Ah...good question. Depends. First, it depends on the species. Some species range far and wide to find suitable mates and host plants. Black swallowtails, Giants, Cloudless sulphurs are some examples. So, you may release them and they will just travel elsewhere. Some setup close ranges such as pipevine swallowtails. However, the males may then chase out any other swallowtail. Some migrate like the Monarch.

Then there is the issue of enough hostplant. What we think is enough may not be enough for the butterfly. Without predators (in an enclosed butterfly house) I have seen a single female butterfly lay enough eggs to strip entire trees. Now, in the wild there are predators to prevent this but most females (depending on the species)in the wild will prefer to lay a few eggs on one plant and move on. So, even if you have, say, a large spicebush. She may only lay a few eggs on it and move on. Also, if your plants are not of "good enough" quality, she may move on and lay elsewhere. Plus, if you but your eggs in one basket, so to speak, a single bird or wasp may wipe out all the caterpillars on that plant. I have a single pipevine in my yard and I had caterpillars in it. I also have Carolina Wrens in my yard and it is questionable whether the pipevine caterpillars made it or not. I wont know till next spring probably. I usually use the plants in my yard to attract egg laying females. Then I collect the eggs to raise.

I recently read a paper that home butterfly gardens may act as ecological sinks for butterflies. That is, it attracts the species but the species cannot survive in that environment. It studied pipevine swallowtails. The idea is that when we plant pipevine in our yards, we don't always plant them in the appropriate places. Therefore, the caterpillars don't survive like they do when laying in the wild. I have put it simplistically. Maybe later I will explain in detail. I really should be cleaning my house right now and my hubby keeps walking by picking up stuff and giving my dirty looks :)!

Some people will probably post that they released a species and it is doing fine in their yard. There are a lot of factors. It is a lot like gardening. A plant that your neighbor has and is doing well, you cannot get to grow.

I am all for giving it a shot provided you have waited a year or two to see if they come on their own. It can take a while.

Cheers,
Elisabeth

Interesting question...

From the reading I've done and my limited experience, I would think that if you release some butterflies that are native to your area and you have the host plants and nectar plants that they like you would have a good chance to start a colony of them in your neighborhood. But to do that I would make the release when the butterfly's first seasonal flight is recorded for your area so that the with each generation thru the summer you will get an increas in numbers~~you can usually find this flight info on your region's Butterfly Club site. Here is such a flight date record for the Massachusetts Butterfly Club: http://www.naba.org/chapters/nabambc/flight-dates-chart.asp

You don't say where you are located, but if you are in the east or midwest some of the common swallowtails would be a place to start.

I can't say much about your 'not native' question, but it seems reasonable that if the area had the right habitat, the butterfly would probably already be established there~~you could try to do a release but most lepidopterists probably would not recommend introducing a non-native species to a region...in the past that has caused a good deal of havoc with the balance of nature.

Keep us posted on what you decide to do.

On another thread Elisabeth brought up an interesting aspect of butterfly gardening~~the ecological sink theory~~that I hadn't considered and I don't often see it talked about on common butterfly forums.

I googled for more info and found this Wiki entry on "ecological sinks" which gets a little esoteric but does explain some of the issues involved in nature's balance. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Source%E2%80%93sink_dynamics

The mention of emigration/immigration of species made me think of all the butterfly gardeners on this forum who raise Monarchs and whether they believe their butterflies stay in their neighborhoods thru the summer season or if they migrate away to other habitats immediately upon eclosing. I don't have a lot of experience in hand-raising butterflies in our home, so I don't really know the answer.

It would be interesting to get some opinions from others here if they believe some of their butterfly species stay in their habitat for the season or if they leave immediately for better territory. And/or what they think about the 'sink' theory.

Whatdya think?

