Butterflies in the garden: see 13 species (with photos and tips)
Almost everyone is happy when a fluttering butterfly comes to visit the garden to enjoy nectar-rich flowers. There are quite a few species of butterflies in the Netherlands and Belgium, we will show you a number of them and tell you what their nectar and host plants are.
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That's a good question. If we're talking about moths , there are more than 2000. Butterflies that you probably know better are the 'day' butterflies. Of these, you can find 53 species in the Netherlands. In Flanders, there are 75 known. In both the Netherlands and Belgium, a part of these butterflies is unfortunately (seriously) endangered. That's why it's nice if we can give them a helping hand in the garden!
Many butterfly species can be found in nature reserves, but there are also quite a few butterflies that like to visit our gardens. We list a number of them, with their host plants (necessary for reproduction) and nectar plants (for food).
The 'cabbage white' is probably one of the best-known butterflies and can be found in almost every garden. They are family of the Pieridae and there are several species in that. The large cabbage white is the one that is most recognizable: this species looks like the small cabbage white, veined white and crooked flower white, but is a bit larger and has clearly dark wing tips. You can find all of the mentioned in your garden.
The scientific name of the large cabbage white contains brassicae and that already indicates what their host plants are: cruciferous, including cabbages. In the vegetable garden not always that handy, so protect your cauliflower there with a grid or fine-meshed (bird-friendly) netting.
You can help them with these host plants:
- Garlic mustard, nasturtium , sand cabbage, watercress, honesty, damask flower and other crucifers.
They are especially fond of these nectar plants:
- All kinds of nectar flowers, including meadowsweet, thistles, butterfly bush, clover, purple loosestrife and alfalfa.
To stay with the 'whites' for a moment, there are quite a few garden species of them, you can also expect the orange tip in your garden. You can recognize the male by the orange wing tips; females do not have this and are therefore more difficult to recognize.
This cheerful butterfly lays one egg per plant, so that the caterpillar has all the space to grow. They prefer to do this on lady's smock (hence cardamines ) but also often on garlic mustard and other crucifers.
You can help them with these host plants:
- Including garlic mustard, cuckoo flower, honesty, damask flower, rock cress, rocket and watercress.
They are especially fond of these nectar plants:
- Lady's smock, dandelion, cuckoo flower, garlic mustard and thistle species.
One more white then? This lemon-yellow butterfly is – can’t miss it – the brimstone butterfly. This butterfly hibernates as an adult butterfly (imago) and you can see it emerge on a sunny day as early as mid-February. As a nectar plant, it loves the butterfly bush .
You can help them with these host plants:
- Buckthorn/alder buckthorn and way-buckthorn.
They are especially fond of these nectar plants:
- Blackberries, dandelions, thistles, lavender, alder buckthorn and butterfly bushes, but they are not very picky and will also eat other flowers.
The speckled wood butterfly is one that you have probably seen in the garden. It is part of the 'sand eyes', of which there are several species. The Butterfly Foundation has a nice identification card for the sand eyes . In the autumn it can also often be found on flowering ivy and lays its eggs exclusively on grasses.
You can help them with these host plants:
- All kinds of native grass species, such as: fescue, white ball, pearl grass, moor grass, meadow grass, short-stemmed, couch grass and cocksfoot.
They are especially fond of these nectar plants:
- In addition to honeydew from aphids, also blackberry and ivy.
The peacock butterfly is one of the most recognizable butterflies and you often see it in gardens. They are related to the aurelias ( Nymphalidae ). Just like the brimstone butterfly, this one also appears early. This is one of the species that does reasonably well in the Netherlands, because we have a lot of nettles. Do you see black caterpillars with long black 'spines' and small white dots in the nettles? Then these could be the caterpillars of the peacock butterfly (which look a lot like those of the red admiral).
You can help them with these host plants:
- Nettle, glasswort and hops.
They are especially fond of these nectar plants:
- Colt's foot, dandelion, butterfly bush, ivy, blackthorn, thistles and meadowsweet. Also seen on other (native) nectar plants.
