Butterfly Friendly Gardening
Butterfly Friendly Gardening
Tips to attract and keep butterflies in your yard:
Pesticides are a butterfly’s worst enemy. If absolutely necessary, apply only organic pesticides sparingly and selectively after sun-down, when most butterflies are inactive. Even better, attract beneficial insects and birds to your yard to keep pest populations under control, naturally.
Remember that a butterfly-friendly garden is a caterpillar-friendly garden.
Create basking spots for butterflies by placing a few flat stones in sunny, sheltered locations. Leaf litter, fallen logs, or brush piles allow adult butterflies a safe place to hibernate. Leave garden cleanup until spring or do it carefully in the fall to avoid destroying the pupae of butterflies that overwinter on plant stems or leaf litter.
Add some night-blooming flowers like fireweed.
Quick Facts
What is the difference between butterflies and moths?
Both butterflies and moths are plant-eating insects that belong to the order Lepidoptera meaning“Scale Wing” in Greek, referring to the scales on their wings that give them both their wide arrange of colours.
They are different in a few respects:
Butterflies ONLY fly during the day, and through moths will appear during both they mostly appear at night.
Butterflies tend to be more brightly coloured while moths tend to be more monochromatic.
Butterflies have stick-like antennae with knobs at the end while moths have feathery antennae with no knobs.
How many species of butterflies are there in BC?
There are currently 190 species of butterflies recognized in BC and 70 species on Vancouver Island. This is a small portion of the current 15,000 species recognized worldwide.
Where do butterflies go during the winter?
They hibernate! Depending on the species they hibernate as adults, eggs, larvae, or pupae.
Are humans a threat to butterfly populations?
Yes, unfortunately, the habitats the butterflies need to survive are the same ones that have primarily been converted to agricultural space. Butterflies thrive in open meadows, plentiful with wildflowers, which continue to exist only in fragments in our region. The habitat that hasn’t been converted to human use has been colonized by invasive shrubs and grasses. Preserving and restoring even small portions of these meadows can make a big difference for butterflies.
Information is taken from Vancouver Island Butterflies (2014). Mike Yip & James Miskelly. You can BUY IT HERE
A Few Butterfly Host Plants
| Butterfly | Plant |
|---|---|
| Anise Swallowtail | Spring Gold, Lomatium utriculatum, Barestem Desert Parsley, , Cow Parsnip, Fennel, |
| Woodland Skipper | Native Grasses |
| Two-Banded Checkered Skipper | Native and Non-Native Grasses |
| Clodius Parnassian | Western Bleeding Heart |
| Western Tiger Swallowtail | Oceanspray, Holodiscus discolor, Saskatoon Berry, Willow, Salix spp., Birch, Bitter Cherry |
| Pale Swallowtail | Oceanspray, Holodiscus discolor, Alder, Cherry, Ceanothus |
| Pine White Douglas | Pine Species, Fir Species, Hemlock Species |
| Western Elfin | Labrador Tea, Salal, Arbutus, Kinnickinick, Manzanita |
| Spring Azure | Spiraea, Oceanspray, Dogwood, Viburnum, Cherry, Ceanothus |
| Painted Lady | Native thistles, Mallows, Wooly Sunflower, Lupines, Pearly Everlasting, Borage |
| Lorquins Admiral | Oceanspray, Saskatoon Berry, Willow, Poplar |
| Red Armiral | Stinging Nettles |
| West Coast Lady | Stinging Nettles, Mallows |
| Mourning Cloak | Willows |
| Common Wood Nymph | Native and Non-Native Grasses |
A Few Butterfly Nectar Plants
| Plant | Bloomtime | Colour |
|---|---|---|
| Common Camas, Camassia quamash | April to June | Purple and Blue |
| Thimbleberry, Rubus parviflorus | May to July | White to Cream |
| Red-Osier Dogwood, Cornus stolonifera | April to June | White to Cream |
| Sea Blush, Plectritis congesta | March to June | White to Pink |
| Broad-Leaved Stonecrop, Sedum spathulifolium | March to June | Yellow |
| Saskatoon Berry, Amelanchier alnifolia | April to July | White |
| Wild Strawberry | July | White |
| Hookers Onion, Allium acuminatum | May to June | Pink and Purple |
| Harvest Brodilea, Brodiaea coronaria | July to September | Blue and Purple |
| Spring Gold, Lomatium utriculatum | February to June | Yellow |
| Self-heal, Prunella vulgaris ssp. lanceolata | May to September | Purple |
| Douglas' Aster, Symphyotrichum subspicatum | July to September | Yellow and Purple |
Satyr Comma (Polygonia satyrus) – One of the earliest spring butterflies and has been seen at Thetis Lake as early as March 11th. The top of the wing is orange with black and yellow spots, while the underside of the wing is light tan/grey. They lay their eggs on the underside of Stinging Nettle leaves in April and May. Photo credit – Gordon Hart
Grey Hairstreak (Strymon melinus atrofasciatus) - The most widespread hairstreak in North America and can be seen on Vancouver Island between April and August. There are myriad of host plants for the Grey hairstreaks Larval stages as well as for adult nectar sources. Photo credit - Moralea Milne
Sara's Orangetip (Anthocharis sara flora) - From the family Pieridae (small, bright coloured butterflies) it is a delightful spring butterfly coming our in the CRD between mid-March to late July. Found in forest opening and rock slopes and plants from the mustard family are their host plants.
Western Spring Azure (Celastrina echo echo) - Pictured on Kinnikinnick. The first blue butterfly to emerge in the spring (at temperatures above 15 degrees Celsius) but have been seen in mid-March at the Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary. Found in open woodlands and along roadsides, host plants include red osier dogwood, manzanitas, oceanspray, hardhack, and elderberry. Starflower is an important nectar plant Photo credit – Gordon Hart.