How to make a butterfly park
Thoughts on butter fly spotting at Rustomjee Urbania and Thane city
Volume 1 Issue 32
2 November 2019
This morning I was out for a walk at Urban Farming Zone, our community's green oasis and home to plants, birds and insects. There were butterflies fluttering and dragon flies zooming around amidst bird calls and chirping. A lady was showing the butterflies to her daughter and both mother and child were absorbed in the moment enjoying nature. I make a round around our campus during daily walks and thus had been to the Festival Plaza too this morning where I spotted more butterflies. I spotted butterflies at the skating rink of the Festival Plaza and also in the bamboos planted along the road from Saket to Rustomjee Urbania. There were butterflies at the Club House level of Azziano Phase II too this morning on the plants used in landscaping all around.
The title is actually a pun on the phrase - butterfly park. I am using it to convey that this article is about how to attract butterflies and make them park or rest. Actually very little needs to be done to lure butterflies. They are all around us, both on natural vegetation as also landscaped areas. At Rustomjee Urbania just by stepping out you can spot them flying around. Those of you curious to know which butterflies I spotted this morning - note there were 2 types - mottled emigrant and common grass yellow (most common butterfly in India). You can learn more about Indian butterflies here:
https://tinyurl.com/y58ord9v.
Some butterflies even enter the building like the Evening Brown I spotted sitting at lobby of Azziano G wing. As it was resting on the wall I could get very close and take many pictures of it one of which you can see below. I found more Evening Browns at the P4 level on way to the parking area. Taking pictures of butterflies is tricky but possible. You have to go very close to them and click without distrubing them. Do try that next time you are out in the garden and spot butterflies.
Common Brown clicked at lobby of Azziano G Wing at Rustomjee Urbania
Butterflies in your balcony: One of our Gardening Club members reported that a caterpillar was eating up leaves of her lemon plant. We told her that it is the young one of a Lime Butterfly which is also called Lemon Butterfly or Citrus Butterfly or Swallowtail. The adult butterfly lays eggs on plants of lime family and thus found a lime plant in a balcony good place to do so. The young caterpillar called larva hatches from the egg and feeds on the leaves. The larva then turns to a pupa or resting stage for which it makes a protective casing or.shield for itself and remains on the plant but motionless. Our gardener who had the pupa on her lime plant did not notice the adult that emerged from the pupa but it would have, leaving behind an empty pupal case. Read more about it here: https://tinyurl.com/y2waxy62. So growing flowering plants of any kind is another way to attract butterflies to your balcony garden and even have them multiply there like on the lime plant described above.
For those still wanting to go to a butterfly park, there is one such at Ovalewadi. On the foothills of Yeoor a farm has grown flowering plants favoured by butterflies and allows visitors to go on and observe butterflies. It is open only on Sundays and they serve simple food for visitors. There is an entry fee and the food has to be paid for too. Here is link to their details: https://tinyurl.com/y3e9xjvl.
This is a farm where butterflies occur naturally. Thane also has one more Butterfly Park called SGNP Butterfly Park close to Tikujiniwadi. Here is its location: https://g.co/kgs/mzG6rR.
In the enclosed Butterfly Parks (seen abroad and now in India too) these insects are first caged inside the structure and multiplied. It is a forced method of having butterflies and seems avoidable. Like we have read here butterflies are natural insects of our environment at Thane and just letting plants grow naturally or by planting attracts butterflies.
Happy Butterfly spotting over the weekend.