The Red Admiral is recognizable by its black wings with orange bands and white dots on the wingtip. It is a true migratory butterfly and travels hundreds of kilometers to southern Europe. In the (later) spring they appear again and will produce a new generation here. Caterpillars sometimes look like those of the Peacock Butterfly, but have white spots on the side and orange on top. Sometimes also greenish caterpillars.
The new butterflies fly back to southern Europe in the autumn. Some butterflies try to overwinter, but they often do not survive.
You can help them with these host plants:
- Nettle, glasswort and hops.
They are especially fond of these nectar plants:
- Butterfly bush, ivy, wild privet and orpine. But also all kinds of other (native) nectar plants and rotting fruit.
This cousin of the peacock butterfly and red admiral is also seen regularly, early, in gardens. Due to the shape of the wings, it is actually impossible to miss. The caterpillars are not seen that quickly: they sit on top of leaves and look somewhat like bird droppings. A good camouflage against hungry garden birds !
You can help them with these host plants:
- Hazel , hops, currant, willow, elm and nettle.
They are especially fond of these nectar plants:
- Blackberry, ivy, willow and blackthorn. But also all kinds of other (native) nectar plants and like to drink from rotting fruit.
Another one that belongs to the top species: the beautiful small fox. If the species hibernates here, you can find it all year round on sunny days. It visits all kinds of nectar plants, but keep an eye on your blackthorn and butterfly bush. The young caterpillars spin a number of leaves together and live there with many dozens of caterpillars. As the caterpillars get older, they will start living solitary.
You can help them with this host plant:
They are especially fond of these nectar plants:
- Butterfly bushes, blackthorn, common dandelion, dandelion, meadowsweet and all kinds of other (native) nectar plants.
Of this 'queen' among the butterflies, the large caterpillar also stands out. It is a species that you encounter occasionally, also in gardens. Especially in the south of the Netherlands and in Flanders, but nowadays also increasingly further north. There is also a big chance that you encounter it in the vegetable garden because it loves carrot, fennel and dill.
You can help them with these host plants:
- (Wild) carrot, dill, parsnip, fennel, angelica, lovage, caraway, beavernel and sometimes also on rhombus. Also cultivars of these species.
They are especially fond of this nectar plant:
- All kinds of nectar-rich flowers, such as phlox, thistles, viper's bugloss, red clover and butterfly bush.
From large species to small species: the blues ( Lycaenidae ). The most common species of this that you see in the garden is probably the holly blue. The wingspan is about 3 cm and is especially noticeable because of the light blue upperside of the wings. Likes to eat honeydew that aphids secrete, but also nectar and bleeding trees.
You can help them with these host plants:
They are especially fond of this nectar plant:
- Besides honeydew, it loves all kinds of flowers, but especially thistles, meadowsweet, ivy and holly (in English the butterfly is also called 'Holly blue').
Tip!
A red-orange 'blue'. The small copper butterfly is a cousin of the holly blue and is immediately noticeable by its bright fire colour. It is a small butterfly that also visits gardens, but usually only in small numbers.
You can help them with these host plants:
- Native sorrel species, such as sheep's sorrel.
They are especially fond of this nectar plant:
- Found on many types of nectar-rich flowers, such as tansy, ragwort, yarrow and ivy.
This flashy butterfly is often seen in gardens, but it is actually a moth. Or rather a day-active moth to make it a bit more complicated. It is a migratory butterfly that very occasionally overwinters here.
This 'hawk moth' hangs like a hummingbird in front of flowers, from which it drinks. On sandy soils it can be confused with the glassy-winged hawk moth: about the same model, but greenish with almost transparent wings.
You can help them with these host plants:
- Native bedstraw species ( Galium ), such as sweet woodruff , madder, smooth bedstraw and cleavers.
They are especially fond of these nectar plants:
- Honeysuckle and butterfly bush.
Another beauty: the map butterfly. With this species you have to pay attention: the spring generation is usually orange with blackish spots (photo above). The summer generation is usually black with orange and white details (photo below).
In both the summer and spring generations, the underside of the wings can be recognised by the map pattern, see photo below.
They are especially fond of this nectar plant:
- Cow parsley, common hogweed and other umbellifers.
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