WOW youve got alot of butterflies, thats really nice. i need to try putting out fruits as well.

WOWZA!!! I would faint if I looked outside and saw this! Hard to ID your fruit. Is it peaches? Do you notice that one fruit works better than others? Thanks so much for sharing this!

I would be so excited to see this many butterflies in my backyard! I put out some banana and all I got were flies. I will try again though.

They love nectarines and pears. Plums are a good draw, too. Do you have yours in sun or part shade?

OMG, that is so amazing! I just saw my first Red Spotted Purple 2 days ago while walking my dog. I will be putting out a rotting fruit buffet tomorrow! Thanks for posting!!!!

That is amazing!! Got to get some peaches out.
kay

They do love that fruit!
Where did you find their chrysalises Jeanne?
I guess I'm no good at finding those things!

Looks like peaches and bananas. I've got to go to the farmers market. Some times they have a trash basket with discarded fruit and have actually let me take it. I think it is peach season now.

It's been a great year for Nymphalids: Ladies, Admirals, Angle-Wings have all been out in force.

Jeff

It's hard to say what's in there but it's mostly bananas and peaches. I think there might be some cantaloupe as well. I've just been adding to it as I go. And it is getting kind of aromatic, smells a little like beer actually. So find a place where the smell won't bother you! I started out by freezing bananas to quicken the rotting process. When you thaw them they are mushy but it still takes a few days of warm temps to get them really ripe. And that's what they like! It is in part sun, it gets filtered sun during the and then full sun in late afternoon. I sprinkle it with water if it starts to dry out, usually in the evening.

It will attract some flies and some yellow jackets too but they don't seem to bother the butterflies. It will also attract some critters at first but no one seems interested in it now that it is really fermenting .... which is good since a drunk opposum is not something I want to deal with!

Catherine, I have never found a chrysalid in the wild. I collected the cats off of a crabapple tree and raised them in containers. They should be eclosing soon I think.

That is pretty neat. I have a feeling that if I put some fruit out that it would turn into a yellow jacket fiesta, but I may have to try it anyway. We've had so many different kinds of butterflies this year.

Wow Jeanne! I have had a few RSPs in my yard but nothing like that! I will have to set out some fruit. Gorgeous!
-Elisabeth

Jeanner, your fruit lure really worked, didn't it? Congrats on those RSPs. I think they're gorgeous! One species I see very little of here in the city, darn it!

The butterflies are attracted to most any kind of fruit. I've used peaches, bananas, oranges, watermelon, canteloupe, you name it. I put fruit inside plastic bags and leave in the sun; they'll rot really fast due to the ethylene gases very quickly. As long as it is rotting and fermenting, they will come. I've left those paper bags on the porch and the butterflies will crawl inside of them to get at the fruit.

One year I had a Gemmed Satyr at the fruit, and I'm sure other of the woodland butterflies would use it, too. I get Mourning Cloaks in the fall and spring, but usually don't see them the rest of the year.

You done good, girl!

Susan

Jeanne.....your picture motivated me to finally cut up that watermelon that's been sitting here awhile. A big slice is out on the deck railing now!

I had 2 eclose this afternoon so now there are two more to feed!

Wow! You inspired me too! I just put out a dish with plums that were past their peak and a banana that I had in the freezer. We're supposed to get some hot days, that should hasten the funk.

lol jinny........."hasten the funk". I like that.

Spectacular!!

Jinny - way to get your funk on!! Come to think of it, I have some canteloupe I can put out and they like that, too. My bananas are still waiting to funk out.

Susan

If you put your bananas in the freezer they will "funk-ify" really fast. I have a ton in my freezer for banana bread, to feed the roses and now to feed the butterflies. A really beat up White Admiral visited the other day. I'm hoping it comes back and has a snack.

I put out 2 slices of watermelon the other day, and today we had about 15 red-spotted purples and angle wings on them!
We had so many butterflies flying around in the yard today, we had to dodge them! It was great!

I went out last night to water the "funk" and found several of these sweetheart underwings nectaring on it!

{{gwi:531990}}

I put a young potted Black Cherry near my fruit and now I have a few Red Spotted Purple eggs!

I'm so thrilled for everyone - butterflies and eggs! Way to go Runmede!

Right now I'm only getting Hackberries and Question Marks. But there are SOOOOO many of them and they all want to land on me when I'm walking by them. I had about 25 on the bananas yesterday. I bet my Hackberry trees are loaded with eggs and cats right now.

I love it, love it, love it! Fruit really does draw them in. Congrats to all of you!

Susan

I hadn't thought to add water after awhile. Duh!

I've had a Red Admiral coming since yesterday (36 hours after putting the dish out). I'm so excited, this is a great idea!

Great pictures! Looks like your butterflies are having loads of fun this summer at their cocktail parties!

We are having a banner year for red spotted purples here in southwest Ohio too. We made 3 dishes of different 'fruit funk' and put them out to observe which would be most popular. The overripe honeydew melon seemed to attract the most, although the bananas were quite busy too.

I also had a few cans of stale beer and poured it out on the mulch along the garden edge and I think that helped draw some of other butterflies in to take a look.

