Gardens for wildlife

Butterfly attracting There are 24 butterfly species native to Melbourne see how many you can find in your garden. Butterflies feed on nectar.

Attracted by scent and colour, they prefer yellow, orange, blue, violet, purple or white flowers. The of daisies make great landing pads to access nectar. Nectar plants for butterflies Invite butterflies to your garden Silver (Banksia marginata) • A tangled dense bank of flowering plants Hairpin Banksia (Banksia spinulosa) and shrubs in a sheltered sunny corner, for Swamp Daisy (Brachyscome cardiocarpa) sunning during the day and hiding at night. Cut-leaf Daisy (Brachyscome multifida var. • A moist shady patch beneath local native multifidi) shrubs and trees. Blue Pin-cushion (Brunonia australis) • Native grasses and sedges so caterpillars can hide undisturbed – remember Sweet Bursaria (Bursaria spinosa subsp. caterpillars are part of the diet of birds, spinosa) predatory , lizards and frogs. Yellow Buttons (Chrysocephalum apiculatum) Victorian Skipper and Brown Butterflies feed Common Billy Buttons (Craspedia variabilis) on nectar of native grasses. A favourite Common Heath (Epacris impressa) grass of butterflies is the Gahnia spp. Yellow Box (Eucalyptus melliodora) • Some open ground with leaf litter and a few rocks for butterflies to sun themselves. Furze Hakea (Hakea sericea) • Variations in ground levels and in the Bushy Needlewood (Hakea ulicina) height of shrubs and trees. Satin Everlasting (Helichrysum leucopsideum) • Variation in flower timing to provide Button Everlasting (Helichrysum scorpioides) continuous food in active butterfly season Burgan (Kunzea ericoides) the warm days of spring, summer, autumn. Prickly tea-tree (Leptospermum continentale) Woolly Tea tree (Leptospermum lanigerum) Silky Tea tree (Leptospermum myrsinoides) Swamp Paperbark (Melaleuca ericifolia) Scented Paperbark (Melaleuca squarrosa) Long Purple Flag (Patersonia occidentalis) Bootlace Bush (Pimelea axiflora subsp. axiflora) Curved Rice-flower (Pimelea curvifolia var. sericea) Small Rice Flower () Tall Rice-flower () Creamy Candles (Stackhousia monogyna) Small Grass-tree (Xanthorrhoea minor subsp. Swordgrass brown butterfly by Russell Best lutea)

Butterflies have taste buds on their feet More information so if they land on surfaces affected Southern Dandenong Community Nursery’s by insecticides or toxic substances brochure has more grass species suitable for this causes instant death butterflies to lay their eggs on. http://sdcn.org.au/wp- content/uploads/2017/09/BUTTERFLIES.pdf Thank you to Knox City Council for their assistance in compiling this factsheet.