When you think about ways to attract butterflies, this generally involves
planting flowers that supply nectar for the adults or leaves for the
caterpillars. However an alternative technique is to offer salts, especially
sodium, which butterflies crave because their vegetarian diet is rich in
potassium but not sodium. This is different from the ancient myth that you can
catch a bird by putting salt on its tail. It is no myth that butterflies have a
powerful attraction to salt.
You will notice this fact if you carefully observe the behavior of butterflies.
For example this week I was biking along a rail trail which also allows horses.
It was immediately obvious that butterflies are attracted to the dung of
horses. I attach a photo of a tiger swallowtail that was "puddling" on horse
dung to obtain the salt rich fluids, which may be disgusting to us, but
life-giving to salt starved butterflies.
After working in the yard I took off my sweat-soaked shirt and hung it on a
rail to dry. A red spotted purple butterfly was attracted to it, presumably to
drink the salt-rich sweat.
It seems quite likely that butterflies recognize the smell of dung and sweat
and seek out the sources to obtain salts. I have even had butterflies light on
my arm and drink the sweat.
You can also put out a patch of damp sand with sodium chloride added as a
butterfly attractant.
So buy a horse, or get sweaty, and bring those butterflies into your yard!
Bill Dunson
Attachment:
Tiger swallowtail on dung NRT 8.17.15 Bill Dunson IMG_8554 aa.jpg
Description: JPEG image
Attachment:
Red spotted purple on sweaty shirt farm 8.17.15 Bill Dunson IMG_8563 aa.jpg
Description: JPEG image
