Description

Installing a butterflies sanctuary highlights the environmental heritage, educate tourists to the increasing scarcity and beauty of butterflies and thus contribute to the ecosystem.

Butterflies are pollinators, as well as bees, and therefore a major component of biodiversity.

How to make a butterflies sanctuary

The butterflies sanctuary is a wilderness area where you can find a diversity of plants where every butterfly at all stages of life can develop.

It is preferable to promote the natural vegetation than horticultural plants, which do not provide enough nectar.

• Create and maintain an area to provide favorable conditions for butterflies in their entire life cycle (egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, adult butterfly).
• Keep or sow in the garden “host” plants for caterpillars to feed. It is generally typical local plants (cabbage, violet, grasses, clovers, wild geranium, thistle, nettle, plantain, fennel, broom, heather, hazel, blackthorn …).
• Keep or sow in the garden “attractive” plants for the butterflies to feed. These are plants rich in nectar (valerian, daisies, clovers, poppy, petunia, alfalfa, …).
• Outlaw chemical treatments and prefer manual methods or organic and natural products (nettle manure …).
• Keep in the garden a winter sanctuary for some species of butterflies. Ivy growing on the walls or trees is a perfect example.
• If possible, leave a part of the sancturay in natural vegetation and mow only when fall comes.

Seen at

Name		Type of facility	Environment	Country	Swap?
	L'Auberge des VoyaJoueurs	Hotels & guest houses	rural	France	No