Butterfly longevity and floral preference in pollinator gardens

Butterflies play a vital role in pollination, a key step in plant reproduction and fruit production. Concerns about pollinator declines have increased interest in pollinator plantings. For this study we asked: What are the possible effects of habitat enhancement, do butterflies show a preference for certain flowers, and how long do butterflies live or persist in a habitat? We hypothesized that having a wide variety of flowers that bloom throughout the season attracts and provides resources for butterfly visitors encouraging them to remain. We predict that butterflies will be more likely to visit flowers commonly marketed for butterflies in red and orange colors. In 2019, for 10 weeks, butterflies were netted from flowers, marked, and released once per week for an hour. After 10 weeks, butterflies continued to be captured from flowers, were marked, and released three times per week for thirty minutes. In 2021, butterflies were sampled every weekday in the morning and afternoon for thirty minutes on or off of flowers. We also recorded the flower variety visited and weather conditions. Results showed no significant effect of weather on the diversity of butterflies, and butterflies showed a preference for zinnia, purple coneflower, and coreopsis. Ten butterflies were recaptured, with the longest persistence consisting of 7 days. Promoting butterfly diversity is important because they are important pollinators and beautiful additions to a garden. People interested in promoting butterfly diversity should plant brightly colored flowers that bloom continuously and produce a lot of nectar.