Making a Butterfly Feeder Yourself: Two Approaches Revealed
Creating a DIY Butterfly Feeder: A Step-by-Step Guide
Want to attract more butterflies to your garden? Here's a simple and fun project that will help you do just that - a DIY butterfly feeder using a jar and a plate.
Materials needed: - A shallow plate (to hold the nectar) - A clean glass jar with a lid (such as a mason jar) - Brightly colored paper or plastic (optional, to attract butterflies) - Cotton wool or sponge (to hold sugar water) - Sugar - Water - Glue or tape (optional, for decoration) - A support or hanger (such as string or wire) to hang the feeder
Step-by-step instructions:
- Prepare the nectar: Mix one teaspoon of sugar with four teaspoons of water to create the sugar water that attracts butterflies.
- Set up the nectar holder: Soak cotton wool or a small sponge in the sugar water. Place this on the shallow plate. This acts as the landing and feeding spot for butterflies, as they drink the nectar from the soaked cotton wool or sponge.
- Assemble the feeder base:
- Place the shallow plate on top of the jar lid, or if your jar lid is flat and shallow, you can glue or tape the plate to the jar lid to keep it stable.
- Alternatively, you can invert the plate on top of the jar opening and secure it, creating an elevated feeding platform.
- Decorate to attract butterflies: Butterflies are attracted to bright colors. You can decorate the plate or jar with colorful paper flowers or paint to make the feeder more inviting.
- Fill the jar with extra sugar water: You can pour some prepared sugar water into the jar itself to serve as a reservoir. The cotton wool on the plate will wick it up, keeping a fresh nectar supply available.
- Hang or place your feeder: Use string or wire to hang the jar feeder from a tree branch or hook in your garden where butterflies are likely to visit. Alternatively, it can be set on a flat surface outdoors in a sunny, sheltered location.
- Maintain your feeder: Refresh the sugar water every few days and clean the feeder regularly to prevent mold and fermentation that can harm butterflies.
This simple setup mimics key features found in butterfly feeders: an accessible sugar water source on a flat surface and brightly colored decoration to attract butterflies. Using a plate and jar makes for an easy, repurposed DIY project that will encourage butterflies to visit your garden.
For a more intricate design, you can follow these additional steps:
- Thread some glass beads on the string to catch light and attract butterflies.
- Tie the remaining strings at the top of the inverted jar to form a macrame-style structure.
- Butterfly food is made by mixing 10 parts water with one part sugar, heating the mixture until the sugar dissolves, and allowing it to cool.
- Cut two pieces of string that are 48 inches long and tie them around the base of the jar.
- Hot glue some silk flowers to the top of the inverted jar to help attract butterflies.
- Hang the feeder on a tree branch using wire threaded through the washer.
- Insert the sponge into the hole in the lid so there is a 1/2 inch of sponge on either side.
The sugar-water mixture allows for a continuous flow, making it easy for butterflies to suck down their fill. The four strings are tied together around a 1/2" metal washer, which will be used for hanging the feeder on a tree.
(Note: While the exact jar-and-plate method is a variant based on common butterfly feeder principles, the provided search results describe similar feeder ideas using recycled plastic and sugar water with cotton wool in a bottle top[1]. They emphasize sugar water soaked in cotton wool as the nectar source and decorating with bright colors to attract butterflies.)
Happy crafting, and enjoy the company of more beautiful butterflies in your garden!
- To help attract more butterflies to your home-and-garden, consider expanding your DIY butterfly feeder by threading some glass beads on the string to catch light and attract butterflies.
- Creating a more intricate design for your butterfly feeder could also involve gardening by growing butterfly-friendly plants, such as milkweed, butterfly bush, or lavender, in your home-and-lifestyle environment to provide additional sustenance for butterflies.
