Normally something is blooming in the yard or out in the pastures to provide butterflies with nectar, but this year has been horrible. We are in an extreme drought situation. I still see butterflies around.but there aren't any blooms. Would they be attracted to an artificial feeder? What would it have to look like? Nectar mix? Butterflies are mostly the large sulfurs, and Black Swallowtails.
Anyone ever make a butterfly feeder?
There's a butterfly nectar recipe floating around on this forum somewhere. Check the sticky at the top or do a search for "butterfly nectar".
Bettydee....out here we use butterfly brew. It is a mixture of about 10 bananas, 1 pound of dark brown sugar and one bottle of guinness dark stout beer. Blend everything up and pour it into a plastic jug - something with a screw on top you can vent either every day or every few days depending on how hot your weather is. Just pour a bit of it onto an old tree stump or brush it onto the bark of a tree. Read through the "Sticky Thread" - there should be a link to the recipe on there as well as information on the perils of not venting it :o)
Since our area is usually suffering from a drought - a bit of rainfall brings out lots of butterflies seeking salts and minerals that have leeched to the top of the soil. On occasion I will take shavings and chunks from a salt/sulphur block (like the kind used for cattle and deer) - and I will mix that up into a jug of water and pour it on the ground or over gravel rocks - the salts and minerals from what hasn't dissolved stays on the surface after the water has been soaked up and butterflies will come to that too. I 'seed' the area usually every time I go out to the ranch. By 'seed' I mean adding more water and chunks of that salt/sulphur block.
There is also a thread I started back in February that shows various photos of butterflies at brew, mud-puddling, feeding on scat and such. I've added some other photos and even some of Leafwings using a hummingbird feeder.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/818163/
~ Cat
ps...oranges, tangerines, grapes, cherries, bananas, strawberries, kiwis, mangoes, papayas, guavas - heck any kind of fruit - cut and set out on a shallow tray should attract butterflies too.
This message was edited Nov 9, 2008 9:19 PM
Thanks everyone for the great information. I'll looked for the suggest info. How long will the brew last? Do I refrigerate it?
Butterfly bait
from a post by TexasPuddyPrint, Edinburg,TX:
The mix is simple: Mash a few pounds of ripe bananas, a pound of brown sugar and 1 bottle of Guiness Stout beer. Just put everything in a blender and mix it up. Use it fresh or let it ferment in an old milk jug for several weeks to a year! I keep a gallon of it in my south Texas garage (temperature warm up in there!) and open the lid every couple of days or to vent it so it won't explode. As I use it I mix up a new batch and add it to the jug.
(Perhaps any beer would work, but dark is better)
Don't refrigerate...that hinders the fermentation process.
~ Cat
Can you use fruit that's been refrigerated but "not really fit for human consumption anymore"....I just tossed some strawberries that were cut up in a container in the fridge but weren't people friendly anymore. ........
Butterflies love rotting fruit! I often buy strawberries and forget they're in the refrig. When I remember I just toss them into the freezer and when I'm ready to put out some bait I'll clean out my freezer of all the fruit I've tossed in there. Turns really nice and mushy when it thaws out :o)
~ Cat
Pears! Mine loved pears.
Can I just put a stocking over the top of the brew jug, so I dont have to remember to open it every couple of days?
I only vent mine about once a week. If you use a screw on top it is safer. If not capped, it could draw flies, bees and ants.
The brew really should be sealed - like in a jug with a screw on cap - this allows for the mixture to ferment. Leaving it open to air defeats that purpose. It will probably attract insects with just a stocking over it. Might still work but the scent and flavor will be weakened.
Depending on how hot it gets where you are at - you can probably get away with venting once a week or a couple of times a month. Out here in south Texas it gets into the high 90's so the jug really expands and has to be vented daily :o)
Using a jug with a screw on top is much safer like Sheila said. It also helps prevent accidental spillage or for those jugs with pop on tops - they will fly off if the pressure inside the jug gets to be too much and you don't want all that sticky goop everywhere :o)
~ Cat
LOL. The thought of having that sticky goop everywhere is why I was trying to skirt the rules, but I understand the fermenting for the scent and flavor. The bugs and flies I would have tolerated by keeping it outside. I will use a really big jug, so it has plenty of air space, this way I have a better chance of remembering to vent before it explodes.
After mixing I use a funnel and put mine in a big clear plastic container like cranberry juice comes in; they have screw tops. I keep mine inside the shop/shed so it may not get as hot.
I will keep it in the shed also. It should be ok there. Thanks