Attract some lovely winged wonders to your garden


Butterflies are beautiful. No wonder there are so many folks who want to attract and provide for their basic needs. Swallowtails, Monarch and Painted Ladies are some of the more common butterflies in Kansas that kids and adults love to watch.

Since butterfly gardening and awareness is becoming more popular, you might want to provide a small habitat for them at your home.

Provide habitat, food

Providing for the basic needs of butterflies -- things such as food, shelter and liquids -- is the best way to encourage butterflies to visit this summer. There are a number of plants that attract butterflies, but different species of butterflies prefer different plants. Using a variety of plant material with different blooming times of day, and year, helps attract a diverse group of visitors.

In general, you need to include two types of plants in your plan. Butterflies need nectar plants (from which to get food) and host plants (on which to lay eggs for reproduction). For example, Monarch butterflies only reproduce on milkweed plants. The Extension office has information on which host plants you'll need for the type of butterfly you wish to attract.

Choosing plants

When it comes to planting, plant groups of the same plant together since a single plant is difficult for a butterfly to detect. Again, if you want to attract a certain species of butterfly, learn which plant(s) that butterfly prefers and then emphasize that plant in your garden.



There also are other things you can do to encourage butterflies. Butterflies are cold-blooded, which means they like open areas where they can sun themselves on cool days and shade to cool off when the sun is too intense. Providing light colored stones will provide a place for butterflies to sun themselves on cool days.

Butterflies also need water. A simple way to make a butterfly pool is to take a shallow bucket, fill it with gravel, and bury it to the rim. Now add water, sugar water or sweet drinks so that the butterflies can land on the gravel but still reach the liquid.

And, as always, be very careful with any pesticides you use since butterflies and their caterpillars can be very sensitive to many chemicals. If you need more information, the Extension office has publications that can guide you in building your own butterfly habitat.


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