Butterfly
Familiar and beautiful garden visitors that pollinate many wildflowers and garden plants. Their caterpillars are an essential food source for garden birds and wildlife.
Why you want them
Butterflies are important pollinators of many flowers, particularly those with landing platforms and nectar rewards. They are also a critical link in the food chain - caterpillars are the primary food source for nestling garden birds, and adults are preyed upon by dragonflies, spiders, and birds. A garden that supports butterflies is one that supports a much broader web of wildlife above and below the food web.
How to attract them
- Buddleia
- Verbena bonariensis
- Lavender
- Marjoram
- Knapweed
- Scabious
- Hemp agrimony
- Bramble flower
Preferred habitat
Open, sunny areas with shelter. Caterpillars require specific host plants (nettles, grasses, brassicas, or wildflowers depending on species). Adults roost in sheltered spots and bask in warm sun.
What harms them
Pesticides, loss of wildflower meadows, removal of caterpillar host plants including nettles, and over-tidy gardening that removes overwintering sites.
Garden, by Willowbottom works with nature, not against it. Support your garden allies and they will do most of the hard work for you.