By Malcolm Hull (Plot 38)
All the butterflies described in the document you can download by clicking the above link have been recorded living on Folly Lane allotments in recent years – 24 species in all.
Each species of butterfly depends on its host plant(s), which the caterpillars depend on for food.
Only two species (Small White & Large White) have caterpillars which feed on the cabbage family. No other butterfly will damage your crops.
PROTECT your cabbages, broccoli, kale and brussels sprouts by covering them with a cage made from fine net. This should be supported on a frame so that the plants do not touch the net at the top or sides
You can encourage butterflies by planting host plants and also flowers which act as nectar sources. The adult butterflies will visit these to drink nectar during the spring and summer.
What you can do to help butterflies
Leave an area of grass uncut until September
Plant larval host plants for caterpillars to feed.
Grow native flowers which provide nectar.
Join the Big Butterfly Count & report your sightings at www.butterfly-conservation.org
Contact Malcolm Hull for more information at malcolmhull@icloud.com
Visit Plot 38 to see more butterfly plants (and feel free to take cuttings).
This revised 2023 edition is dedicated to the memory to Robin Laws and Jean Stringer who did so much for Folly Lane Allotments and the wildlife which lives there.