Interesting concept, ecological sink. I checked out the reference on Wikipedia. My understanding is that we are, in providing butterfly gardens/plants, causing butterflies to accept a lesser habitat because we have made it so enticing. And that in doing so--might we be causing harm for the butterflies? That is a quandry. Most of us feel we are assisting Mother Nature by providing habitat and raising and releasing new lep. I have to say it is kind of a "power" thing when you consider we are manipulating butterfly populations.

I love finding and raising eggs/caterpillars. I love releasing healthy lepidoptera. I struggle when the results aren't positive, and I have to rethink my role in the process. I also love having a yard full of butterflies and documenting all the species that make an appearance (82 to date). I don't think I'll give this up. It really beats dealing with chronic depression.

As to deliberately releasing alien butterflies in your backyard, don't. Think about alligators in New York. Pythons in the U.S. (Now those are some examples of Ecological sink I can really get my mind around!) We'd all like some beautiful Birdwings or Malachites to grace our spaces.

So my suggestion is: Plant a wonderful butterfly garden full of every host/nectar plant that you can find for butterflies that have been documented in your area; don't release exotic butterflies/moths; and realize that whatever you release will only live a short time. This year's butterflies won't return next year--it will be a whole new population. And be sure you have good camera handy. You may get some unexpected visitors; I know I do from time to time. County record sightings in your own BY are exciting!

If you're hankering for some exotic butterflies, visit PBase (it's free) on the computer, or go to a Butterfly Garden--they are all over the US.

Sandy

The Mourning Cloak is the only butterfly, I believe, that lives for an extended period of time, up to 10 months, that is probably found in your area - I belive it was the Chicago area? So, any that eclose at this time, you coult potentially find next spring thru early summer. That is, if you can identify the ones that were in your garden in the fall. Generally speaking, most butterflies only survive about 10-20 days - not very long.

Monarchs that are eclosing in your area now may make the journey south, migrating to overwinter in the Mexican fir trees, and if they survive the winter, will populate northern Mexico thru southern Texas where they will breed and produce the spring population that will continue the migration northward, breeding and flyihg further north, so that you may witness the 3rd generation or so by the time you see Monarchs in your area.

IMO it's not a good idea to try to manipulate the butterfly population to suit your needs, but rather, as Sandy says, to provide the larval host plants for those butterflies that are "known" to be present in your area instead. All sorts of issues could complicate the process of introducing species not found locally, including, but not limited to disease.

I wonder what they consider the butterfly houses that are home to exotic butterfly species, when you know they must escape the environment. We have some kind of longwing butterfly that escapes the butterfly pavillion here in the city every year, but I have no idea what happens to them. I doubt they survive here, and I don't think they return to the area in successive years either.

I don't believe that most butterflies I raise stay in the garden very long, with the exception of the Gulf Fritillary which does appear to stay in the garden unlike the others. They eventually do fly elsewhere when the weather begins to change here, presumably south to warmer regions, probably breeding as they go, so that the original butterflies eclosed in my garden, don't make it all the way to south Texas and further south from there.

Perplexing questions.

Susan

I missed the non-native part of the question. I agree with the above posts. There are lot's of reasons not to release non-natives, even if they are native to other parts of the country. Many animals have non-lethal amounts of disease and can spread that to other animals that have not developed an immunity to that disease. Non-natives may outcompete other natives. Chances are this would not happen but why chance it? I commonly think evil thoughts about Eugene Schieffelin, who wanted to bring over all the birds Shakespeare's plays and now we have starlings.

I think in the winter I will post about ecological sinks so we can discuss it when we are not caring for our babies.

Cheers,
Elisabeth

I'd say it depends on the butterfly. Most like to roam but there are some that don't. I get only roamers, AFAIK. Seems like the non-roamers are the ones that end up on the endangered lists.

KC

I probably should have been more clear with the whole "non native" thing. I didn't really mean non native. What I meant was, let's say that a species is found in one county of a state, but you want to introduce it to another county in that same state. Does that count as introducing a new species. Because technically it's already found in the state, just not in that specific county.

