‘Life is like a butterfly. You can chase it, or you can let it come to you.’ – Ruth Brown. With a little bit of knowledge and patience, it’s easy to bring butterflies to you. Incorporating butterfly host and nectar plants, reducing and/or eliminating the use of pesticides, and providing water and shelter are the […]
The Milkweed plant is the sole host plant for Monarch butterflies. Although Monarchs have preferences of some varieties over others, there are many different species of milkweed plants that Monarch caterpillars will gladly gobble up. This article will present some of the best milkweeds for Monarchs, native ranges, and general information for several species. One […]
A butterfly garden is no more complicated than any other garden and with a few simple tips you can easily convert a garden area to a butterfly haven or start a new garden from scratch. Butterfly gardens can be as big as you want or as small as a few containers. My passion for butterflies […]
Most butterflies eat (actually they “drink”) from nectar plants (while the plants that caterpillars eat are called host plants). Each species of butterflies has nectar plants that they prefer but many adult butterflies will feed from a wide variety of nectar sources. Butterflies are not as specific in their food source as are their caterpillars. A few […]
It is very popular to raise Monarch butterflies indoors mostly because the caterpillar and the butterfly are beautiful, the chrysalis is stunning, and monarch butterflies are gorgeous and widespread. The process of watching a caterpillar become a butterfly is truly awesome and it really is easy to do! Monarchs have a large range and can […]
Raising a Black Swallowtail butterfly indoors is fun, easy, and educational. Black Swallowtail butterflies are great to raise indoors for several reasons including abundance, plentiful food source, attractive and interesting caterpillars, and of course beautiful butterflies. The Black Swallowtail can be found anywhere East of the Continental Divide in America. The Anise Swallowtail is the […]
The life cycle of a butterfly is truly amazing. Butterflies have four life stages, the egg, the larva (caterpillar), the pupa (chrysalis), and the adult butterfly. Each of the four stages are very unique to individual species of butterflies which is part of what makes watching and raising butterflies so much fun. The Butterfly Egg The egg stage […]
As the cool weather of fall approaches it only takes a few simple preparations to overwinter a chrysalis as it enters diapause. Following nature’s lead and adding a little safety from predators will give your chrysalises their best chance for survival through the winter months. What is Diapause? Diapause is basically the insect’s version […]
The plants that caterpillars eat are called host plants while the plants that adult butterflies eat (actually they “drink” nectar from the flowers) are called nectar plants. Each species of butterflies has specific host plants on which the adult butterflies lay their eggs. Listed below are several popular butterfly species and the host plants that […]
Making a caterpillar home indoors is relatively easy and inexpensive. There is a lot of flexibility in setting up a place to raise your caterpillars to butterflies. The basics that a caterpillar needs are fresh food from its specific host plant, safety from drowning in water, ventilation, and a safe place to pupate or become […]
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