A bee block provides nesting areas for solitary bees at PPG Monroeville, while blooming beardtongue attracts hundreds of bumblebees on this spring day. Photo couresy of Marcia Maslonek

Introduction 
Butterfly gardens are fun, simple projects that can range in size from a patio garden to acres, like at PPG. The concepts are similar and can be adapted to nearly any sunny site. But butterflies aren't the only welcome visitors! Other pollinators such as orchard mason bees, bumblebees, honey bees, and hummingbirds visit the nectar-rich flowers for food. Songbirds also feast on the seeds from the grasses and flowers, and snatch the insects that abound within the plants.  

What are pollinators? 

Butterflies happen to be pollinators, a unique group of animals that serve a vital function for us all. Pollinators include butterflies, moths, hummingbirds, fruit bats, bees, beetles, and other insects. When a butterfly, or other pollinator, sips nectar from a flower, they visit many flowers in order to drink enough nectar for energy. As they visit each flower, pollen sticks to their body, legs, and wings and then drops off at the next flower. In this way, flowers are pollinated and are able to form seeds and fruit.  

Without pollinators, we wouldn't have foods like apples, oranges, and even chocolate.  In fact, you eat food made possible by pollinators with every one out of three bites you take at lunch! They are experiencing a severe decline however, due to pesticide use, habitat loss, and exotic plant species. So when designing your butterfly garden, welcome and look for the other amazing visitors that make our lives so rich--and tasty! 

Designing a Pollinator Habitat 

Pollinators, like all wildlife, require food, shelter, space, and water. We'll focus more on butterflies since they require food plants for both the adult and caterpillar life stages. Many of the plants that butterflies prefer also benefit native bees and other pollinators, as well. By meeting these needs on your property, you can assist local pollinators and observe these flying jewels up close. Visit the PPG Butterfly Garden on-line for a sample design.  

Let us know if your pollinator habitat is buzzing!

For more detail on making your land "pollinator-friendly," review the Pollinator Friendly Practices as suggested by the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC). The Three Rivers Habitat Partnership helped design these suggestions along with Xerces Society and the NAPPC. The following basics will help you get started. 

Expand your certified corporate habitat program and take native biodiversity conservation to a whole new level. The Wildlife Habitat Council and NAPPC offer a unique challenge to advance corporate stewardship and the value of WHC certification. Read the latest news from the Pollinator Campaign.

The tall grass plot of the PPG Monroeville meadow in mid-summer offers nectar from quinine, false sunflower and other native plants.

1.  Space 

Any size plot can be planted, even a patio container garden. However, larger habitats will attract a greater variety and number of butterflies and other pollinators. 

Large splashes of color will attract migrating monarchs as they make their journey to Mexico each fall. Plant masses or clumps of the same species so the pollinators have a buffet of nectar and pollen to dine upon.

2.  Food 

Swallowtail feeding on coneflower.

Butterflies have two needs for food:  host plants, or larval foods, for their caterpillars and nectar plants for the adults. Sometimes these are the same, but often they are not. Each species of butterfly or moth depends upon a specific type of host plant to lay its eggs upon. The eggs then hatch into the caterpillar which eats only this type(s) of plant. For instance, the monarch's host plant is the milkweed family. Without the milkweed, the caterpillar would die.  

Many host plants are also trees or shrubs, so forests play an important role for many butterflies, too. The spicebush swallowtail depends on the spicebush and sassafras as its host plant, both woodland shrub species; the tiger swallowtail depends on trees like cherry and birch as its host plant. These connections are excellent ways to demonstrate the web of life. A table of common butterflies and their host plants follows in Table 1.  

Table 1. Host Plants of Common Butterflies & Moths In Southwest Pennsylvania

Adult butterflies feed differently than the munching caterpillars. They sip nectar from flowers with their long, curling proboscis. While they feed upon a variety of plants as adults, they prefer flowers that are rich in nectar, have many clusters of small, flat blossoms for perching, and often prefer the color blue. While they cannot see color like we do, they do see ultraviolet radiation. Excellent choices for nectar sources are provided in Table 2.  

Many of these species are also attractive to bees and other pollinators. Bees often prefer species that are deep blue, violet, white, or yellow, while hummingbirds prefer red, tubular shaped flowers. 

Table 2. Plant Species Attractive to Butterflies

List of Nurseries Offering Native Plants for SW Pennsylvania  

3.  Shelter 

Although monarchs can travel in excess of 1,500 miles, butterflies are obviously delicate. Due to their lack of strength in flight, they prefer to fly on calm days or in areas sheltered from the wind. Therefore any butterfly habitat should have windbreaks. Windbreaks can be created from trees and shrubs, and if you choose the species carefully, these same trees can serve as host plants for some of the butterflies and moths. Also, like flowers should be planted en masse so the visiting butterfly can easily travel from flower to flower to extract as much nectar as possible before flying elsewhere, thus conserving valuable energy. On cool, overcast days, this is a matter of life and death. 

Solitary bees require shelter for nesting, and rarely sting since they have no hive to protect. Many nest in dead wood, which is lacking in most forests. A bee block is a simple and fun project to provide for these tiny, often colorful bees. They will nest in the drilled out holes. Other solitary bees nest in bare patches of dirt and sand, which can easily be fashioned in any yard. Bumblebees are ground nesters, and also rarely sting. A bumblebee house can be made to attract these great pollinators.  If you plant tomatoes, you'll want these fuzzy insects around to get a better yield. Visit the Xerces Society for bee home guidelines. 

Basking spots are a good addition to a pollinator habitat.  Butterflies and many insects fly when the air temperature is above 60F, but their body temp needs to be 85-101F. A flat light rock placed in a warm sunny spot will be used by butterflies to bask in the sun until their body temperature is warm enough to fly.  

Butterfly boxes are popular in stores and although they look nice and draw attention to your garden, they are of questionable value. Of our year-round resident butterflies, many die during the winter, but the eggs and chrysalis overwinter and emerge in spring. Those that survive hibernate under the loose bark of trees, which the boxes were designed to imitate. Checking a hibernation box in winter, when they would be using it, may mean the butterfly would die since it was disturbed and had to expend crucial energy at this time of year.  

4.  Water 

Butterflies prefer moist sand or mud for drinking, not open water. If they get their wings wet, they can't fly and will be eaten. Instead they "puddle" by landing on mud and extracting the water beneath with their proboscis.  Minerals are also absorbed this way. A puddle could consist of a depression in a warm spot in the garden filled with wet sand or soil. You can also reuse an old pie pan by filling it with sand or pebbles and just enough water to barely reach the surface. To attract them quicker, add a slice of rotten fruit for the sugar. 

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