There are over 700 species of butterflies in the United States belonging to six different families. Butterflies occur in all 50 states. There are 38 species of butterflies regularly found in Yolo County and 11 others occasionally. There are 65 species of butterflies regularly found in Solano County and one other occasionally.  The best reference for Butterflies in our area is Dr. Shapiro's Butterfly website.

For butterflies, you have to think of two types of plants:  Host plants and nectar plants. Host plants are the plants butterflies choose to lay their eggs because their larva (caterpillars) can only eat a specific plant. Depending on the species, some caterpillars are generalists (more that one host plant) or specialists (only one host plant). Adult butterflies may be attracted to entirely different plants for nectar and they may be more generalists in this choice. Examples of specialists include: Monarch-milkweed, Dutchman’s pipe vine: pipevine swallow tail, Passion vine: Gulf Fritillary.

Butterflies' favorite colors are pink, purple, yellow and orange. Flat flowers (zinnias, cosmos), short tubular flowers (lupine) and flower clusters (verbena and lantana) are best as they provide and landing spot for easy access to nectar. Drooping flowers do not provide a place for the butterflies to perch to sip nectar.

Basking: Since butterflies are cold blooded they need to warm up in the sun for their flight muscles to work. A sunny spot on a flat rock in a wind protected spot can be provided.

Puddling: Mostly male butterflies gather around puddles to sip water with salt and nutrients. They visit puddling sites during the heat of the day, typically between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Puddling nutrients also help the males to produce pheromones, the chemicals that males release to attract females. You can entice more butterflies to visit your backyard by adding a puddling area in the flower garden.

How do butterflies survive the winter?  Most butterflies overwinter as eggs, caterpillars or pupae depending on the species, but the Mourning cloak, Milbert’s tortoiseshell, and Angle-wing butterflies spend the winter as adults. In your garden, tree cavities, leaf litter and branch piles shelter over-wintering butterflies from predators and cold weather.

“Most species enter a dormant phase. This can be as an egg, larva, pupa or adult insect, dependent upon species. The majority of butterflies and moths overwinter in the larval stage, with pupae being the next most common choice, followed by eggs and adults. A few are capable of overwintering in more than one stage.” https://butterfly-conservation.org/