As a child, Zärá Cardell was mad about bugs. Now that the Warwick Academy student is almost 18 he wants to be a mechanical engineer.

He hasn’t completely put away “childish things”, however. He still remembers a thing or two about entomology and is putting that knowledge to good use, volunteering in the newly opened butterfly house at Brighton Nurseries on Brighton Hill in Devonshire.

The butterfly house was the brainchild of environmentalist Robin Marirea who enjoys growing native and endemic plants. He and staff from the plant nursery transformed an old green house into a butterfly paradise. They replaced the old roof with mesh, and stuffed the building with butterfly friendly plants. The butterflies, monarchs, buckeyes, gulf fritillary butterflies, cloudless sulphurs and cabbage butterflies, among others, were locally sourced.

“Brighton Nurseries called up my school and said they needed a volunteer,” said Mr Cardell. “We have to fulfil community service hours. My teachers asked me if I wanted to help, and I said, sure.”

Mr Cardell created posters explaining the life cycle of a butterfly. He also helps to maintain the plants in the greenhouse.

“He has been a big help,” said Amanda Roberts of Brighton Nurseries. “He already knows about landscaping. A lot of times he tells me things I didn’t know about the butterflies.”

The butterfly house has been up and running for about a week and has already had visits from various schools, camp and tour groups.

“There have been a lot of people asking, what butterflies go for what plants,” said Mr Cardell.

The answer is that different butterfly species have their own tastes. Monarchs like to munch on milk weed, buckeyes like plantain weed, otherwise known as cats cradle, and sulphur butterflies likes cassia trees. The gulf fritillary feeds on passion flower, but not the red passion flower, for some reason, and the cabbage white feeds on plants in the mustard family like cabbage and broccoli and mustards. Other butterfly friendly plants include: nasturtium, goldenrod, daisies, salvia and Jamaican vervain. Butterflies also like certain plant structures such as large clusters of flowers to provide a nice landing pad.

“The plants in the butterfly house are a mishmash,” said Mr Marirea. “Butterflies are nectar feeders so they like anything flowering, bright and colourful. Monarchs quite like pentas, for example. We supplement with rotten fruit, because they like the sugars.”

Mr Marirea advised keeping a water barrier around feedings stations to keep away ants. The ants don’t bother the butterflies, but might irritate any humans admiring the butterflies.

If you are going to plant a butterfly garden at home you will need to keep replenishing your plant stock. If you have a lot of caterpillars they will devour the plants.

“The monarch caterpillars are like lawnmowers and just strip the plants to the stump,” said Mr Marirea. “We have to keep adding more and more plants. Now that butterflies have a food supply in the butterfly garden, they seem pretty happy. All they do is mate. They seem to have a pretty good lifespan.”

The day The Royal Gazette visited was a windy one. It was obvious that different butterfly species had different natures. The cabbage butterflies wheeled in the wind. The monarchs clustered together, holding on to a wall, and sulphurs clung to pentas leaves, blending with the leaves so perfectly it was difficult to spot them.

Pesticides are a big no as you are trying to encourage nature, not destroy it. If you leave your garden pesticide free, within three years the natural balance reasserts itself, and beneficial insects start to control the bad ones. Also, don’t keep a butterfly garden right next to a vegetable garden if you value the vegetables. The cabbage butterflies, in particular, will consider the vegetables just another entrée on the menu.

The butterflies not only have different food preferences, they have different schedules. Buckeyes are only just starting to emerge in April, but monarchs stay on the Island all year around and prefer the warmer months to lay eggs. Migratory species of butterflies, such as the painted lady and the red admiral, often flitter across Bermuda in the autumn.

The butterfly house at Brighton Nurseries is open to the public on Saturdays and Wednesdays or by appointment. Call Brighton Nurseries at 236-5862.