Flowers are vital for attracting bats' insect prey. Grow a wide range, as different plants attract different types of insect:
- Plants with petals that form narrow tubes, such as honeysuckle, provide food for long-tongued insects like moths and butterflies
- Open, daisy-like flowers with many florets provide nectar to short tongued insects including flies
- Pale blue and white coloured flowers are easier to see in low light so will attract night flying insects
- Don’t forget the landing platform. Wide blooms, like those in the carrot family, allow many insects to gather together at once
- Native plants tend to support far more species of insect than hybrids or exotics
Planting night-scented flowers will help attract night-flying insects, which offer food to hungry bats. Some of the plants you might like to include are:
- Cherry pie (Heliotropium arborescens)
- Evening primrose (Oenothera biennis)
- Honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum)
- Night-scented catchfly (Silene noctiflora)
- Night-scented stock (Matthiola bicornis)
- Nottingham catchfly (Silene nutans)
- Soapwort (Sapnoria officinalis)
- Sweet rocket (Hesperis matronalis)
- Tobacco plant (Nicotiana alata)
- White jasmine (Jasminum officinale)