How would you like to look out your windows and see beautiful butterflies fluttering by? It is an amazing fact that there are 290 different species of butterflies that either travel through or reside in Bexar County. This diversity is enhanced by the three geological regions that entwine through the rocky Hill Country, the clay-infused central city, and the sandy soils in the south. Such diversity is important to butterfly eggs, because not every species uses the same plants to lay eggs and survive through the early stages before becoming a "butterfly."
Butterflies don't lay eggs on the flowers they sip nectar from as adults but on the tender green shoots of our less common and less cultivated plants. They utilize these plants for the early stages of butterfly development: eggs, caterpillars, pupa. It is important to preserve these native plants and trees, and to add them if possible when planning gardens and landscaping. Most female butterflies use only one, two, or three kinds of plants to lay their eggs on. Viceroy butterflies use black willow trees, monarchs favor milkweed, swallowtails use green ash trees and emperors use hackberry trees.
More information is available at www.sanaturalareas.com . Some local nurseries specialize in native plants which support butterflies and birds and which thrive in the soil and climate of San Antonio.
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