Visit our Butterfly Sanctuary, a viewing area on South Mobile Street, just North of the American Legion. This area is being left natural to encourage butterfly visitations.
Butterflies and Their Habitats
There are four stages in the amazing butterfly lifecycle: The egg, the larva (caterpillar), the chrysalis (pupa), and the adult...the beautiful butterfly.
Creating a butterfly garden means providing specific food for the larval stage and a variety of flowering plants for the adult stage.
The adult food refers to the flower (nectar) that the butterfly feeds on (though some butterflies feed on decaying matter.)
The larval food (also called the host food) refers to the plant which the caterpillar feeds on
If you wish to create a complete butterfly garden with adult and larval foods, then prepare for your larval foods to be nibbled on...caterpillars are voracious eaters!
Butterflies generally prefer brightly colored flowers that are not too deep for feeding.
Remember that pesticides and herbicides are toxic to butterflies, as well as other garden pests...so use sparingly or not at all.
Over 700 butterfly species can be found in North America.
Butterflies are in the order Lepidoptera, shared with moths.