Another good question. You would have to figure out why it is not in the county in question. Was it there historically? As we have been discussing, some butterflies roam over large areas and some are very localized. Typically the localized ones depend on a particular ecosystem such as a wetland. Planting a few plants in our yards may not provide for those butterflies. They may need larger amounts that we typically want to grow in our yard. It just depends. In addition, if you set up a small colony in your yard, without the addition of new genes you can end up with an inbred population. If your goal is to have lots of butterflies in the yard and you have limited space, it is best to try to enhance what is already there.

Is there a particular species you are interested in?

-Elisabeth

In addition, to collect eggs from other sites that are public lands probably requires a permit from the state.

Elisabeth, How can we find out which butterflies roam great or medium distances and which are localized?

I know of a few butterflies that seasonally migrate into Ohio for instance, but I don't know of a data sheet or article that really lays out all the details on range of flying.

Interesting about the 'native' 'non-native' concept. Of course, the butterflies can't recognize state lines, so I am always interested to know about butterflies found south of us (KY to talk 'state lines') that might like our specific neighborhood habitat just across the Ohio River.

We are in a little 3 mile round micro-climate here that would appear to be attractive to some vagrants and migrators from the south, and I wonder if they would set up house-keeping if they found our butterfly garden (and the 'butterfly meadow' in our adjacent parkland). I think butterflies may naturally 'expand' their ranges if they found it beneficial.

Don't know how that relates to 'alien' species that wreak havoc (like some say the cabbage white did/does).

Just some thoughts. f.

p.s. E., now pls. don't forget to post about the Ecological Sink theory. I am very curious about what some researchers are saying about it.

Good questions. There are research papers about migration and dispersal. I am not aware of any one resource that lists whether something is specifically a migrant, vagrant, etc. For a nice discussion see the Wiki page listed below. I think the best bet is local survey records. This would give seasonal and yearly changes. Based off those records, a particular species would be defined as a migrant, vagrant, stray, etc. I know you guys are in "tropical Ohio" down there (as a friend likes to put it). So, what you get down there is a little different than the rest of Ohio. However, I do know that butterfly surveys have gone on for a long time in Hamilton County. Those records would be the place to start.
Cheers,
Elisabeth

Here is a link that might be useful: Lepidoptera migration

I didn't weed through all the posts yet, so this is off the cuff and if I repeat something already said I apologize.

"...let's say that a species is found in one county of a state, but you want to introduce it to another county in that same state. Does that count as introducing a new species. Because technically it's already found in the state, just not in that specific county."

So did Mother Nature specifically give you permission? ;)

First, "found in one county of a state" usually flags that location as a place where only a stray or strays have been recorded, or a far boundary of a species found in connecting counties in neighbor states. So the species may not even be resident in that county, and if it is at its natural boundary. In the numbers the folks here raise leps they would have very little to no chance of establishing a new colony. But that still doesn't make it OK to release them. They are not there for a reason that was determined by nature or caused by mankind.

What you propose to do would also mostly likely be an illegal introduction depending on your states DOA regulations, and if not illegal very reckless at best. The list is long of illegal species introductions worldwide and the mass destruction they've caused.

The bottom line is never release any species that does not have a natural "known" viable colony in close proximity to you. IOW, the colony is well established and does replenish itself ever year naturally. Please leave the restocking of historical or other presumed colonies to those who have the unquestionable facts and far more experience than a hobbyist. Even professional Lepidopterists usually need permits to attempt them.
FWIW, over the years I've been involved in many such projects, both domestic and foreign. Many required prior approval and permits and most involved thousands of seeds planted over many years by an army of Lepidopterists. Some worked, some didn't.

I've reared tens of thousands of leps since 1964, and not a single one of them was ever released where they should not have been. My rearing capabilities were so well known in lep circles that I was even approached by other would be lepidopterists that wanted to buy livestock from me in great numbers to try to establish new colonies on their own in so called "historical" locations. The answer was always no.

