Butterfly Gardening

      "Butterfly Gardens" is a way to bring butterflies into our environment and pass them on to future generations. Butterfly Gardens and bio parks are a new trend in Gardening. Butterfly Gardens are an effort to enjoy and preserve unique habitats. In addition to plants and flowers, Gardens with colorful butterflies and birds are the trend today.

About butterflies:

Butterflies belong to the family Lepidoptera. Around 23,000 butterflies are estimated worldwide and 1,500 in India. They are most common in tropical rainforests. Apart from butterflies, there are also moths. Butterflies fly during the day and moths fly at night. The easiest way to tell butterflies from moths is by touching their swollen tip.

Our butterflies:

About 330 butterflies are found in Kerala. Many of these were available in our country in the past. The destruction of natural habitats as a result of development activities has adversely affected the survival of many species of butterflies. Most of the butterflies are found in the forest areas of the Western Ghats.

Idea and purpose:

Butterfly Garden aims to maintain different species of butterflies by providing suitable habitats and ecological structures for them. Such Gardens help to preserve local species and make people aware of biodiversity conservation.

How to create a Butterfly Garden? 

    The first thing you need to prepare a Butterfly Garden is to know about the butterflies in your area. The diversity of butterflies depends on the biodiversity and ecological composition of the respective region.

There are mainly two stages in the life of a butterfly.

1. 'Caterpillar that eats the leaves of special food plants.'

2. A Butterfly that lives by sucking honey from the flowers of various plants.

Female moths lay their eggs on the leaves of suitable food plants. These are called "Larval host plants."

It doesn't matter if the flowers have honey in them. Butterflies do not lay eggs in them. If butterflies are to be permanently established in the Garden, host plants for them to lay their eggs must be planted and cared for in the Garden. Because the butterflies arriving in the Garden must have food plants available in the Garden to lay eggs, pupate, and then live as butterflies. Suitable food plants, climatic factors, and habitat factors are important factors for the cultivation of the Butterfly Garden.

Important factors to consider in construction.

The first thing to do when preparing a salad is to make a suitable plan for the place.

  A track path should be built to walk through the Garden and observe the butterflies, and the Garden should be prepared by incorporating various habitats on both sides of this path.

Habitat conditions:

Habitats such as sunny open areas, shady areas, marshy areas, creepers, large trees, and bamboo forests are suitable for many butterflies. A variety of butterfly species can be maintained in the Garden by providing suitable habitats for each butterfly species.

Climatic factors:

Suitable climatic factors are essential for the survival of butterflies. An ambient temperature of 20 - 25 degrees centigrade and a relative density above 85% is ideal for most moths. The months from June to December are very favorable for butterflies. Many butterflies disappear in summer. Butterflies that can withstand high temperatures can be found in handy at this time. By adjusting the temperature and vapor concentration in the Butterfly Garden, the presence of butterflies can be increased during the summer. For this, streams, ponds, and sprinklers can be installed in the Garden.

Mud-puddling:

Salt (Sodium) is an essential element for the health and performance of organisms. It is very rare in plants; Therefore, plant-feeding butterflies need more sodium to compensate for the sodium deficiency in their diet.

  The life cycle of butterflies

Butterflies have a very short life cycle that is completed in two to three weeks. There are four main stages of the butterfly. They are Egg, Larva, Pupa, and Butterfly. A month and a pupa are quite different from a fully grown butterfly.

Butterfly egg:

Female moths lay eggs singly or in clusters on the leaves of a specific host plant. These leaves are then eaten by worms. Eggs come in many shapes and colors. Butterflies usually lay their eggs on the underside of leaves. This protects the eggs from adverse weather and predators. After three to four days, the eggs hatch, and small worms come out. The emerging worm first feeds on the shell of the egg.

Butterfly larva:

Moth moths come in many colors and shapes. This helps butterflies escape from their natural enemies. Worms are voracious feeders and grow very quickly. Many species of worms have warning colors, thick fur coats, spines, and venom in their bodies to aid in self-defense. The worm matures in 10 - 14 days. The latter is in the pupa stage.

Butterfly pupa:

A pupa is completely different from a worm. The pupa has no locomotor organs. The pupa is ovoid or spherical and protected by a thick covering. The butterfly's organs like wings, legs, and nectar-sucking trunk develop during the pupa stage. The pupa is hidden from the eyes of enemies. It hangs on branches or leaves by thin threads. The pupa stage lasts five to seven days. When the pupa is complete, the shell bursts and the fully grown butterfly emerges.

Butterfly:

It takes very little time for the butterfly to emerge from the pupa. Immediately after hatching, the butterfly's body is wet with the liquid inside the pupa. The butterfly emerges from the pupa and sheds its wings. It takes about one and a half hours for them to spread their dull wings and fly away.

Benefits of Butterflies Gardening:

Butterflies are primary herbivores in nature. Plants use energy from the sun to cook food in their leaves. Moths feed on the leaves of plants and thereby obtain energy from the leaves. Moths play an important role in making this energy available to higher organisms in the environment; Because butterflies and moths are the main food of nature's higher-order amphibians, reptiles, and birds. Butterflies serve as an important link in nutrient cycling and the food web in nature. They also pollinate many plants thereby playing an important role in food security and plant breeding.

Source of income:

Butterfly Gardens are major attractions in the field of tourism and eco-tourism. Besides the income from visitors, these Gardens are a good source of income for florists and nurseries. Butterflies are the most beautiful creatures found in nature. By building butterfly gardens, one can observe and understand nature, the other organisms associated with butterflies, and the abiotic factors that control them. That is the way to make butterflies by Gardening. They play an important role in enriching the biodiversity of the region and educating the general public about the importance of environmental protection. Butterfly Gardening construction can be considered a small step to protect nature and biodiversity.