Fall is knocking at the seasonal change gate

September in the mountains brings gorgeous butterflies to sip nectar from the flowers. The swallow tails seem to be the predominant flying jewel on the mountaintop. The oppressive late afternoon heat seems to not bother them. They puddle a lot.

You will find butterflies gathered on moist spots in your garden, or around the earth close to a birdbath that has just been filled. Butterflies sip the moisture and minerals from the moist earth that they need. It is predominately males that puddle, seeking salt and minerals which they pass to the females during breeding.

If you want to watch butterflies puddle on a regular bases make your own puddle. Fill a medium size plastic flower pot saucer with sand and add water until the mixture become soggy. Select a spot where you can easily watch the butterflies.

Dig the bowl into the ground to a level that is flush with the surrounding dirt. Add about a tablespoon of composted manure or other compost to the sand. You can add a pinch of salt to attract the male butterflies. Include a few rock or clam shells for the butterflies to sun bathe on.

Butterflies also like bits of over ripe fruit such as bananas, apples or pear slices. Leave the fruit supply at least a day so it will ferment. Butterflies enjoy sipping fermented fruit. Do they get a bit tipsy, maybe. Birds do when they eat too much past it prime fruits.

Butterflies puddle from a few seconds to an hour or more.

Contrary to what you may thing, butterflies do not puddle to cool off. They enjoy shady places for resting and cooling. Butterflies, especially males, like to congregate at a favorite puddling site. Maybe they catch up on the latest male butterfly gossip. Keep your puddling spot soggy to attract the most butterflies.

Notice that you rarely see butterflies on cloudy days. Insects are cold-blooded and can’t regulate their body temperatures like humans can. They also need protection from wind, weather and predators. They seek out shady places like shrubs or vines where they sit to keep warm or to cool. There are butterfly feeders that can be purchased to provide nectar. I don’t recommend them for mountain butterfly lovers. The bears enjoy the nectar also, and destroy the feeders, just as they do hummingbird feeders.

The leaves that are turning and falling are due to heat stress. Fall will arrive on time as it has for eons. The stressed leaves and trees do not signal an early fall. The early defoliation that some trees are undergoing now is common when they are under stress, and summer season of intense heat has been challenging for young and old trees. The recent intense heat and humidity has made it difficult for plants to keep up with water and cooling requirements.

Watch for flocks of nighthawks flying around street lights. Waterfowl migration is beginning, and Monarch butterflies will begin their annual migration starting in late August. Early warblers are winging their way through the Valley. Broad wing hawks start moving south in late August to wintering grounds in the tropics. They are easy to spot with their thick bodies and rounded tails. They ride the air thermals conserving energy to sustain them during their long journey south. The hawks start flying between 9 and 10 a.m. when the air is warm.

Keep out plenty of fresh water for drinking and bathing. This is a time of molt for songbirds, so there is a lot of bathing.

May you always hear the whisper of wings.

Photo by: Tony Dills

Common backyard butterflies may be becoming endangered insects

Have you missed something beautiful in your backyard a little more each year? Nature's flying jewels are becoming more scarce each summer. Numerous species are being eliminated to never more grace our flowers and mud puddles.

Several butterfly species are actually nearing extinction, and several have been listed on the endangered wildlife list. What will our summer yards - our lives - be like without nature's jewels?

If you want butterflies in your yard, or want to increase the numbers you already have, you can have your way by following a few suggestions.
"Good wildlife habitats provides the four basic life requirements of all terrestrial animals: food, fresh water, cover or shelter, and sufficient territory to carry out their life functions, particularly courtship and breeding," advises Billy McCord, "Gardening for Butterflies," South Carolina Wildlife, May-June,
1993.

