Leprechauns love butterflies because they flaunt every color of the rainbow. Some real butterflies are even green, such as the Malachite, Olivewing and Paris Peacock pictured below, but I seriously doubt whether they could be Irish too!
Never trust a Leprechaun, but do visit our Kid’s Craft Page, where you can download butterfly coloring pages for free! May the road rise to meet you and the butterflies always be at your side… Happy St. Patrick’s Day from OWB!
We often get asked, “What do butterflies eat?”. . .
If you have butterflies in a cage or enclosure for more than a day, they will need to be fed. They can be fed a variety of ripe juicy fruits, like watermelon, melons, oranges, cherries, strawberries, peaches and plums. Caged butterflies will also enjoy sipping on Gatorade and homemade nectar. You can make your own butterfly nectar by mixing 4 parts water to 1 part granulated sugar. Boil the mixture for a few minutes then be sure to allow the sugar mixture to cool before feeding butterflies. Use cotton balls soaked with either the homemade nectar or Gatorade and placed on a small plate. If the enclosure is large enough, you can also place a few potted flowering butterfly nectar plants inside to keep the butterflies happy and well fed.
To help keep male butterflies happy and enticing to female butterflies in your garden or enclosure, be sure to include a “puddling” area. This can be done by place smooth round stones in a shallow dish along with some mud or wet soil.
