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How to Make a Butterfly Feeder

Butterflies aren’t just beautiful, they are also helpful pollinators that will help our gardens thrive. Attract them to your yard with this butterfly feeder project. It’s an easy DIY project that will help keep your garden flourishing all year long. 

DIY Butterfly Feeder

Butterflies are magical creatures that grace us with their beauty. Their bright colors are a welcome addition to any garden. As with bees, they are essential pollinators. In fact, a butterfly’s lifecycle requires them to have host plants and food plants for pollination. Butterflies will keep your garden thriving and add a pretty pop of color to your space too.

How do you attract them your yard? There are many plants that they love, but an easy way to attract butterflies to your garden is to make a butterfly feeder.

How to Make a Butterfly Feeder

This simple DIY will keep butterflies coming to your yard month after month. Plus, the butterfly feeder is a pretty addition to your yard too. Here’s how to make one, step by step.

Butterfly Feeder Supplies

Supplies for a DIY butterfly feeder using a plate

  • Plate – Any type of plate will do. The plate I used is shaped like a hibiscus flower. There are notches where the “petals” connect, making it easier to fit in the macrame-style holder. If you plan to use a round plate, you will also need to get a wall mount plate holder.
  • Mason line or twine – I used mason line to hang my feeder. I used it because it’s made from a synthetic material that will not deteriorate as fast as natural twine. The feeder will hang outside in an area with little shelter and I wanted to make sure the rope holds through the whole season.
  • Washer (or another metal ring)
  • BeadsThe beads are optional. I like the way they dress up the feeder. Butterflies delight us with their beauty, so I decided to make this feeder extra pretty for them.

How to Make the Butterfly Feeder DIY

Metal ring for a diy butterfly feeder project

First, cut 5 lengths of mason line about 3 feet long. I used 5 pieces of string because I have 5 petal notches on my plate. If you are using a round plate with a wall hanger, you should only need 4 lengths of string. Loop the pieces of string through the metal ring and tie a double knot. Do not worry about the ends at the moment.

Beads being knotted into the strings for a butterfly feeder

If you are using beads, add them about 12 inches from the top. Make sure the beads all line up evenly. Then, tie a knot underneath each bead.Woman showing a bead in a DIY feeder project

Tie all the strings together about 6 inches down from the beads. Cut the excess mason line a half inch from the knot. Use a lighter or flame from a candle to lightly melt the edges of the strings. I melted mine all the way back to the base of the knot. Do this to the knot that’s securing the metal ring too. This will keep frays at bay and help keep the knot from slipping.

Butterfly feeder filled with butterfly food - lemons, melon, and flowers

Set the plate in the holder and hang it up in a sunny place in your garden. Then, add some butterfly food and watch them eat.

What do Butterflies Eat?

Butterflies feed on nectar (sugar from a plant). So, fresh fruits work very well as butterfly food. You can also make nectar from honey and water, but I think it’s less messy to add some fruit to the plate.

Butterflies are attracted to red, yellow, orange, pink, and purple colours, so keep that in mind when selecting fruit. If you are worried about ants getting in on the feast, you can add a bit of water to the dish as a deterrent.

Butterfly on orange in DIY butterfly feeder

Tips for Attracting Butterflies

A butterfly feeder is only one way to attract butterflies to your garden. If you want to keep them really happy, you will need to have plants that serve the needs of all the life stages of the butterfly. Adults need nectar, a safe place to lay their eggs, food for their larvae and a place to form chrysalides (cocoons).

In addition to the right plants, butterflies like full sun, a place to rest their wings, and a place to drink. An easy way to create a butterfly sanctuary is to plant bright flowers that love full sun, add a flat rock to the garden for the butterflies to bask, and put a small shallow pan of water out for them to drink. You can read more about how to make a butterfly garden here.

Butterfly feeding on nectar from a flower

 

Butterfly-Friendly Plants

You really cannot go wrong with any type of brightly colored flower for butterflies. However, remember that the plants must support the larvae and cocoons as well. There are many butterfly-friendly plants; so the chances are you can find a few that will suit your growing zone. Here’s a list of some plants that will attract butterflies to your garden:

  • Allium
  • Aster
  • Bee Balm
  • Black-eyed Susan
  • Blanket flower
  • Butterfly bush (Buddleia)
  • Catmint
  • Dill
  • Goldenrod
  • Lantana
  • Lavender
  • Lilac
  • Lupin
  • Milkweed
  • Nasturtium
  • Phlox
  • Purple Coneflower
  • Sage
  • Shasta daisy
  • Sweet alyssum
  • Yarrow

Find out more about why some butterflies love milkweed and how to grow it in your garden here. In addition to having a pretty flower garden, you can attract these lovely pollinators at the same time; a perfect garden partnership.

Now, don’t forget about the bees! Here is how to attract them to your garden (and a bee bath project that the butterflies will love).

Butterflies and bees aren’t the only beneficial insects you want in your garden! Find out about the 7 best bugs for the garden.

More Posts About Pollinators to Read:

Butterfly feeder hanging in a garden
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How to Make a Butterfly Feeder

Keep these pretty pollinators active in your garden with this simple DIY butterfly feeder.
Cost $35

Equipment

  • 1 Pair of scissors

Supplies

Instructions

  • Cut 4 pieces of mason line into 3 foot sections.
  • Loop the pieces through the metal ring and tie with a double knot.
  • Add beads to the line about 12" from the top, lined up evenly. Tie a knot under each bead to keep in place.
  • Tie all the strings together about 6" underneath the beads, then cut the excess line about 1/2" away from the knot.
  • Do the same to the knot that's holding the metal ring too to prevent fraying.
  • Add your plate and hang it in a sunny place in the garden, topped with butterfly food.

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How to make a Butterfly Feeder

Comments

  1. Pingback: Merry Monday #109 | Olives & Okra
  2. Concerned that you recommend taking care of all life stages of the butterflies yet the Amazon ad right next to the article is promoting Sevin a toxin to all stages of them!

    Reply
  3. hi Stephani , love everything about your beautiful site, and a enjoying using your ideas for myself and as gifts for my family.
    Only wish there was a print button for each idea as I find having to return to my computer for the instructions. if there already is a print option i apologize and will look for it. Thank you for sharing all your lovely ideas.
    Happy gardening
    Angie

    Reply
    • Hi Angie, thank you so much! I’m working on it. It means that all 1200 of my past projects need to be entered into a recipe format. I’ve started this project, but it may take a while!

      Reply

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