***Inform all your neighbors about how you feel about pesticides. This includes what your neighbors choose to spray on their yard. Give them a choice...Tell them who to call in your area that can help them not kill birds, mammals and insects through a thorough spraying session.
***Encourage your state, your community to allow the sides of the highways to remain natural feeding local butterfly species all summer.
*** Allow the edges of your own lawn to grow literally wild, and remain uncut. Remember. Butterflies cannot dine on the perfectly manicured lawn.
***Encourage such plants as wild thistle and nettle to grow. These are among the most valuable food sources for butterflies.
*** Do not kill, poison, or eradicate Joe-Pye weed, ragweed, goldenrod, milkweed, knapweed, dandelions, mallow, majoram, bugle, wild thyme, clover, meadow sweet, vetch, currant, blueberry and tick trefoil. Many different species of butterflies enjoy feeding on these plants.
*** Provide numerous butterfly habitats on your property. Establish sunny areas. Also include shaded and partial shaded areas. In addition, provide a shallow pool for butterfly drinking.
*** Never use insecticides. Encourage your neighbors to not use pesticides on their lawns.
*** Trim shrubs in season to promote more growth. Pruning is best done in the spring rather fall.

Butterflies enjoy specific shrubs. To increase the numbers in your own back yard, planting from the following will help feed the butterflies visiting your yard.

"The most successful butterfly garden incorporates a selection of various flowering plants that ensure
blooms from early spring through late fall when adult butterflies are on the wing," McCord, "Gardening for Butterflies," South Carolina Wildlife, May-June 1993.

*** Alyssum--blooms summer to mid-fall.
*** Cosmos--blooms late summer to fall.
*** Hellotrope--blooms late spring into summer.
*** Marigold---blooms summer into fall.
*** Salvia--blooms summer through fall.
*** Zinnia-- blooms midsummer into fall.
*** Sweet William--blooms spring through early summer.
*** Asters--blooms late summer into fall.
*** Bee balm--blooms summer through fall--comes in red, lavender, and white.
*** Butterfly bush--blooms mid-summer into fall--white, pink, red
*** Butterfly weed---blooms summer through fall. Collect the seed from a fall ` plant, and relocate by
planting them where you want in the fall.
*** Coreopsis--blooms all summer.
*** Purple coneflower--blooms late summer into fall.
*** Lavender--blooms in the summer.
*** Phlox--blooms all summer-red, pink, lavender, white, and tangerine.
*** Black-eyed Susan--blooms mid-summer into fall.
*** Yarrow--blooms mid-to-late summer.

All of these domestic garden plants are easy to care for year-after-year, add color to your yard, and provide valuable nourishment for visiting butterflies.

"Though all adult butterflies feed by sucking fluids through a tubular proboscis, many species rarely if ever actually feed at flowers. These species dine on a variety of organic fluids from such sources as decomposing animals, fermenting tree sap, rotting fruit and even excrement.

"For this reason, including fruit-producing plants such as grapes, pears, apples or peaches in a garden helps attract more types of adult butterflies than only planting flowers. Fruit must be allowed to overripe and begin to rot or ferment to be attractive...

"Liquids containing sugar or fermenting sugars also attract butterflies and may be poured onto the open ground with some success. I have even seen butterflies gather at puddles of spilled beer or soft drinks," notes McCord, "Gardening for Butterflies," South Carolina Wildlife, May-June 1993.

Do not forget to keep or create a small mud-puddle in your backyard for butterflies. All adult butterflies require water particularly during hot, dry summer periods.

Usually morning dew and normal rainfall supply all the moisture needed, but when the weather is dry, butterflies appreciate a mud-puddle. Minerals, and especially nitrogen is gotten from sipping mud.
Butterflies also appreciate protruding rocks in ground level bird-baths. This gives them a place to sun and rest.


© Copyright North American Wildlife Health Care Center
P.O. Box 155
Black Mountain, North Carolina, USA 28711
A non-profit 501-3-C organization dedicated to wildlife research and education

Butterflies Enjoy a Log Pile

While cleaning up your yard during late summer, consider building a simple butterfly log to help hibernating visitors.

The top layer protects hibernating butterflies from rain and snow. The thinner the logs the more cavities there are to attract wintering butterflies.

Put the log pile in the shade. Plant nectar shrubs close to it this fall. If you already have the nectar producing plants, place the winter pile close to them.

All butterflies have to have shelter from rain, snow, wind and other weather elements. Also, they require a safe place to roost at night.

By constructing a butterfly log pile, you are giving butterflies a helping hand in your own back-yard.

© Copyright North American Wildlife Health Care Center
P.O. Box 155
Black Mountain, North Carolina, USA 28711
A non-profit 501-3-C organization dedicated to wildlife research and education