butterfly houses

[Anne Kilmer]

jhimmel at CONNIX.COM wrote:
> 
> Butterfly houses will be used by butterflies.  But first you have to catch them,
> hold their wings closed, and shove them into the little slots.  Otherwise, they
> are only good for garden ornaments.

They are to sell. Wasps, beetles etc. enjoy them .... but, like ladybug
houses, they are a cute thing for the garden, in which the desired
tenants have no interest. 
If you wish to provide hibernacula for butterflies, a nice messy brush
pile and adjacent log pile is perfect. A tool shed with one broken
window pane is also good. 
These will also provide winter shelter for other creatures, some of
which you like. 
I was invited recently to join a bunch of kids at Home Depot, where they
were to build butterfly, bird and bat houses. Alas, I was unable to
attend, but would have enthusiastically approved the latter two
constructions, and shuddered away from the first. 
Toad houses, of the up-ended flower pot variety, are also pretty
successful, provided the rest of the garden is invitingly designed. 
The cuter they get, the worse they work. 
Anne Kilmer
South Florida 

> 
> > I need to know if any one has had luck with a butterfly house?
> >Where did you put it?  any hints will be appreaciated.

We kicked this around a while ago. There were no reports of such a house
being used by butterflies ... voluntarily. :-)
> >
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> <><><><><><><><><>
> John Himmelman
> Killingworth, CT USA
> jhimmel at connix.com
> <><><><><><><><><>