Three years ago, I was surprised to see dozens of Red Admirals (with reddish-orange stripes on their wings) in March. I discovered this was because some adults pass the winter in gardens and rock piles. Since the winter had been mild, many survived to come out early and delight us with their presence.
My first April butterfly sighting this year was a Mourning Cloak (with blue stenciling on its outer wings). I learned that some of these also hide in tree bark and wood piles over the winter.
Why not make a game out of going out now and seeing what your first sightings are with your children? It’s fun and uplifting to spot one and then try to identify it. By going to www.butterflywebsite.com or getting a good identification book like “Butterflies of Illinois” by Michael Jeffords and Susan Post, you can easily find out which butterflies you have seen and learn about their life cycles and habitats.
Butterfly Life Cycle
Butterflies (Lepidoptera) start as eggs. The eggs are deposited by adults on green vegetation. This helps when the caterpillars (larvae form) hatch from the eggs and gorge themselves on the vegetation around them. Caterpillars then encase themselves in a Chrysalis (pupa). When the Chrysalis opens, a beautiful butterfly emerges as an adult. This whole process from egg to butterfly can vary depending on the species.
A great way to study this process and learn more about butterflies is to visit an Indoor butterfly farm where you can actually see butterflies emerging from the Chrysalis. I visited the Butterfly Palace in Branson, Missouri with friends in March.
How can you attract more butterflies?
The right habitat is important for any wildlife you want to attract. In the case of butterflies, there are specific plants than can help pull them in and they often vary by the type of butterfly you are trying to attract.
Sources of food for butterflies include native asters, bee balm, coneflowers, goldenrods, milkweeds and violets. Cultivated plants include butterfly bush, lavender, lilies, marigolds, stonecrop and zinnias.
Caterpillars can be even more picky! Monarchs like Milkweeds. Swallowtails often like parsley. American Ladies have a fondness for Pearl Everlastings. Common Buckeyes like snapdragons. Fritillaries like violets. Pearl Crescents like asters.
In addition to food sources, butterflies need minerals and water. They often like to gather around shallow mud puddles for salt and other minerals in the water. A friend of mine who loved butterflies told me all I had to do to attract and see butterflies was to make sure I looked at the animal droppings from my dogs. She was right. Beautiful butterflies like those too!
A better way to give them minerals is to put sand in a shallow dish on the ground or in your garden and keep it moistened with water. Butterflies often stop to enjoy the minerals they find there.
It’s time to get outside with your children and take a look at the early butterflies in your yard. Then, learn to identify them and learn more about their habitat requirements. Perhaps you can have your child photograph them or draw them and make a journal which identifies them and talks about their life cycle and habitat requirements.
Start seeing butterflies today.
Deanna Frautschi is a local Naturalist who is passionate about connecting families with nature. Using her knowledge of wildlife and her photography skills, she helps others enjoy the nature around them. If you have any questions about exploring nature with your children and grandchildren, you may contact Deanna at Decardinal@aol.com. Join the hundreds who follow her on Facebook where she posts photographs and short video clips of birds and other wildlife taken on her travels as well as in her yard. You can also join her "Nature Lady Lessons" and "Hummingbirds Anonymous" Facebook group pages.
Photos provided by Deanna Frautschi.
