Ants play an important role in the garden, providing a valuable food source themselves - a Summer highlight for me involves watching them stream high into the air, looking for mates while attracting flocks of birds. Swallows, Swifts and even Seagulls suddenly appear in vast numbers, enjoying the feast. So nothing disastrous would be happening to the ants, nor the Nettles where they diligently farm their aphids. I'm even almost grateful to the Ants, as they inadvertently highlighted a topic I'd cast to the back of mind; our Uk butterflies aren't as common as they once were? I wasn't sure how to help, but I did want to do something about it.
Gathering books and researching online, I spent the following winter evenings learning what it takes to help our native Butterflies. I received valuable advice from a gentleman in the USA, who'd successfully turned his garden into a butterfly haven. For many years his garden consisted of manicured lawn and pine trees and was devoid of butterflies. Like me, he would rarely see one fly over and then it was gone. He grew nectar rich flowers, which attracted a few butterflies, but they did not stay. Seeking help, he came to understand in order to attract and encourage butterflies numbers, he needed to provide a rich diversity that included not only the correct foods to sustain the adult butterflies, yet also, and maybe even more importantly also the prefered food plants for their young.
Butterfly species have specific food preferences, and while there can be some diversity in what food their young will comfortably take, generally speaking it falls to a specific type. Luckily, many also have similar needs and some are positively unfussy! Nettles and Thistles are great food plants for many caterpillar species, freely aquired and easy to grow. After the loss of the Red Admiral, I decided to grow Nettles in raised pots, away from soil. I filled unused pots with garden soil, planted small Nettles from the garden and situated them on slabs with bricks underneath. Now Spring has passed and early Summer, yet Ants are not visiting these Nettles. The leaves are clean and Aphid free. Ants protect Aphids, and keep predators like Hover Flies away. It's working really well.
Even more encouraging, I discovered it's possible to purchase our native butterfly species, both caterpillars and pupae, online. There are professional buisnesses aswell as amateurs looking to disperse their large broods. Yet, this wouldn't be much use if I did not have both food sources for the adults and their young in place first. They needed somewhere to call home, with all mod-cons. Fortunately, they are singularly unfussy. They don't care for air-con or a power shower, but they do thrive on rich nectar and various wild plants of their choice!
I decided to begin with species who's needs are most easily met, beginning with Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock and Red Admiral. As I learn I would like to add more if possible, perhaps Moths also.
If you're interested in joining me, I recommend the book "Butterflies" by Robert Goodden and joining various insect forums where butterfly raising advice is beyond helpful. I particularly enjoy diaries, I've gleaned a great deal from others experiences.
Having zero experience, I began this year with a Painted Lady kit. They provide everything caterpillars need from start to finish, and I've found it a great start in gaining some experience first hand, with safety and success an almost cert. I received 5 healthy, young caterpillars on the 26th of June 2014, and by Saturday the 5th of July they had begun to pupate. All 5 are now in the pupae stage.
From a professional company I also ordered and received 5 x Peacock pupae. They arrive loose, ready to be hung. They will emerge shortly, and will survive until next year when they will hopefully breed.
I also have on order 5 x Red Admiral pupae. They will arrive shortly. I think releasing 15 Butterflies my first year is a promising beginning. I really hope to share my experiences, and encourage others who are interested to try. It's a learning curve, and as soon as I'm confident I can successfully raise these, I will move on to the more difficult task of raising caterpillars with freshly picked food and even hopefully breeding them. I understand this to be difficult, yet worth a try! One of the most inspiring diaries featured a gentleman who rescued over 100 Small Tortoiseshell caterpillars from Nettles cut down by his local council. Raising them on cut Nettles stood in bottles of water, most successfully made it to the pupae stage. Just a couple of weeks later, he released around 115 Small Tortoiseshell butterflies in to the wild. Now that's a success story!
My aim with this project is to increase local butterfly numbers by tackling it in 3 ways. I am growing the adults prefered nectar rich flowers, coupled with providing an abundant source of caterpillar food plants, while also raising and releasing healthy adult butterflies. Hopefully these 3 factors will see an increase in numbers in the following years. Only time will tell! This is an exciting project for me, and I'm really looking forward to releasing specimens in to the wild. I have everything crossed they will hopefully find wild mates, breed and soon sustain their numbers naturally.
Update: This year I was both surprised and delighted to discover Small Tortoiseshell butterflies thriving in the garden. I even saw a pair breeding on the garden fence - an uncommon sight apparently! - with a third chancing his luck! Due to seeing all three daily, I am not including this species this year. Hopefully this will become a common theme with many butterfly species in the near future!
(photo's and video to come)
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