Butterflies: The Garden's Most Beautiful Insects

Butterflies are insects—but beloved for beauty, not bite or sting. Moths, their cousins, share a four-stage complete metamorphosis: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, adult.

Life Cycle Wonder

• Egg: Tiny, attached near future caterpillar food.
• Caterpillar: Striking patterns, spines. Eats, grows, molts 4+ times.
• Chrysalis: Tissues reorganize into adult form. Camouflaged brown/green.
• Adult: Courts, mates, lays eggs, forms colonies. Feeds on nectar.

Garden Indicators

Butterflies and moths signal a healthy, pesticide-free environment. Insecticides kill them.

Attract Them

Plant species-specific nectar and host plants. Family fun: raise butterflies from kits (caterpillar to adult in ~3 weeks). Release when temps exceed 55°F.

Butterflies transform gardens into living art galleries.