When you think of pollinators, what comes to mind? Many immediately think bees, however, bees are not the only insect pollinators out there! While bees are very important and necessary to our ecosystems, butterflies, beetles, and flies are prime examples of other essential insect pollinators.
This blog will focus primarily on butterflies as pollinators. Butterflies are typically broad winged and brightly colored insects, responsible for pollinating in natural ecosystems like meadows or prairies, and in home gardens. They are day-flying and most attracted to brightly colored flowers with flat tops for them to land on when feeding. Unlike bees, butterflies can see the color red and are often attracted to red flowers. For more information on planting red flowers, foliage, and berries to attract butterflies, visit Seeing Red: Flowers, Foliage, and Berries.
Butterflies visit two different kinds of plants. One is their host plant; this is where the adult female will lay her eggs. Once these eggs hatch, the caterpillar will eat the host plant. Often times caterpillars clear the host plant of leaves and foliage, but do not kill the plant. The second plant that butterflies visit are their nectar plants, this is where adult butterflies feed and gather nectar, facilitating pollination as they go. Zinnias are common butterfly nectar plants, and milkweed is a common host plant.
Butterflies use their long straw like tongues, called a proboscis, to reach nectar deep within the flower. This explains why butterflies are often seen on flowers with long tube-like shapes. A butterfly’s ability to travel long distances makes it so that they visit a wide variety of blooms, pollinating as they go.
During their hunt for nectar, the butterflies transfer pollen from flower to flower. The pollen gets stuck on the butterflies’ legs, tongues, and undersides and is then transferred to the next flower it chooses to gather nectar from. In the image above, you can see the proboscis reaching deep into the nectar tube of the flower. After the pollen is collected and the butterfly is done feeding, it will find a new flower to feed on, and the pollen will be brushed off onto the female parts of the new flower to allow for fertilization. This process continues with each flower that the butterfly chooses to feed from.
If you are looking to attract butterflies in your home garden, consider brightly colored flowers with flat petal arrangements and long floral tubes. Keep in mind to plant flowers that are meant for the amount of sunlight and water your space can give them. If you are wanting to attract a specific butterfly species, try researching that species host plant. Overall, choosing the right plants by understanding a butterfly’s needs is an easy way to attract butterflies to your garden and promote pollination!
For more information on home gardening to attract butterflies visit https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/design/types-of-gardens/butterfly-gardens/. Come back to read next week’s publication on beetles as pollinators!
Gwendolyn Pender, UF/IFAS Summer Intern, is the author of this blog.
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