# Do you have a butterfly house in your garden/ yard? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 23, 2018, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-butterfly-house-in-your-garden-yard/809422 "2018-02-23T18:54:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![2Bits](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e95f7d/32.png) [@2Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2Bits)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2018, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-butterfly-house-in-your-garden-yard/809422/1 "2018-02-23T18:54:58Z")
Has a butterfly ever used it? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2018, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-butterfly-house-in-your-garden-yard/809422/2 "2018-02-23T19:24:37Z")
We have an entire area of our yard planted with shrubs that butterflies/caterpillars native to our area prefer. In those areas we have three butterfly houses, but I have no idea if they’ve been used. We’ve taken a course offered by The Butterfly Farm in St Martin before Irma destroyed everything.☹ Our yard is polluted with butterflies in the summer. When guests comment, I always say, “yeah, I really need to spray”. We have bat houses that are definitely in use (batshit piled up underneath), and birdhouses that are used, but often abused by wrens. Oh, and toad homes; clay pots turned on their sides and then half buried in the ground, basically little shade spots. The toad homes are often occupied. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2018, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-butterfly-house-in-your-garden-yard/809422/3 "2018-02-24T00:16:39Z")
**kayaker** that is very cool. Other than the course, what resources did you use to map things out? I’d like to do something like this with my kids. I’d also like to throw in stuff for hummingbirds. They’re here anyway. I’d like to see them more. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2018, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-butterfly-house-in-your-garden-yard/809422/4 "2018-02-24T02:50:04Z")
We have a membership at [Phipp’s Conservatory](https://www.phipps.conservatory.org/) in Pittsburgh. They seasonally have a butterfly room, and have a butterfly expert on staff. We talked with him about attracting/sustaining butterflies. He had maps (probably available online) that showed what species are in our area. Then we found charts of preferred vegetation for our species. We had a huge increase in butterflies the first year! As an added bonus, all of the shrubs and annuals are beautiful. We put up hummingbird feeders, plus the hummers feed on some of the plants and perch in the bushes nearby. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2018, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-butterfly-house-in-your-garden-yard/809422/5 "2018-02-24T06:06:35Z")
Oregon State University is nearby. I’ll check and see if they have any resources. It sounds like a fun and rewarding activity. ETA: **2Bits** what types of butterflies use butterfly houses? I’ve seen butterflies out and hunkered down in all kinds of weather. Some species migrate seasonally. I wasn’t aware there was such a thing as butterfly house. Do they use them for shelter or egg laying or ?? Thank you for fighting my ignorance. ---
**Author:** ![2Bits](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e95f7d/32.png) [@2Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2Bits)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2018, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-butterfly-house-in-your-garden-yard/809422/6 "2018-02-24T17:02:49Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > Oregon State University is nearby. I’ll check and see if they have any resources. It sounds like a fun and rewarding activity. > > ETA: **2Bits** what types of butterflies use butterfly houses? I’ve seen butterflies out and hunkered down in all kinds of weather. Some species migrate seasonally. I wasn’t aware there was such a thing as butterfly house. Do they use them for shelter or egg laying or ?? Thank you for fighting my ignorance. I’m still waiting to hear anybody claim that their butterfly house actually housed a butterfly. I suspect I never shall and that they would be more accurately be marketed as “_wasp_ houses.” ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2018, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-butterfly-house-in-your-garden-yard/809422/7 "2018-02-24T18:11:53Z")
I think I shall avoid wasp houses. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2018, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-butterfly-house-in-your-garden-yard/809422/8 "2018-02-24T18:19:51Z")
Well, sort of 😉 It’s a large greenhouse as part of a zoo, and it’s kinda my parents’ place, not mine, but we certainly call it the butterfly house. Admittedly the butterflies are tropical species, and they don’t really have the option of not being there, but that’s not what you asked 😃