Butterflies eat (drink or sip) nectar through a straw-like mouth part called a proboscis  (pro-boss-kiss). Nectar is a sugar rich liquid produced by flowering plants like cosmos, verbena, zinnias, butterfly bush and yarrow.  There are thousands of flowers that butterflies can obtain nectar from.

Along with nectar, the male butterfly also needs a variety of minerals, which they acquire by sipping on ripe or rotting fruit, tree sap, piles of manure or mud.  This typical butterfly behavior is called puddling.

If you have butterflies in a cage or enclosure for more than a day, they will need to be fed.  They can be fed a variety of ripe juicy fruits, like watermelon, melons, oranges, cherries, strawberries, peaches and plums. Caged butterflies will also enjoy sipping on Gatorade and homemade nectar.   You can make your own butterfly nectar by mixing 4 parts water to 1 part granulated sugar.  Boil the mixture for a few minutes then be sure to allow the sugar mixture to cool before feeding butterflies.  Use cotton balls soaked with either the homemade nectar or Gatorade and placed on a small plate.  If the enclosure is large enough, you can also place a few potted flowering butterfly nectar plants inside to keep the butterflies happy and well fed.

To help keep male butterflies happy and enticing to female butterflies in your garden or enclosure, be sure to include a “puddling” area.  This can be done by place smooth round stones in a shallow dish along with some mud or wet soil.

If you know of a certain flower, fruit or other sweet treat that butterflies seem to love, please share your knowledge with our readers and leave us a comment below.

Enjoy the butterflies,

Vickie