Gardening Australia – September 2019

GARDENING AUSTRALIA SEPTEMBER 2019 89

BACKYARD VISITORS

B

utterfliesneedasourceofnectar,anegg-layingsiteandgood

sunlighttothriveandreproduce.Oneofthebestplantsforyour

gardenthatwillattractbutterfliesfromfarandwideisbuddleja,

especiallyvarietieswithdeeppurpleorblueflowers.Lavenders

arealsogoodbutterflyattractors,asaredaisybushes.Whiletheseplants

providebutterflieswithnectar,theydon’tgivethemanywheretolaytheir

eggs,soconsidercateringforthisaswellwhenchoosingplantsforyour

garden,toencouragebutterfliestostaylongerandincreasetheirnumbers.

Smallerdaisies–particularlynativeones–provideegg-layingsites

forpaintedladyandmeadowargus(Junoniavillida,above)butterflies.For

gardenerswholikeunusualteasorsaladgreens,nativeandintroduced

stingingnettlesareagoodchoice,too,becausetheyattracttheAustralian

admiralbutterfly.Theintroducedwandererbutterfly(alsoknownasthe

monarchbutterfly)andthenativelesserwandererbutterflyfeedonvarious

membersofthemilkweedfamily–severaloftheseareweeds,butothers,

suchasAsclepiascurassavicaandsomeofthestapelias,behavethemselves

andmakeattractivegardenplants.

Thehugeorchardbutterfliesarehappywithalmostanytypeofcitrus.

Mandarinandcumquataregreatoptions,astheyalsogiveyoulots of fruit

toeat.Lemonsaregood,too,althoughyoucanonlyeatsomanylemons!

Therearemanybutterflyspeciesyoucanattracttoyourgarden to breed,

andmosthavearestrictedrangeoffoodplantstheywilllayeggson. Most

stateshavetheirowninsectsocietieswithinformationonbutterfly gardens

andwhattoplant.Contactthemtofindoutmoreaboutplantsthatwilllook

prettyandbringflutteringentertainmentintoyourgarden,yearafteryear. GA

MartyngardensmainlyonSydney’sNorthernBeaches

Haveyoufoundsomethinginterestingin your

garden?Sendusa photoandMartynwill ID it.

[email protected]

with‘Creature’inthesubjectline.

WHAT

ON

EARTH?

Orchard

swallowtail

butterfly

Papilio aegeus

Butterflies aredrawntoparticular

plantsfornectarandbreeding,

saysMARTYNROBINSON

law of attraction

and fi nger lime as well as introduced citrus.
Planting citrus trees will encourage these
beautiful butterfl ies to visit your garden and
help to maintain this species in urban areas.
The early breeding of our swallowtails is
a sign that climate change is infl uencing the
life cycles of plants and animals. Scientists
are monitoring these processes, and are
calling on the public to help by recording
sightings of swallowtails and other species
using the free ClimateWatch app.

Len gardens in the Northern Rivers,
New South Wales