How To Draw Butterflies As Well As Birds About a dozen northern pearly eye butterflies and one little wood satyr (center) feast on grape jelly served in an orange half, while a black ant waits its turn. An interesting experience today, while eating breakfast, added to our understanding of the brown thrasher. The dripping water into one of the shallow bird baths on the ground has attracted so many birds, especially during the past several steamy hot days, and that’s precisely what the thrasher was interested in. Suddenly, refreshing soaking and splashing completed, the thrasher flew to the top of one of the platform bird feeders. This alone is unusual for this bird which usually spends its time "thrashing" around on the ground. Now it aimed its opened beak at several of the northern pearly eye butterflies that have in recent weeks been feasting at the oranges and grape jelly. Even though this "country singer," as I have labeled this wonderful singing mimic in a previous story, didn’t succeed in adding any of the butterflies to its breakfast, at least it tried. Little do we understand what various kinds of insects this flashy cinnamon-colored creature consumes in a day. I recall an old saying; "When life gives you lemons – make lemonade." Well, when nature provides one with a record-setting abundance of butterflies you observe, study, photograph and write about butterflies. It’s easy to imagine some people jumping to the conclusion that butterflies are so nice to have around because, unlike the birds, one doesn’t have to buy food and supply water for them. That assumption may true to an extent but if you want many butterflies enlightening your property you will succeed remarkably better if you supply them with a number of things. If you want to see what effect on the numbers of butterflies hundreds of colorful, nectar-producing flowers have, visit a landscaping establishment that deals with flowers as well as trees and shrubs. Our friends, Jeff and Bruce, who operate such a business, claim that they see literally hundreds of butterflies on their grounds every sunny day. Flower nectar, in general, contains around 40 per-cent sugar along with lipids, and really doesn’t vary a whole lot from flower-type to flower-type. However, observe different kinds of butterflies long enough and you will soon realize that different kinds of butterflies do have preferences. Our friends contend that, of all the annuals they have growing at their establishment, the flower that has attracted the most butterflies this summer has been one of their tall verbenas having blue flowers. Ideally one should plan a butterfly garden to contain cultivated annuals, cultivated perennials as well as native and wild perennials. Include short, medium-height and tall flowers in your scheme as well as an assortment that produce nectar-rich blossoms over a long period of time. The native goldenrods are slowly coming into flower and they continually remind me how attractive they can be to butterflies. Along with your nectar–producing flowers, consider including hosts food plants for the caterpillars. If the female butterflies can obtain both much-needed nectar and lipids from your flowers and, at the same time, be close to the plants upon which they will invariably deposit their eggs, consider that arrangement a feather in your hat. Water and basking sites are also needed by many of the butterflies. Water-soaked ground and several large flat rocks can easily supply both of those requirements. Butterflies like sun but not wind, so a secluded area for your flower garden, receiving at least six or seven hours of sunlight in a day but also encircled by trees and shrubs which will help cut the wind should greatly enhance your butterfly sanctuary. One of the most important considerations in attracting many butterflies to one’s property is to completely eliminate the use of all pesticides and herbicides. They are sudden death to butterflies. The same holds true for what are commonly referred to as "bug zappers." Studies have revealed that only around two per-cent of the total "bugs" (mostly insects) they kill are actually pests. The rest are beneficial to people and nature. The "flutters" of hundreds of butterflies, mostly northern pearly eyes, along with fewer eyed browns and common wood nymphs, that have been attracted to the orange halves, each with a small amount of grape jelly, attached to our platform bird feeders have been just short of phenomenal this past month. All one has had to do to get pictures of them is to use a small step stool, move upward in slow motion, gradually maneuver to be at eye-level with the butterflies and "fire away." At first even the nearly-inaudible sound of the mirror in the camera "slapping" upward the instant the photo was taken caused to the butterflies to take flight. Gradually they appeared to tolerate both the camera and me. I have learned during the recent heat wave that these small dull tan butterflies retreat to shady areas during the heat of the day and have been most active during early morning hours and later in the afternoon. Surely daily record-keeping of the various species of butterflies and their appearance on the scene, peaks of numbers and finally their last sightings of the season will clearly reveal that, indeed, this has been a banner year for these fragile but beautiful creatures. This column appeared in the Door County Advocate on 08/17/2001. © Copyright 2001 Roy Lukes. All rights reserved.