Larry

Well said, Larry.

Simply put, I don't raise anything that doesn't come to my yard. I plant host plants for them based on species known to be in my area. While most times, I have eventually attracted them here, there are some that have yet to make an appearance. It has taken me years to establish my garden so that now I have a nice population that frequents the garden each year. But, it doesn't happen overnight. Be patient. If they are reportedly found in your area, they will inevitably find your garden. We can't or shouldn't bend nature to our will by forcing, or manipulating, the issue.

Susan

If I'm raising a couple caterpillars that are native to my state, I don't consider that "forcing or manipulating the issue". I will check to see which species are native to my state and I won't raise species that aren't native to my area.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lepidoptera_migration

Elis., thanks for linking the Wiki article about lepidoptera migration (above). Very informative and I'm going to try to get more sources thru our library to read more.

One article I read talked about the Global Warming and how that affects butterfly territories/ranges. I wonder if posters here on Garden web are observing changes in their local lepidoptera due to Global Warming too.

Well, I think I'm getting off topic a bit and should probably start new threads, but thanks, perennialfan, for piquing my interest and others comments.

Perennialfan,

If you want an answer, we will give you our opinions. However, if you don't want an answer, or are determined to go ahead with whatever you are planning, we'd prefer not to know. As they say, "Just don't ask. . ."

Perennialfan,

"Native to your state" is meaningless for release on your property unless you have a bona fide natural established colony of that species/subspecies in very close proximity to your property. All states have a long list of species/subspecies that are resident or strays "someplace" in the state, but at best a small percentage of those species are resident "everyplace" in a state.

Since your original question was about trying to establish a new colony of a "non native species" on your own property, you're getting the kind of responses a question like this one warrants. The replies have been polite and informative, so should be received as such.

That said, I reared thousands of non native species for specific organized projects I worked on over the years, but I also took the responsibility to make certain none of them had even the slightest possibility of escape on my property. Instead they were either hand carried to, or shipped (to co-project Lepidopterists) for release in existing natural colonies of that species/subspecies.

There's a big difference between rearing non natives for organized scientific gain or to strengthen a colony than a hobbyist doing so only so they can add another pretty feather to their yard.

Perennialfan - Can you be more specific? What state, what butterfly? Has it been reported in bordering counties or on the other side of your state far away?
It sounds like you're trying to help not hurt. That's what we're ALL doing by planting flowers and host plants.
Check out the website below. There's a tab that says "Get Involved". Maybe you can research whether there are butterflies in your area that are in the process of being reintroduced.

Here is a link that might be useful: ButterflyRecovery.org

Where a species of butterfly chooses to stay is really an interesting point. If you walk down my street on a summer morning and look from the front yard of my house to the back yard, you will probably see at least 5 species and multiplies of these species at any given time. Look to the yard to the left or right or behind you and you might see a stray butterfly, usually headed towards my yard.

Another point - a neighbor about 3 houses away also has a butterfly garden of sorts. He has a huge Pipevine growing against his house. My Pipevine grows on a wooden fence the depth of my yard. It was recently totally eaten down in a matter of a week. I took at least 60 cats to his house to put on his vine that had a couple cats on it. I gave another friend about the same amount of cats for her vine and I still had cats crawling on the ground making their chrysalis because even the stems of the vine were eaten. Now, why do the Polys stay in my yard and continue to try to find vine to lay on when just that short distance there is ample food? He doesn't spray pesticides, basically has the same predators I would like Cardinals, wasps, and anoles. I am now having to remove eggs and tiny cats that hatch just to let my vine regrow. There were at least 20 Polys out there this morning chasing each other and trying to find vine to lay on.

My point is you can't make them come or make them stay or make them go away (well unless you get rid of their hosts!).

