How to attract butterflies into your garden, balcony or public park?
Because most of the butterflies suck nectar on different flowers, its therefore possible to attract different local or migrating butterfly species in your own garden, balcony or public park, by cultivating flowers. The more varieties of flowers in your garden the greater the diversity of butterflies species will be attracted. It is even possible that butterfly populations slightly further afield will be attracted by your planting scheme.
A good example of success is the butterfly garden in Digne-les-Bains, France. In 1999a well motivated group had the idea to rearrange a plot of land, to clean it and create wet and dry zones with host plants and different nectar plants to offer nectar for the butterflies and food for their caterpillars to give them the possibility to have their complete life cycle. Proserpine (Butterfly garden of Digne-les-Bains) has created a webpage in French http://www.proserpine.org/plantes.php where you have access to the page with suggestions of host & nectar plants. http://www.proserpine.org/actu_votre_jardin.php
Small history:
In 1999, 80 butterfly species were present in the Butterfly garden of Digne-les-Bains. Since the garden has been rearranged the different butterfly species increase every year and today 139 species were observed in 2013! Unfortunately the butterfly populations in the habitat surrounding Callas are decreasing and it is important to study the decline so as to better understand it and help to prevent the butterflies disappearing forever.
Lastly lets? not forget the butterflies feeding on over ripened fruit, like Charaxis jasius, in spring attracted by the cherries and in the autumn by figs and other over ripened fruit such as pears, apples and grape. This beautiful butterfly is also attracted by a glass of red wine and can be observed sucking from a glass on a table on a terrace of a bar.
This link will take you to the French web page of Proserpine and the other 5 butterfly gardens of the PACA (Provence-Alpes-Côte d?Azur) region. http://www.proserpine.org/expertise_jardins.php
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