Butterflies, and those wonderful hummingbirds, thrive on sweet nectar from a multitude of flowering plants. Consult your gardening book and local nursery for plants suited to your hardiness zone, and plant several varieties of annuals and perennials.
Use a good variety of flowers at different heights, blooming periods, and with varying bright colors. You'll be surprised how butterfly species can vary in their preference for dining locations and menu items!
But to really attract the Monarch Butterflies you should have milkweed plants nearby. The female Monarch must have these to lay her eggs on. The eggs become little caterpillars that feed on the milkweed leaves, and then enclose themselves into cocoons attached to the plant. In a very few days the pupal caterpillar larvae is transformed into a butterfly.
Milkweed plants should be integrated into your flower garden. Various milkweed plant species have been developed by scientists that look prettier and are more esthetically pleasing to the eye than the wild plants. But experience has shown that the Monarchs are attracted much more to the native milkweed plants from your local area, than to fancy hybrid varieties.
With ever increasing awareness to maintain and improve our environment, just doing little things like providing more food for our butterfly friends can help. Bees are the biggest plant pollinator, but butterflies also help in the pollination process.
Have you ever watched in amazement as a Monarch caterpillar undergoes metamorphosis into a beautiful Monarch butterfly?
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One of Jim's most popular writings is about the Monarch's annual migration to Mexico and California: http://monarch-butterfly.info/Migration.html
About the Author
Jim Pratt is an avid outdoors enthusiast, studying and enjoying Mother Nature's blessings. He has many years experience in the trials and tribulations of home gardening and landscaping, discovering and verifying that some things work and many do not!
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