Butterflies and dragonflies
Explanation
The butterflies and dragonflies that fly through the park in summer are small flying jewels. Their colours sparkle in the sun when you look at them closely. Adult butterflies and dragonflies are often seen on plants and flowers. Dragonflies are on the lookout on waterside plants. Butterflies search for blooming flowers to suck up nectar or to find a place to lay their eggs.
It is possible to see the first butterflies flying around early in the year. After a mild winter, they can appear on a sunny day in January or February. Dragonflies also love warmth. In May, you can already see the first dragonflies fluttering along the Jeker banks.
Relationship with humans
Why we do what we do
Butterflies and dragonflies are very sensitive to the quality of their environment. Butterflies need an environment with sufficient flowering flowers, and some depend on one specific plant for reproduction. For dragonflies, water quality is of great importance. In the city, where buildings and urbanisation prevail and where waste products are dumped into running water, it is difficult for butterflies and dragonflies to survive. In the park, and also in the Tapijn Garden, butterflies find their nectar plants and host plants for their caterpillars.
Many damselflies flutter around along the Jeker. It is a sign that the water of the Jeker has enough oxygen for these graceful little dragonflies to reproduce.
