• Blog
  • Events
  • Gardening Videos
  • Resources
    • Gardening Guide
    • Online Resources
  • Garden Helpline
    • Collecting Samples of Plants and Insects
  • The Learning Garden
    • Plant of the Month in The Learning Garden
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • The Association
    • Contact Us
    • Speakers Bureau
    • Sponsors
      • Sponsors: 2019 Garden Tour
      • Sponsors: 2019 WNC Gardening Symposium
  • Donate
Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteers of Buncombe County
Blog / Gardening for Children / Kids Post: Butterflies in Your Garden

Kids Post: Butterflies in Your Garden

May 11, 2016

Butterfly_onAsterFlowerWe all love butterflies! They are like a puff of magic flitting around the garden.

Fun facts about butterflies:

  • Butterflies live from one week to many months, depending on the type.
  • Butterflies are cold-blooded and cannot fly if the temperature dips below 55 degrees.
  • It can take as little as two weeks to two or more years for a caterpillar to turn into a butterfly.
  • The Spanish word for butterfly is mariposa.
  • Butterflies taste with their feet.
  • Butterflies drink nectar from garden flowers, but they also love the sugar in rotting fruit or even Gatorade.

Help feed the butterflies in your garden.

Put out a plate with sliced oranges or strawberries or a splash of a sugary drink. Just be sure to use a very shallow dish to keep the butterflies safe from drowning.

Learn more about butterflies.

BrownButterfly_metamorphosisSpend time this year learning more about butterflies. Visit the Quilt Garden at The N.C. Arboretum (www.ncarboretum.org/) to look for butterflies. If you are in Durham, drop in at the Magic Wings Butterfly House at the Museum of Life and Science to see one of the largest butterfly houses on the East Coast (http://www.lifeandscience.org/magic-wings). Go to Friends of the WNC Nature Center website (http://www.wildwnc.org) to learn about plans to build a butterfly garden at the WNC Nature Center. Discover ways to encourage butterflies in your own backyard at http://content.ces.ncsu.edu/butterflies-in-your-backyard.

Written by Tish Szurek, Extension Master Gardener Volunteer.

(Resources used for facts about butterflies include the North American Butterfly Association at http://www.naba.org and the Lepidopterists’ Society at http://www.lepsoc.org/education.php which has an educational resources section for K-12 students.)

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)

Categories Gardening for Children Tags beneficial insects, butterflies, pollinator gardens, pollinators

NC Cooperative Extension; Empowering People, Providing Solutions

Blog posts written and published by Extension Master GardenerSM volunteers in Buncombe County.

Subscribe via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to our blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 3,245 other subscribers

Recent Posts

  • Online Seminar: Feed the Soil—Using Soil Amendments and Conditioners, March 18
  • The Garden Helpline Is OPEN. Master Gardeners Continue to Work Remotely to Answer Your Questions.
  • Gardening Video: Starting Seeds and Growing Transplants Indoors
  • Online Seminar: Gardening in EarthBoxes®, February 27
  • Garden Planning: Think Small!

Categories

  • Events
    • Extension in Buncombe County
    • Extension Master Gardener Info Table
    • Gardening Videos
    • Lectures & Seminars
    • School Garden Grants
  • Flowers
    • Bulbs
    • Perennials & Biennials
    • Roses
    • Wildflowers
  • Gardening for Children
  • General Gardening
    • Installation & Planting
    • Mulch
    • Native Plants
    • Propagation
    • Seasonal Chores
    • Soils & Fertilizers
  • Houseplants
  • Landscaping
    • Firewise Landscaping
    • Landscape Design
    • Site Conditions
    • Water Management
  • Lawns
  • Pest Management
    • Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
    • Invasive Plants
    • Pesticides
    • Weeds
  • Plant Diseases
  • Plant Insects
    • Beneficial Insects
    • Insect Pests
    • Invasive Insects
  • Shrubs
  • Special Gardens
    • Container Gardens
    • Herb Gardens
    • Pollinator Gardens
    • Rain Gardens
    • Shade Gardens
  • Trees
  • Vegetables & Fruits
  • Wildlife

Contact Us

Buncombe County Extension Office
49 Mount Carmel Road
Asheville, NC 28806
Helpline 828-255-5522

Events

Keep up with our events by subscribing to the blog or checking our Events Calendar.

Explore the Archives

Back to Top

Copyright © 2021 Extension Master Gardeners of Buncombe County. Privacy Policy.