Oh, and I also poured out the remnants of an old bottle of banana flavoured rum on a rock to see what that would bring in but didn't seem much action there.

We have had record numbers of commas, question marks, tawny emperors, hackberries not to mention lots of the usual flower nectarers for our area this season.

I wonder what's going on with the environment that the populations seem so plentiful.

Not that I'm complaining!

Okay.....the watermelon is pitiful, but that doesn't seem to stop them.........
{{gwi:531992}}

Beautiful! Looks like it is smelling pretty ripe. I think you've got a hit!

That's the way, uh huh uh huh, they like it, uh huh uh huh!

Wow Catherine, that is amazing. I have tried putting out watermelon too, and I never seem to get any buterflies. I have grapes, peaches, and bananas out right now. I am watching and waiting.
Susan, thanks for the trip down memory lane with KC and his Sunshine boys! :o)

bandjzmom........maybe yours isn't "funky" enough yet! :)
I didn't have any takers for several days after I put it out. The ripening aroma is what seems to attract them. So just give it time!

Fantastic, fantastic!!
Sherry

You're welcome, Bandzmom! Definitely needs to be some funk going with the fruit.

I found out which day would be the last day before the "banana man" came to the grocery store, and they either replaced the very ripe bananas, or sacked them up for discount for those who make banana bread or other goodies, and buy them then, for like 10 cents a pound. I also buy bananas at the same time that aren't quite ripe enuff for my taste or the butterflies, and while they are feeding on the overly ripe ones, the others are in the process. That way, they don't have to do without.

Susan

P.S. All 3 Monarchs released today were female, and I already had 2 in the yard laying eggs......oh, my!

Susan......sounds like you're raising bananas too. :)

No ripe Bananas today so I had some fruit cups of Dole Cherry Mixed Fruit. I dumped those out and the Red Spotted Purples were so high on sugar that I could pick them up. The Hackberry came in, Mourning Cloaks, and Question Marks. I went out and purchased some more fruit cups to dump into the containers tomorrow. But, the bees love it, too.

Jeanner, I want to thank you for starting this thread and posting the amazing pictures of the butterflies on the fruit. You inspired me to start a fruit plate of my own, My family and I have been enjoying the butterflies that are coming to it in increasing numbers. The first to show up when I put it out a month ago was a Tawny & a Hackberry Emperor. I had never seen these in my yard before. Then a Question Mark and later a Red Admiral. More & more have been coming every day. Yesterday, I had 7 Question Marks & a Red Admiral at one time on the feeder. That's a record for us!

Having the butterflies come to the fruit has allowed us to closely observe these types of bflies which before, I had only been able to see briefly as they flitted through the yard. The Question Marks are absolutely beautiful to see up close! Before the fruit, I would only see these a couple times a year perched up under our patio cover. One day this week, my daughter just walked up to the feeder, extended her hand and a Question Mark just walked right onto her finger! I guess they are so drunk, they don't know what they are doing. Daughter said, "Mom, you've got the hottest bar in town!" lol!

Thanks again,

Dana

I'm reading a great book called, "Mariposa Road, The Big Year" by Michael Pyle. One of his tricks is to put down a rotten banana in areas where he is searching for butterflies. He comes back later to see what it has attracted.

I got a copy of his book for my birthday from amazon. It's an incredible read. At times, you feel like you are right there with Pyle as he hunts for butterflies. This book covers most of the United States including Alaska and Hawaii. It covers habitat, identification marks, and host and nectar preferences, too.

I would like the second that thanks Jeanner! My story is almost identical to Dana's. Here in my zone 7a yard, I had only ever had a few fleeting glances of a couple of fruit loving butterflies. I had tried putting out fruit before and had had no luck at all with it. Because of this thread and this forum, I was FINALLY able to get it right this year. I had not realized how "funky" it needed to be or most importantly, how moist it needed to be. I have needed to add moisture almost every day, but the result has been MORE than worth it!!! I have regularly had Question Marks, Commas, Red Spotted Purples, Hackberry Emperors, Tawny Emperors, Red Admirals, Viceroys, and even one American Snout feeding on the fruit. Some of these were butterflies which I had NEVER ever seen before. Even this late in the season, I am still seeing QM's, RA's, and an occ. RSP coming to feed. It has been so thrilling to finally be able to observe all of these beauties. I notice that the HE's and the QM's are most likely to land on me on a hot sunny day. I suppose they like sweat too! So, thanks guys for all of the assist. I really appreciate it!~~Angie

runmede....the book sounds wonderful!

I found this in the FAQ section--Larry Gene put it together. More good info on fruit feeding.

Here is a link that might be useful: Can I attract butterflies without gardening?

Oh my! I'm gonna have to get that book now! His Chasing Monarchs sounds good, too. Thanks for the info, Runmede! Have you read John Himmelman's book, Discovering Moths: Nighttime Jewels in Your Own Backyard? That's what really got me started into moths.

Susan

I have the book, but haven't read it. I end up buying books as reference copies.

I've read Chasing Monarchs, Four Wings and a Prayer, Butterflying is good (teaches you how to approach butterflies for watching).

I recently read, "The Butterfly Farmer", by Newman. Very old book late 1800s. I got a copy for only $14 from Amazon used books. I was amazed at the price.