We are also seeing a change in the migration path for our state butterfly Zebra Longwing. I have yet to see one come in my yard this year despite having several types of Passionvine that they use. In past years I was releasing up to 2 dozen a day for several weeks in the summer. The past winter was so bad that some believe the butterflies suffered since they do have a long lifetime since they also collect pollen as well as nectar. They are still seeing them in south Florida and along the coast but not in the interior as in the past.

When I was raising and releasing them, I never saw many stay in my yard. Most would leave and only 2 to 3 pairs would stay. My theory was that the others would continue north since they are common (or were) common throughout the state. I would love to have some to raise and get them re-established in the area but I bet they wouldn't stay but move on. I actually did get a few eggs from a friend in South Florida and released 5 but all left immediately. Again, you can't make them stay. Its in their genetic makeup to do what nature wants them to do.

This is kind of a funny story regarding one of the Leps I was trying to attract to my yard by planting "known" host plants. The butterfly was the Buckeye or Junonia coenia, and the known LFPs were Plantago lanceolata, P. major, and a Ruellia species, I forget which one.

I had been growing and nurturing them for a couple of years with no takers in sight yet. That spring, I noticed a pretty flower at the nursery called Diascia, a low-growing groundcover type plant, so I purchased it to plant alongside the sidewalk. It bloomed very nicely that year, and came back the following year, doing well until the early fall season, when I noticed it disappearing in small batches. A further search revealed Buckeye caterpillars were eating it. Diascia is in the same family as Snapdragons, or Scrophulariaceae, another known LFP, and one that I had also cultivated in the garden in the past and never found any larvae on. Was I surprised, and almost a bit embarrassed to find them on a plant that I did not intentionally plant for them? Yep!

The point is that often the butterflies will show up when you least expect it, and sometimes on plants that are not actually listed as a "known" host. Now, while Diascia is in the same family, it is not specifically listed as a known LFP.

Begin by planting LFPs for butterflies known to be present in your area and familiarize yourself with their specific flight times. I say that because some butterflies only appear during certain times of the year, like the Falcate Orangetip, or Anthocharis midea, for example, which I only rarely see in spring. Another one for me is the Mourning Cloak or Nymphalis antiopa. I only see it in the spring, and then again, in the fall. It aestivates during the summer months. So, if you become familiar with the butterflies you see and could expect to see in your area and plant LFPs accordingly, you are likely to eventually see them in your garden. A good source for finding out what butterflies fly in your area is to locate your state on the attached link I've provided. You can even narrow the search by county as well. Click on MAP SEARCH on the left hand screen, and then click on your state. And, good luck!

Susan

Here is a link that might be useful: Butterflies for Your Area

:)

I have enjoyed reading this thread...and can say that I ditto Susanlynne's comment with regards to the having neighbors with LFPs yet having few leps there while they swarm my place.

My next-door neighbors, who are fortunate (or unfortunate) to have my Passiflora creep over into their backyard decided to observe the life-cycle of the Gulf Fritillary this year (Agraulis vanillae) since they kept finding "these black caterpillars crawling on the table while we drink our beer each night." They asked me how long before "those cocoons are gonna be butterflies and why do they move around from side-to-side" so I gave them a mini lesson, explaining the difference between cocoon and chrysalis and what a pupa is, etc., which, much to my surprise, they were SO excited about (odd, to be sure, if you knew these particular party-animals!). They have been waiting, with bated 'breath,' for the butterflies to eclose now.

So, on that note, if you do have the species that are found in your area, then just plant the plants for them. Why mess with things? We've had problems with other insects being introduced into our area and having our citrus plants damaged by them and although we're discussing butterflies here, I think that in a way, it is a similar concept. The problem that arises is that there's more that comes with introducing a 'foreign' (aka, non-native) species than just the idea that the species is foreign to the area. The habitat may not be conducive to its overall survival, which may be why it isn't native to begin with and there may be other things that may be detrimental in the long run.