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Bring Back the Butterflies
Plant it and
they will come.
Butterfly World’s campaign since 1988: free regional guides that show you which host plants bring butterflies back to your garden.
Regional guides
Your free garden guide
Choose your region to download a free butterfly-garden guide, or pick one up at Butterfly World. The Plant Shop is open to the public — 954-977-4434.
- 1Oregon, Washington, southern British ColumbiaPDF
- 2Arizona, California, NevadaPDF
- 3Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, southern Alberta, southern Saskatchewan, southwest ManitobaPDF
- 4New Mexico, TexasPDF
- 5Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Wisconsin, southeast ManitobaPDF
- 6Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, VirginiaPDF
- 7Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington DC, West Virginia, southern Ontario, southern QuebecPDF
- 8Southernmost Florida — buy the Butterfly Life Cycle Guide ($3.95)Shop
The campaign
Why host plants matter
Butterfly populations are dwindling because of habitat destruction in towns and countryside: construction, farm pesticides, forest spraying for gypsy moths and mosquito-spraying programs using powerful new chemicals, many now spread by airplane over whole areas.
How can we bring the butterflies back? Butterfly World’s research shows that planting the host plants caterpillars eat is the most effective solution — far more effective than planting nectar flowers for adult butterflies. Host plants are usually specific to each species, and butterflies find them from long distances: females to lay their eggs, males because the females are there.
Each regional guide lists the butterflies found in that part of North America, the host plants gardeners can find, and the nectar flowers that work best across the country. Nectar flowers alone may attract butterflies, but only planting caterpillar host plants is true butterfly gardening — the only way to build permanent populations where we live.
Butterfly gardening isn’t difficult, and it works for homes, farms, schools and cities. Try it yourself and see!
Research
Science in action
Butterfly World reinvested park resources and expertise to create the Te Boender Endangered Species Laboratory at the University of Florida. Working side by side with scientists, it has helped re-establish the endangered Schaus swallowtail in South Florida.
At the park, the research laboratory still uses rearing techniques developed by founder Ronald Boender’s MetaScience team, and visitors can watch pupae emerging in the cases.
How long does a butterfly live?
About fourteen days on average in the aviary, compared with about seven in the wild. Some species, like the zebra longwing, can live up to ten months, and species that feed on rotting fruit, pollen, dung or even carrion can live longer still.
How many butterflies are in the aviaries?
Butterfly World keeps 20,000 butterflies on display — often far more. Being in South Florida, the number isn’t affected by the seasons.
How many species can we see?
Up to fifty species at any one time, and over 150 different species over the course of a year.
What is the difference between a butterfly and a moth?
- Butterflies usually rest with wings folded above the body; moths usually fold them along the body.
- Most butterflies have clubbed antennae; moth antennae are pointed or feathered.
- Butterflies fly by day; most moths fly at night.
- Butterfly caterpillars are very fussy about their food plant; moth caterpillars usually eat many plants.
Pupa, chrysalis or cocoon?
“Pupa” (Latin) and “chrysalis” (Greek) mean the same thing. A cocoon is the silk casing a silk-moth caterpillar spins before it becomes a pupa.
What do butterflies do in winter?
Most butterflies at Butterfly World are tropical species that never face winter in South Florida’s near-tropical climate. Non-tropical butterflies spend several months in “hibernation” at a stage of their life cycle that depends on the species.