Make a Butterfly Feeder

Butte rflies are very like chil dren . The y are both mo re th an happ y just eatin g su gar! H owever, unlike children, butterflies can do this without running around like maniacs afterwards and feeling slightly ill.

So, why not use some sugar to set up a butterfly feeder in your garden and watch to see which butterflies visit? You will need: Water, sugar, pan, jar with lid, acrylic pens/ paints, string or twine, hammer and nail, and a sponge or cotton wool.

First, ask a grown-up to make you some sugar water. This is done by dissolving one tablespoon of sugar in nine tablespoons of water by heating it in a pan.

While that cools down, you can construct the feeder. Take a small jar and decorate it with brightly coloured flowers. You could tape on paper shapes, but it will last longer if you painted them on with acrylic paint or acrylic paint pens.

Next, take your string or twine and cut four lengths at least three times longer than the jar itself. Take each piece and, making sure you have an equal length either side, tie it around the neck of the jar, finishing in a knot. Do the same with the next piece, this time making sure the knot is on the opposite side. The final two pieces should end with the knots halfway between the other two so that all four knots are equally spaced.

Now turn the jar upside down before taking a piece of string from each of the two adjacent knots and tying them together about 3cm up the string. Do this with all the other pieces until you can see a net pattern forming. Repeat this with the second layer of knots and continue until you reach the top of the jar. You will need to add a hole to the jar lid. You can do this by hammering thorough a nail (which is best done by a grown-up). Next, take your small piece of sponge or cotton wool and thread it through the hole so some is poking out both sides. It should be a snug fit so that the water soaks the sponge but doesn’t drip off (you can experiment until you get it right).

Finally, fill the jar with the sugar water, put on the lid and use the string, bunched together, to hang it somewhere in the garden where the butterflies can see it – a sunny spot is best. Source: 101 Things for Kids to Do outside by Dawn Isaac.