🦋Hand-built in a Blackall Range shed — Maleny, Queensland
Dulcie Carmody, 74. Thirty-one winters at the bench, more than 2,600 houses. This is the last collection — 68 left, and no more will be made.
“People buy a house, hang it up — and nothing ever comes. Not one visitor. It is nearly always the house.”
— Dulcie Carmody, Maleny QLDWhat arrives in the box
🏠The HouseTeardrop, scorched pine
💧The PuddlerSand dish on a curved shelf
🧵Jute RopeWith steel clip, ready to hang
✍Dulcie’s NoteHandwritten, every order
Why this one gets used when others sit empty
📐The 18-Millimetre RuleEntry slots cut just under 20 mm — wide enough for Orchard Swallowtails and Australian Painted Ladies, narrow enough to shut out common mynas and starlings.
💧The Puddler PrincipleButterflies take minerals from damp sand. Entomologists call it puddling. Almost no butterfly house sold here has it.
🌴The Teardrop ArchitectureRon Carmody’s shape, an engineering decision. Wind load spreads evenly — no spinning, no rocking, no strain on the mount.
🪵The Raw Timber ProtocolUntreated natural timber. No stain, no sealer. Chemical odours read as danger to a butterfly, and a painted house gets avoided.
🔄The Season PanelThe back opens without tools. Brush it out once a season, top up the sand, done — no mould, no larval debris, no parasites.
⏰Built to Outlast the MakerDulcie’s oldest house has hung from the same silky oak since 1999. Same hardware, never retightened. Same visitors every spring.
“The private garden has become the last viable habitat for a number of butterfly species across settled Australia. A functional house — correct slot geometry, a puddling station, untreated timber — can be the difference between a local population holding on and quietly disappearing. Willingness is not the problem. Most butterfly houses sold here simply do not meet the basic biological requirements.”
Dr Alison FrayneEntomologist, University of the Sunshine CoastWell suited to
🌳 Backyards🏠 Verandahs & courtyards🌼 Pollinator gardens🎃 Gifts for gardeners👥 Grandparents & grandkids🎓 School nature projects🌱 Landcare plantings🏚 Balconies
What you are actually getting
- Hand-built, not moulded. Every house cut, sanded and fitted by one pair of hands in a Queensland shed.
- Calibrated, not decorative. Slot width, dish placement and timber choice all come from thirty-one years of watching what works.
- Weather-ready. Scorched surface and solid timber walls hold temperature steady through a hot Australian summer.
- Cleanable. Tool-free back panel — the reason these last a decade instead of a season.
- Finite. 68 houses remain. The jigs are not going with her. There will be no reorder.
30-day returns, no questionsHang it up and see whether it gets visited. If it does not, send it back — no stress, no hassle.
A note on handmade: grain, scorch pattern and colour vary from house to house. No two come out the same, and the one you receive will not look identical to the photographs. That is the point.
Product details
| Material | Untreated natural pine, lightly scorched surface |
| Finish | No stain, no sealer, no paint |
| Shape | Teardrop profile (wind-stable) |
| Dimensions | Approx. 21 cm high × 14 cm wide |
| Entry slots | Three vertical slots, just under 20 mm wide |
| Puddler | Round metal dish on a curved shelf — fill with damp sand |
| Mounting | Jute rope with steel clip included |
| Care | Brush out once a season, top up the sand |
| Made by | Dulcie Carmody, Maleny, Queensland |
| Remaining stock | 68 houses — final collection |
