Gardening and DIY: Bring butterflies to your garden

Yellow Admiral. Photo / Jane Carver

By Jacqui Knight

Here's a trick to try at home or when you're next with friends. Ask them how many New Zealand butterflies they recognise. Most New Zealanders know the much loved, very large, bright Monarch butterfly, and despise the Cabbage White - but that's it.

Not many know that we have butterflies unique to this country, and that they may well be at risk. How can we be involved in conservation of a species that is not well known? Aren't our endemic butterflies as important as kauri snails and kereru?

The Monarch Butterfly New Zealand Trust* is here to change all of that by raising awareness of our beautiful species such as the Forest Ringlet. The Forest Ringlet is endemic to New Zealand and quite lovely. It used to be seen in places such as bush reserves on the North Shore or on the shores of Port Nicholson, but no longer. Why is it retreating? Nobody knows. But it would be a tragedy if we were to lose it.

The NZ Red Admiral is only found in this country too. Its Maori name, kahukura, means 'red cloak' and butterfly fanciers from all over the world say it is the most beautiful of all the Admirals. If we had more respect for its host plant then the Red Admiral would soon be back fluttering around more urban areas - and that's the problem.

There are two Admirals found in New Zealand - the Yellow Admiral or kahukowhai we share with Australia - only lay their eggs on stinging nettle. And many people have become so removed from Nature that they want nettles banished from the environment. But there are many advantages to having stinging nettle around; not only does it raise beautiful butterflies but it's also a great food, fibre and pharmaceutical, rich in nutrients as well as a soil conditioner. Birds enjoy it too - both the leaves and the caterpillars. And the sting is easily remedied by rubbing a dock leaf on the affected part.

Many people don't realise that butterflies need two types of plants: a host plant specific to that butterfly and plants bearing flowers from which adults find nectar. Monarchs lay their eggs on milkweed (such as the swan plant), Admirals on nettles and Coppers on muehlenbeckia. They're flowers

that fly, brightening up anyone's garden space. If you don't have colourful flowers providing nectar in your garden, you're unlikely to see many butterflies. They'll pass you by.

You may wonder what purpose butterflies have in our lives, apart from being beautiful and uplifting. While in the outdoors we are surrounded by millions of insects and other invertebrates, butterflies are probably the most noticeable going about their work of pollinating plants. Without pollination, of course, there would be no seeds, and our whole existence would be threatened.

But as butterflies are so noticeable they also raise awareness of the importance of insects and biodiversity - what is going on in the natural world. Caterpillars provide food for other species of animals and convert leaf matter to frass, adding nutrients to the soil. They are ideal insects to study and fun to observe. An awareness of the outdoor world is inspirational and healthy in these times when so many children are caught up with indoor, sedentary electronic games.

Butterflies are just one species of insects that make up our environment. Did you know that there are around 30 million insect species in the world? Of all living matter, the insect population is thought to make up over 90%! And they are all critical to our survival.

Zoologist Sir David Attenborough once said: "If we and the rest of the backboned animals were to disappear overnight, the rest of the world would get on pretty well. But if [the invertebrates] were to disappear, the land's ecosystems would collapse. The soil would lose its fertility. Many of the plants would no longer be pollinated. Lots of animals, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals would have nothing to eat. And our fields and pastures would be covered with dung and carrion. These small creatures are within a few inches of our feet, wherever we go on land - but often, they're disregarded. We would do very well to remember them."

The Trust needs your help with their projects. We welcome more members or donations to help us in our work. For more information please check out the website.

* Our name is soon being changed to more accurately reflect our work to the 'Moths and Butterflies of NZ Trust'.