"Butterfly Gardens"

[Devs2007]

Hi,
A colleague of mine is in the process of 'growing his own butterflies' having bought a "Butterfly Garden" and been sent his 5 Painted Lady caterpillars. If all goes according to plan he should end up with 5 butterflies which he is then instructed to release into the big wide world. His garden isn't as butterfly friendly as it could be and he was wondering if it would be better to take them to a local wood which has areas managed for butterflies and release them there instead. I know that they can fly thousands of miles in search of food but I just wondered if anyone was aware of any reasons why he shouldn't do this, upset local butterfly populations in any way? or is it a case of the more the merrier and we should all be doing this each year?
Mike G.

[Pete Eeles]

Hi Mike,

With this particular species, I think you're safe releasing it anywhere. I say this because the Painted Lady is an immigrant to our shores, and the vast majority don't survive the UK winter.

If this had been a native and rare species, with specific habitat requirements, then my response would clearly have been different.

Cheers,

- Pete

[Devs2007]

Thanks for that Pete,

I found a couple of threads about breeding in the conservation section after I posted my message and can appreciate why it's a hot topic. For my colleague this is likely to be a one off project as he's using it to convince the rest of his family that they really should leave a large area of their garden to become overgrown with Nettles and Brambles if it means attracting these wonderful creatures 'naturally'.
Thanks again.
Mike G.