(This beautiful photograph is the chrysalis of the

Monarch butterfly just before it opened.)

BUTTERFLY GARDENING

Butterflies and moths are closely related and all belong to the order of insects called Lepidopotera, which means "scaly wings." The thousands of little scales on their wings distinguish moths and butterflies from other flying insects. The most reliable way to distinguish between butterflies and moths is by their antenna. Butterflies have a skinny antenna with a point at the tip and moths have feathered antenna. Also, butterflies have a more slender body and fly during the day while most moths have thicker bodies and fly at night.

There are four stages to a butterfly's life with each being radically different from the others. A butterfly starts as an egg, which hatches in about 5 to 10 days into a caterpillar. The tiny caterpillar starts to eat and as it grows, it sheds its skin 4 to 6 times. After 2 to 4 weeks it is full grown and it transforms itself into a pupa (chrysalis). This is the time of unbelievable change when its body structure is changed drastically. In about 10 to 15 days the adult butterfly emerges. the adults mate, the female lays eggs and the cycle starts over. This whole process is called metamorphosis which means "change of form."

The first step in creating a butterfly garden involves a little scouting and research. Make a list of the butterflies that you see in your area so you can include plants that they need for food.

Butterflies feed on nectar and good sources of this food will attract them to your garden. Include flowers that bloom at different times so that your garden provides nectar from spring through fall. When planting it is better to group them by color. As butterflies search for food, they will see large splashes of color more easily than individual flowers. Avoid big showy flowers bred for their size as they are often poor nectar sources. Don't be disappointed if butterflies ignore some highly recommended plants. Watch your butterflies and take note of their preferences. Next year plant more of the popular plants. Many native plants are great butterfly plants.

Now that you have butterflies attracted to your garden, you need to provide some host plants for their larva. Butterflies require very specific plants for their larva. Females lay their eggs only on certain plants. For example, monarch females only lay their eggs on milkweed. Remember, the purpose of larva plants is a food source for the caterpillars. You are planting them to be eaten by the caterpillars and eaten leaves are good signs of your butterfly garden's health.

As you maintain your garden, DO NOT USE ANY PESTICIDES OR INSECTICIDES on or near your garden. Insecticides kill butterflies and their larva! This includes Bt. If you spray nearby areas, the insecticide may drift into your butterfly garden. Planting a diversity of plants will keep pest levels down but sometimes it's best to just tolerate a few pests. Avoiding insecticides also allows the populations of natural predators to increase and these will help reduce the number of unwanted pests.

Enjoy your garden. Butterflies pay less attention to people than do birds, so you can sit nearby and watch without disturbing them. If you wear bright colors, they may even think you are a nectar source!

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