Comma, Red Admiral and Painted Lady particularly enjoy pears, apple, and peaches, but perhaps the most exciting butterfly of all to lure into the garden is the fabulous Two-Tailed Pasha. This magnificent, large butterfly normally inhabits the hills in areas like Monchique. It lays its eggs on the strawberry tree, Arbutus unedo from which Medronho is made. In the late summer it descends to the coastal areas of the Algarve in search of new Arbutus unedo bushes but it also needs to feed, and its preferred food source is rotten fig, so if you have a fig tree, leave some fruit to rot on the tree, and also leave some fruit on the ground. Normally, the Two-tailed Pasha flies so fast that in spite of its size, it is difficult to see up close. One reason butterflies like rotting fruit is that the sugar content in the fruit is sufficient to start a process of fermentation. Butterflies feeding from rotten fruit often become slightly intoxicated, and then are much easier to approach as they stand still, blissfully unaware of your presence!Rescuing trapped butterflies.
Butterflies sometimes get trapped in the house and exhaust themselves by flying against the windows in an effort to escape. What they need before being released is some nectar, or more simply, sugared water (as strong as possible). The problem is to inform the butterfly, which lacks all the guidelines provided by a flower, that the ‘nectar’ is there. The answer is to gently place the butterfly so that its feet are in the solution, because, amazingly, butterflies taste with their feet! Once it has tasted the sugared water with its feet, it should extend its proboscis to the same source and start feeding. This will ensure it has the energy to continue its short life where it will hopefully continue to grace the garden with its visits.
By David Rees
