Attract butterflies to the garden with the right plants

Butterflies are a beautiful addition to any garden — but they’re also good for the planet. Butterflies and other pollinators — bees, birds, wasps, moths and bats — play a vital role in our ecosystem by moving pollen from the male part of the flower (the stamen) to the female part (the stigma). Butterflies pick up the pollen on their bodies as they sip the nectar from one flower and carry it to the next bloom.

Some 75 percent of the flowering plants on earth are pollinated by insects or animals. That equals more than 1,200 food crops and 180,000 different types of plants.