sprout...I'm ready to sit down in your flower garden & share lunch with the butterflies! LOL! Good idea & the dish is beautiful. DH makes fruit feeders out of old barnwood for the Orioles mainly...but Purple Finch & Catbirds also enjoy the grape jelly & orange halves. TFS your idea! Jeanne S.

mmqchdygg, Butterflies do something that's called "puddling", so you can easily convert a shallow bird bath to a "butterfly puddler". All you need to do is get either very coarse sand or fine gravel and fill the bowl, then add water up to the top of the filler. I read that if you add a pinch or two of salt the males are very attracted to it. (I also read something about beer attracting them too, but don't think I'll try that!) Google "butterfly" and "puddling" and you should find more info. I plan to make a puddler of my own for next summer. Good luck!

The rotting fruit is kind of drippy, but where it falls on the ground, the butterflies also congregate there to partake. Actually as the fruit dries it adheres to the feeder and is easy to remove in a clump. I use a bent hangar to attach the short chain and I slather the chain with vaseline to keep the ants at bay. Lots of little knats and such also gather at the feeder. and it is hung in close proximity to my hummingbird feeder. The hummers love to consume the little knats, too, and chasing them down with a sip of sugar water, so the feeder provides a dual function. Rotting fruit does attract flies so don't hang too close to your house. I don't know that I have ever actually surfed for images of a feeder, but another idea are those shallow dishes sold in garden centers (I had one I got at Walmart for cheap cheap). They are probably prettier if you are more into aesthetics than I am. It was a carved stone dish with 3 evenly spaced chains so it would hang straight. Dollar stores and such usually have lots of things that, using one's imagination, can be used for a variety of functions that are not what they are specifically intended for. Keep an eye out for these and I'm sure you'll find something that will fit your needs. I don't use a syrupy mixture like some do, so the suet feeder works well for just a couple of pieces of decomposing fruit. Otherwise. you would need a better container for a soup blend. I had dozens and dozens of HEs, TEs, QMs, RAs, etc, all over the suet feeders this summer. Sus

Materials Needed: Decorative Saucer (found at local thrift shop etc.) Copper Tubing (1/2" about 2-3 long) Copper End Cap (to fit 1/2" or whatever size your tubing is) Strong Silicone Glue (GE II outdoor use, clear) Piece of rebar or other strong pipe to pound into the ground Assembly Steps: Glue the copper end cap onto the bottom of your saucer and let dry throughly. Pound your piece of rebar or pipe into the ground. Slip your copper tubing over the piece of rebar. Attach the copper tubing into the copper end cap of your saucer. Put assorted fruits on the saucer to attack butterflys. *If giving as a gift: It is a nice touch to include the Butterfly Feeder Poem to best describe your creation. Butterfly Feeder Poem (By:MrsPackRat-GW) Oh butterfly do stop and rest I made this perch for you to test. I've put out some fruit for you to eat in hopes that you and I might meet. I love to watch your graceful glide and see your colors in the sky. So have yourself a little retreat while I admire you as you eat.