If you want butterflies, you need caterpillars. Though I planted sacrifical cabbages in the garden just to attract Large White butterflies, they preferred the nasturtium flowers (see tweet below from late June). These caterpillars hatched just over a week ago (I spotted them when they were tiny), and they are busy eating their way into teenagehood every day since. There’s no shortage of nasturtiums, so as long as they avoid the marauding blue tits, they might have a shot at becoming a butterfly later this year.
Guess who has the munchies in my back garden #LargeWhite #Caterpillar #Galway https://t.co/ejPrI4vrWy pic.twitter.com/zZD3KtRG73
— John Smyth (@John_Smyth) June 28, 2020