Samsø residents turn gardens into butterfly habitat

Residents on the Danish island of Samsø are working to create a shared habitat for butterflies, with more than 100 gardens now taking part, DR reports.

Cecil Rye Olsen is among those leading the effort. While showing her garden to podcast host Signe Lindkvist on the DR programme Signes Have, Olsen spotted what she believed was an ochre checkerspot butterfly.

“The butterfly is really what the whole mission is about,” Olsen said.

The initiative aims to turn individual garden plots into one large habitat for Denmark’s butterfly population. Many native species are threatened, vulnerable or have disappeared, according to Danmarks Naturfredningsforening.

“We are riding a shared wave because we want more butterflies,” Olsen said.

Two types of plants are important

People who want to attract butterflies should plant both nectar plants and host plants, Olsen said.

Adult butterflies drink nectar from nectar plants. Host plants are where butterflies lay their eggs and where their caterpillars feed.

“We have always had many butterflies in the garden, but I had never thought about how it was connected to having the right host plants,” Olsen said.

The Aurora butterfly, for example, primarily uses garlic mustard as a host plant for breeding.

Danmarks Naturfredningsforening identifies a lack of habitats as one of the main reasons butterflies are under pressure. Areas such as fields, forests and gardens have become more uniform and contain fewer plants, while excessive use of pesticides and fertiliser is also a problem.

Encouraging neighbourhoods to join

Olsen hopes other people will involve their neighbours or entire residential streets. Working together can create a larger habitat and make it possible to buy plants collectively, she said.

She suggests that neighbours make a list of the host plants already growing in their gardens. The plants do not need to be the same in every garden, and residents could choose two or three butterfly species to focus on.

Although the project also benefits insects and other wildlife, Olsen said the narrow focus on butterflies is powerful. The Facebook group “Sommerfugle-Ø Samsø” had 700 members when DR published the article.

Six butterfly-friendly perennials listed by Danmarks Naturfredningsforening are common knapweed, field scabious, purple loosestrife, oxeye daisy, common bird’s-foot trefoil and yarrow. They can provide both host plants and nectar for butterflies and bees.