If you want butterflies in your garden, you need to think about the caterpillars too! Here are some tips on which nectar plants are best for butterflies and how to deal with caterpillars in your garden in an animal-friendly way. © Dietmar Borbe (caterpillar) Schwoaze | Pixabay (mother of pearl butterfly)
Before the butterfly comes the caterpillar
While we enjoy the beautiful butterfly, the caterpillar is considered a pest. Sure, it eats holes in your salad! But: If you destroy the caterpillars, how can you expect butterflies? We have a few tips for increasing biodiversity in your garden.
What to do with caterpillars?
“Caterpillars often eat for days to store energy,” says butterfly expert Dietmar Borbe. He recommends the following plants for their offspring.
Caterpillar-friendly plants
- Cabbage varieties – of course you want to eat the cabbage yourself, but you can leave a head or two for the caterpillars. You should collect the caterpillars from the rest of the cabbage (never use poison)
- Cruciferous Plants
- Meadowfoam
- Sorrel
- Clover
- Stinging nettle
- Thistles
The Best Nectar Plants for Butterflies
- Winter heather (Dec-April)
- Snowball (shrub) (March-June)
- Judas valley (April-June)
- Lavender (June-August), preferably uncultivated
- Wild thyme (June-September)
- Stonecrop (July-August)
- Shrub heather (July-October)
- Verbena officinalis (July-September)
- Autumn Aster (July-October)
- Water Aster (July-September)
- Buddleja (July-October)
- Ivy (October-November)
Stinging nettles are a must in your garden, says the expert. This is because important butterflies such as the small fritillary, the C-fritillary, the admiral and the peacock butterfly love them.
You should also avoid using pesticides and fertilizers in your butterfly-friendly garden. Butterflies find a bare and clean garden with a mowed lawn most unattractive – instead, allow a “wild corner” to grow.
Avoid light pollution
It is also important for butterflies to be dark at night. So avoid using garden lights.
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