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Attracting butterflies to your yard <br />Colorful butterflies add beauty and interest to...your backyard.There are hundreds of different <br />species of butterflies in North America. Butterflies require food in liquid form, such as nectar <br />produced by plants.They get some of it from flowers and from juices of extra-ripe fruits.The <br />types of flowering plants you grow will determine the kinds of butterflies you will attract <br />to your backyard. Observe species nearby, and use plants that attract them. Provide nectar - <br />rich flowers for adult butterflies and foliage for caterpillars. Do not use insecticides near <br />plants for butterflies. <br />3 <br />Nectar plants for <br />butterflies <br />Aster <br />Azalea <br />Butterfly bush <br />Butterfly weed and <br />other milkweeds <br />Coneflower <br />Lantana <br />Lupine <br />Milkweed <br />Phlox <br />Zinnia <br />Plants for caterpillars <br />Caterpillars, the larval stage <br />of butterflies, need nourish- <br />ment as well. Native <br />plants are the choice of <br />many species. Plants for <br />caterpillars include: <br />Aspen <br />Birch <br />Butterfly weed and <br />otber milkweeds <br />Dill <br />Hollyhock <br />Senna <br />Sorrel <br />Spicebrusb <br />Willow <br />Dea4 dying, and hollow trees and logs <br />Many people are not aware of the value of dead, dying, and hollow trees, as well as logs <br />on the ground, for wildlife. Dead trees provide homes to over 400 species of birds, <br />mammals, and amphibians. Fish, plants, and fungi also benefit from dead and dying <br />trees. Consider leaving standing dead and dying trees in your yard unless they pose a human <br />safety or property hazard, and use downed woody materials in gardens and landscaping. <br />10 <br />Attracting bees to <br />your yard <br />In the United States, there <br />are nearly 5,000 different <br />species of native bees— <br />almost all of them solitary, <br />friendly bees that nest in <br />holes in the ground or bur- <br />rows in twigs and dead tree <br />limbs.These bees don't have <br />hives to protect so they are <br />not aggressive and rarely <br />sting. Bumblebees, carpenter <br />bees, sweat bees, leafcutter <br />bees, digger bees, and others <br />pollinate many differ- <br />ent kinds of plants, and <br />play a critical role in healthy <br />wild plant communities and <br />gardens. Some 30 percent of <br />our diet is the direct result <br />of a pollinating visit by a <br />bee to a flowering fruit tree <br />• <br />