Nectar in plentiful – attractive butterfly bushes
You can plant many things in your garden. A myriad of beautiful flowers, some of which might as well be made of plastic. They are indeed completely unattractive to insects. But then there are the nectar bombs, one of which is quite outstanding. There is obviously the butterfly bush, which in nature language is called Buddleia davidii. It secretes amounts of the substance oxoisoforon, which somehow makes butterflies, hoverflies and other insects raving in the heat, and good butterfly bushes can be detected within a range of many hundreds meters. When the butterfly gets a little closer, the butterfly bush’s large inflorescences signal that there really is something there - whether the flower is white, pink or violet.
When the butterflies reach the bushes, they are amply rewarded. Each flower contains large amounts of nectar - often up to 1½ microlitres per flower, which means that the butterfly only has to visit a few hundred flowers before it has consumed its own weight in nectar! Although each cultivar of butterfly bushes are almost the same in terms of fragrances and nectar amount, the butterflies still have their favourites. In a study, published in an English butterflies journal, Joseph Culin writes that the red butterfly bushes generally attract more butterflies than the white - thus "Royal Red" and "Pink Delight" should be really good.
The butterfly bush originates from China, but more than 100 years ago, it was introduced to Europe, where it has now established vigorous, wild stocks in many parts of south-west Europe. Here it is effective in colonizing certain types of nature, such as land, fallow fields and forest clearings, and even if it is in Denmark likely to spread in the wild, we still recommend purchasing a few bushes for the garden. At least, if you want numerous admirals, peacock butterflies, small tortoiseshells and all the other flying beauties.