CONSERVATION: Butterflies have friend in McCleary woman

Sun | Local

McCLEARY (AP) - Barb Howard loves to see butterflies.

"They are just so beautiful" when they create a summer swirl of color around her house, she says.

But Howard, 47, has gone beyond being a passive observer. Over the past four years, she has built a greenhouse, nursery, pavilion and a butterfly garden for the insects.

Her mission was sparked by a conversation with her husband, Jim, 65.

"We saw a butterfly go by, and he said something about there not being a lot of butterflies like there was when he was a kid," she said.

A little research proved he was right: Many of the state's native butterflies are under pressure because their habitat is vanishing.

So Howard set about to provide a refuge by growing the plants they need to survive. Now, about 30 different kinds of butterflies can be found in her garden.

"I have really been amazed at the butterflies I have attracted," she said.

Each species lays its eggs on specific plants, to provide a ready supply of food for the hatchling caterpillars. Many of those wild plants are considered weeds, however, and people often tear them out.

"Butterflies stick around where their host plants are, where they lay their eggs," Howard said. "They will fly hundreds of miles to find that plant."

Earlier this year, Howard started a business called The Butterfly Garden to sell many of the plants, hoping others will follow her example.

The western bleeding heart, for example - a petite plant with small, puffy flowers shaped like hearts - is host plant for the Parnassius, a large white butterfly with black markings.

"That butterfly is on the edge of extinction," Howard said.