Build Your Own Butterfly House

Not only where there not nearly enough BEES last year, there were not nearly enough BUTTERFLIES!

We need Pollinators for our Gardens. 

One again, I searched the internet and found some possible solutions:

Build A Butterfly House & Plant More Flowers that Butterflies Like!  (This is our next project)

Attracting butterflies to your garden starts with having the right plants, but if you want them to stick around, you also need to give them a place to hibernate and lay their eggs. A butterfly house does just that, and it’s easy to build!

What You’ll Need:
Untreated lumber: – a 1″ x 6″ x 8′ board and a 1″ x 10″ x 12″ board
Finishing nails (1-1/2″ long)
Circular saw (or a hand saw)
Jig saw
Drill and 1/2-inch drill bit
Tape measure
Framing square and/or speed square
A Pencil or marker)
Sandpaper

Complete Instructions

Found on Amazon   

Amazon Video

 

My Painted & Completed Butterfly House

 

 

How to Attract Butterflies to a Butterfly House

Step 1

Paint the butterfly house in bright colors. Butterflies are attracted to purple, red, yellows and pink. Try images of flowers or simple designs in a combination of colors to attract their attention.

What color should you paint your butterfly house? Use colors of native flowers for your inspiration. Some good choices are: 

Red, Yellow, Orange, Pink, Blue, or Purple

Step 2

Plant flowers that attract butterflies. Brightly colored flowers like asters, daisies, zinnias and purple coneflower attract butterflies and provide the perfect place to perch. (See Resources for a list of flowers that attract butterflies.)

Step 3

Place your flowerbed in a sunny location. Butterflies feed in the sun and will frequent gardens in full sun. Consider a butterfly feeder filled with sweet nectar or with decaying fruit. Although it may not be appealing to you, butterflies will swarm to soft fruit as it begins to decay.

Step 4

Provide a water source. A shallow saucer provides more than enough water for delicate butterflies. Pour water on flat rocks or on stone walkways. Placing a butterfly house near sources of moisture will encourage them to investigate and will increase the chances they'll choose the house for shelter.

Step 5

Plant host plants, the plants on which butterflies lay their eggs (see Resources). Young caterpillars feed on the foliage when they emerge and may form a chrysalis on the same plant. When butterflies emerge, they are likely to seek shelter in your butterfly house.

Flowers that Attract Butterflies:

Aster, Bee Balm, Black Eyed Susan, Purple Coneflower, Cosmos, Lupine, Pansy, Phlox, Salvia, Sedum, Shasta Daisy Snapdragon, Sunflower, Verbena, Zinnia, Milkweed.