Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 3: Feeding butterflies in nature
• Method 2 of 3: Feeding butterflies in captivity
• Method 3 of 3: Help injured butterflies to eat
• Warnings
• Necessities
• Help injured butterflies eat
• Feeding butterflies in nature
• Feed butterflies in captivity

Butterflies are unique, delicate insects that come in many different beautiful colors and patterns. If you have some butterflies that you need to feed regularly or you just want to feed the butterflies in your garden, there are many ways to do that. What food you feed on butterflies and how you should feed them depends on whether they are injured, live out, or kept out.

To step

Method 1 of 3: Feeding butterflies in nature

1. Give the butterflies in your garden nectar. By nature, butterflies survive by consuming the nectar of different types of flowers. The best food you can give them is this nectar. Vervain (Verbena), Butterfly Bush (Buddleija), Phlox and Marigolds are popular with butterflies - plant these in your garden to attract and feed butterflies.
2. Use canned fruit nectar as an alternative to nectar. If you don't want flowers in your garden, buy some canned fruit nectar. To give this conveniently, put some of it in a bottle cap or soak it in a tissue and place it in a butterfly tray, on a garden table, or something similar.
3. Give sugar water to butterflies if you don't have nectar. This acts like improvised nectar. Mix one part white cane sugar with four parts warm water until the sugar is completely dissolved. This provides nutrition and energy to the butterflies so that they can thrive.
   • White cane sugar provides the best nutrients for butterflies and also dissolves easily when compared to other forms of sugar.
4. Give butterflies rotting fruit as an alternative. Slice some overripe fruit and give it to your butterflies. They especially like rotting grapefruits, oranges, strawberries, peaches, nectarines, apples, and bananas. Add a little water or juice to the cut fruit to keep it nice and moist.
5. Make a butterfly feeder. The best way to feed butterflies in nature is to buy or make some type of butterfly feeder. You can do this in a variety of ways, whether you want to hang a plastic water bottle full of food from a tree or place a shallow plate in your yard. Be creative and make an attractive food bowl to attract as many butterflies as possible.

Method 2 of 3: Feeding butterflies in captivity

1. Use sports drink or fruit juice as an easy fix. The easiest way to feed butterflies in an environment is with sports drink or fruit juice. Both have the sugar and water needed to provide nutrients to your butterflies. Use these for food if you want to feed your butterflies quickly and easily.
2. Make your own creative butterfly food solution to get the best results. If you are willing to put a little more time and effort into your butterfly food to ensure maximum nutrition, make your own nutrient solution. Mix 90 ml of water or sports drink with a teaspoon of sugar syrup. Then add six drops of soy sauce.
   • To make your own sugar syrup, add one or two parts sugar to one part water. Bring the mixture to almost a boil, then remove it from the heat.
3. Serve liquid food in a small, shallow container for easy access for the butterflies. To make the food attractive to your butterflies, you need to package it properly. The smaller and shallower the container, the better. If possible, opt for a saucer or a bottle cap. Fill the dish or container, lower it into the living space and close the living space.
   • You can also use a small cup or glass candle holder, but since these are deeper, you will need to fill them with marbles so that the butterflies can stand on them while they eat.
4. Make skewers from fresh fruit if you have different butterfly species. Fruit serves as an adequate food source for all different types of butterflies, so this may be the best option if you have a variety of species in your butterfly tank. Take a skewer or a piece of bamboo and slide pieces of fruit onto it. Then put it in the butterfly tray.
   • If the fruit doesn't stay on the skewer, attach a plastic bag tie under the bottom piece of fruit.
5. Place the fruit in the lightest spot in the living space. Butterflies instinctively tend to light areas so they can find the fruit more easily if it is in a lighter area of ​​their habitat. Place fruit skewers horizontally on the floor of the butterfly habitat or place them vertically in a corner in the brightest part of the habitat. They must be able to find and consume the food themselves.

Method 3 of 3: Help injured butterflies to eat

1. Stick to drinks such as juice, cola and bowl. Juice, cola and fruit punches are the best first aid for injured, sick or young butterflies. Use these as food, if possible, and make sure they are at room temperature or warmer.
2. Soak a paper towel in the liquid food and place it in a dish. Decide what kind of food you want to use and then dab it on a paper towel. This allows the butterflies to eat the food without their legs getting extremely wet.
3. Pick up each butterfly and place it on the soaked paper towel. First, make sure your hands are completely dry. When one of your butterflies closes its wings, squeeze them very gently at the ends. Lift the butterfly and place it on the kitchen paper so that it can taste the food. Then do this with all your butterflies.
   • If you are not careful, you can very easily seriously injure the butterflies by picking them up. It is very important to be careful when handling the butterflies.
   • It is necessary to do it this way because butterflies taste with their feet.
4. Lower the butterfly's snout (proboscis) with a toothpick if it doesn't. Once placed on the paper towel, the butterflies will likely recognize that food is available and automatically lower their suction snout to consume it. If one of the butterflies doesn't, very carefully use a toothpick or paper clip to lower the snout to the food.
   • In the beginning, the butterfly may struggle and try to push the toothpick or paper clip away. Be persistent for a few minutes. If the butterfly still resists at this point, stop and try again after 1-2 hours.
5. Offer the butterflies food at least once a day. Gently pick up each butterfly by the tips of its wings and place it on the food-soaked paper towel at least once a day. If a butterfly won't eat, give it a few extra chances throughout the day. Even butterflies that eat willingly can eat on these other occasions as well, as butterflies prefer more spread out meals.

Warnings

• Butterflies have a very delicate body and you can accidentally seriously injure or kill them if you treat them incorrectly. To avoid this, you need to know exactly how to touch and handle them safely before attempting this.

Necessities

Help injured butterflies eat

• Juice, cola or bowl
• Paper towel
• Saucer
• Toothpick or paper clip (optional)

Feeding butterflies in nature

• Flowers
• Canned fruit nectar
• Bottle cap or tissue
• White cane sugar
• Warm water
• Feeding bowl for butterflies

Feed butterflies in captivity

• Sports drink or fruit juice
• Sugar syrup
• Soy sauce
• Small, shallow dish or container
• Marbles (optional)
• Skewer or bamboo stick
• Pieces of fresh fruit
• Binder for plastic bags (optional)