Exhibition: Native Texas Butterfly House and Garden

Walk among free-flying native butterflies and other pollinators in our Native Texas Butterfly House & Garden.

The butterfly house includes native species, which vary by season and what is available from suppliers. Our butterfly garden is filled with host plants that naturally attract these lovely creatures.You may even find a few ideas to try in your own garden!

This area is also a great setting for nature photography and portraiture (small fee applies). Please note that the butterfly house is not open during the off-season. The butterfly garden is accessible year-round; however, plant life and inhabitants vary seasonally.

Gardening for Butterflies and Other Polllinators

Attracting butterflies to your garden is easy. Your butterfly garden can be as simple or sophisticated as you choose. You can also add elements over time to provide better resources. If you don't have a spot to plant things in the ground, you can even use containers. Your garden may also benefit a number of other important pollinators such as hummingbirds, bees or even bats.

Supporting Butterflies Throughout Their Lives

Butterflies have several stages of development in their lives. To really support the butterflies, it is useful to provide the basic appropriate resources for each stage. This means they will need:

- Host Plants: Plants for the caterpillars to eat
- A safe place for them to form their chrysalis and complete their metamorphism.
- Nectar Plant: Plants that provide rich sources of nectar from flowers that are easy for the adult butterflies to access

Host Plants

Each species of caterpillar (the larval form of butterflies and moths) feeds on specific and different plants all referred to as “host plants.” These plants are also where adult butterflies lay their eggs. Because each species has different needs, providing a variety of plant species will attract different types of butterflies.

Nectar Plants

By planting a variety of nectar plants that are attractive to butterflies, you may encourage a greater variety of butterflies to visit your garden.

Adult butterflies feed on fluid called “nectar” that is made by flowering plants. Nectar is mainly made up of carbohydrates (sugars) and water; however, the concentration of sugars varies across plant species.¹ Small amounts of other chemicals can also be found. Because nectar composition can vary from plant species to plant species, different plants may be attractive to different species.

- Common Nectar Plants
- Beginner Nectar Plant Tips
- Advanced Nectar Plant Tips

Other Butterfly Gardening Tips

Don't use chemical pesticides. Many of the pesticides that you may use to target what you consider a “pest” insect may also affect butterflies.

A source of water can be beneficial to some butterflies in some conditions. This can easily be done by providing a dish of wet sand for them. They will likely not use a deep dish of water.

Native plants can sometimes be difficult to find. Be sure to check out the Heard's annual Spring Plant Sale (see event page for future dates). Also, here are some tips from the Native Plant Society of Texas on how to find them.

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