I've only grown one dwarf butterfly bush myself, and, although the flowers were beautiful, it didn't attract butterflies. I thought that was odd, but others have said theirs didn't either. Apparently, when they reduced the size, they eliminated the nectar. I have Ellen's Blue, which is a medium sized variety that I (and the butterflies) love, and I've ordered Miss Molly, which is supposed to be of moderate height - I'll see.

By butterfly feeder, do you mean something like a hummingbird feeder where you make sugar water and pour it in? If so, I'd doubt that would work, since the only buttterflies that have visited my hummer feeders are palamedes swallowtails, a uniquely southeastern species, and that was only rarely.

I think tried-and-true butterfly attractors, like regular sized butterfly bushes, turk's cap, pentas, butterfly weed, pentas, lantana, etc. are best.

And it's fun planting for them, isn't it?

Sherry

Some butterflies love to "puddle", that is, visit muddy areas as well as visit flowers. A large Terra Cotta saucer saucer filled with a mud/clay mix and some medium sized rocks to land on will provide minerals for butterflies.

Thanks for your input, Sherry.

Yes, the butterfly feeder is like a plate with sugar water in it along with plastic pot scrubbers. I'm not sure about the logic behind all of it.

It IS fun planting for them! I bought a liatris last year. This year, I'm planting seeds for red sunflowers and white coreopsis.

Like Sherry, I also ordered Miss Molly for this season. I have also grown the 'buddleja buzz' variety, which is a butterfly magnet.

I have never seen a butterfly use a feeder...nectar and host plants will bring many more to your garden. Good luck, Tony

Thanks, all! I'll post pictures as soon as possible.

Sherry

Below is my post from last year about how well rotting fruit works. I also used a base from an old saucer nectar feeder to hold a slurry I made with rotting fruit, molasses, and some water. That did not dry out as quickly as the fruit in mesh bags, but it also would fill up with rainwater and get pretty gross.

What worked well last year and what I will do again this year is storing my fruit in the freezer. I keep a ziplock (clearly labeled!) in there and just toss in any fruit scraps I have. Freezing them helps speed up the "mushification" process and ensures I always have a supply ready to go. When it is time to put the feeder out I just take some out mush it a bit more and put it in the feeder with a tiny bit of warm water and robust molasses. I know some people use stale beer or certain flavors of gatorade with it, but I don't have those things on hand. I've found they really like bananas, and pears. When I am in the garden picking strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries I often find mushy ones that I can use too. I have noticed question marks drinking from fallen raspberries occasionally.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/butterfly/msg041626038158.html

I have read that certain types of butterflies feed on feces and rotting fruit. Sounds like you've got your system squared away, molanic!