#BUTTERFLY FEEDER FREE#

Now you should be able to flip the jar over and the top becomes the bottom and the bottom the top. You want to end up with strings attached on 4 equal sides around the jar- so 12 o’clock, 6 o’clock, 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock. Repeat the process on the other side of the jar. Take the other end and pull it across the jar to the opposite side and again tie a knot. One end of your cut string should be tied tightly to the twine you already tied on your jar. If you want a short cord to hang from a lawn stake or to hang right below a branch, you might try 30 inches. I wanted a fairly long cord to hang from a tree branch so I cut mine at 48 inches. Next cut two pieces of twine- the size will depend on how long you want this to hang. I used some kitchen twine and tied it around the top of the jar and wrapped it several times tying firmly with a knot at the end. Butterflies drink with their feet so they just need to land near the jar and rest on the underside. To make this feeder you simply use the rope to let the container hang from a branch or a stake in the yard, fill the jar with nectar and add a sponge which will allow the butterfly to drink the nectar without having it spill all over the yard below. I used a mason jar for our feeder but I know not everyone is as comfortable with glass outdoors so a plastic container also works! An empty peanut butter jar would be fantastic for this project. jar or plastic container of your choice.So here is what you need to create a butterfly feeder: I think a flat plate with fruit might create issues so I am hoping this style of feeder will be less appealing to squirrels, cats and ants. So I did have those things in mind when I created our feeder. We have a squirrel issue, a neighbor’s cat issue (that likes to use our yard as a litter box) and we currently do not have an ant issue and I want to keep it that way.

You often see plates hanging in yards as feeders with slices of melon or oranges. One note I should make is that many butterflies like to feed on rotting fruit. So if nothing else it certainly stimulated their little imaginations and they learned quite a bit in the process. I am not sure if this will actually work and help attract butterflies to the yard but it was a simple craft and the kid’s had fun making it and we just used things we already had on hand anyway.

#BUTTERFLY FEEDER FREE#

We are getting ready to let the butterflies free from our butterfly garden and hopefully they stick around and enjoy the little home we created. My hope is to have the butterfly feeder under the window of each child’s bedroom and I am hoping they can peer out the window and occasionally catch a glimpse of a butterfly. Our caterpillars have finally emerged as butterflies and we are ready to set them free tomorrow so this feeder project was our attempt to convince the butterflies to stay and hang out in our yard this Spring.

My children have been having so much fun with this little science lesson and we decided to wrap up the lesson by making butterfly feeders for the yard. The last few weeks we have been raising caterpillars and learning about life cycles and insects and bugs. Here is a simple and fun little project to work on with the kids for Spring.

Butterfly feeder