Tom Terrific

Butterfly Gardening.Org

Bring Butterflies into Your Yard

9016 Robyn Rd
St Louis MO 63126
Phone: 314-849-6114

Grow Host Plants for the Caterpillars

"So what is a host plant?" you may be asking yourself.
A host plant is a particular, a specific and in some cases the only plant upon which the butterfly will lay her eggs.
Hackberry butterflies will only lay their eggs on types of Hackberry.
Spicebush butterflies will usually lay their eggs on Spicebush.
Pipevine swallowtails will only lay their eggs on ______________________.
Can you fill in the blank?

If you answered Pipevine, you're on your way to understanding the basics of
Butterfly Gardening.

Find the host plant and you'll usually find the butterfly.

There are a few butterflies which are less discriminating, but in general, specific butterflies must have specific host plants.

Unfortunately when you visit your local MEGA-SUPERSTORE or even the local nursery, the plants offered are the common annuals and perennials. Roses, petunias, geraniums, begonias, and impatiens all look beautiful, but butterflies will pass right by them on their quest to find a particular host plant.

Now this may not apply if you live in the country and are surrounded by acres and acres of wild land and plants, but most of us aren't in that situation. We live in cities, suburbs surrounded by other houses and golf course-like landscapes.

I was recently looking at a new subdivision being built and it looked as if a nuclear explosion had hit the area. Not only had the builder scrapped off every living bush and plant, but every single tree in this large subdivision was cut down. There were no living plants in sight. The natural host plants which might have been there before were now all gone. That means the butterflies are gone too.

To have butterflies we need to recreate that old ecosystem and the starting point is to plant as many host plants as you possibly can.

If you're thinking about planting a tree, why not plant one which will provide a butterfly habitat besides just being a nice shade tree.

I have a Tulip tree, Willow, Hop Tree (Ptelia Trifoliata), Locust and a Paw Paw tree which are all host plants. Other good trees are aspens, cherry, elms, hackberry, and oak..

Remember the Kevin Costner movie, "Field of Dreams."
In the movie they had a phrase which was repeated to him over and over.
"If you build it, they will come. If you build it, they will come."

I have a similar slogan, "If you feed them, they will come."
It may take a while, but sooner or later the butterflies will find your host plants and you'll be rewarded with lots of butterflies.

Here's a list of some easy to grow host plants

Cabbage - Broccoli - Cauliflower - Kale
If you see cute little white butterflies with black spots in your garden, these are the Cabbage Whites. Considered "bad" by some people, I like them because they are the only butterflies around at times. I plant any of the above plants, whichever looks best at the time, and put them out for the butterflies to find. Sometimes the plants even come with caterpillars already attached. I'd probably shy away from the cabbage as it doesn't look very nice in the garden after it's been eaten, but Broccoli when it goes to seed actually has a pretty blossom.

Dill - Fennel - Parsley - Rue
Take your choice. Any of these plants are good host plants for the Black Swallowtail. One year I raised 5 generations of Black Swallowtails and they showed no preference from one plant to the next. Rue (Ruta graveolens) is an uncommon plant which I recently tried. It's supposed to grow to 3' tall, but mine only got up to 1' from seed. I've read that Rue can cause skin irritation, but my first year plants didn't cause any problem. Give it a try, but have some soap and water handy just in case.

Swamp Milkweed - Asclepias Incarnata - Perennial - Half to Full Sun - Up to 4' tall
Swamp Milkweed is the host plant for the Monarch butterfly. If you're lucky migrating Monarchs may lay eggs on your milkweed early in the spring as they're migrating northward.
Contrary to it's name, Swamp Milkweed does not need a swamp to be happy in it's surroundings. Mine's in some pretty tough, dry, competitive conditions and grows fairly well. It's not invasive like the Common Milkweed, which did not make the list, but is happy to stay in one general location.

Spicebush - Lindera Benzoin - Perennial - Half to Full Sun - Can get 7' tall
Spicebush is the host plant for the Spicebush Swallowtail. I'd plant at least one just for the "oohs and ahs" you'll get when people unwrap a folded leaf and see a spectacular caterpillar. Since they fold leaves over themselves, the larva have a better chance at survival.

Tulip Tree - Tulip Poplar - Very tall but doesn't spread out much
The Tulip Tree is the host plant for Tiger Swallowtails. Wow ! What a spectacular butterfly ! While I've never seen a Tiger Swallowtail caterpillar, they obviously do pretty well since we had lots of butterflies from the one tree in our front yard. If you need a tree, please put this one on your list.

Violets - Perennial - Low Growing
Violets in the spring add a tremendous splash of color in the spring and are also the host plant for Great Spangled Fritillaries. If they're already growing in your yard, so much the better.

Partridge Pea - Cassia fasciculata - 4' tall - Annual
There are at least two types of yellow butterflies which will use Partridge Pea as a host plant, the Cloudless Sulphur and the Little Yellow. This plant will reseed itself to an extreme. You may want to either give it an area of it's own or be willing to collect most of the seeds in the fall. It has a pretty yellow blossom and all sorts of insects are attracted to it over the summer. It's in full sun in my garden at this time, but I'm going to experiment with it in partially shaded areas next year. It will take over an area so be prepared for that, but is easy to pull out the spring seedlings.

Weeds in Your Yard.
Plantain and Clover are two common yard weeds that most people spend many dollars and hours trying to eradicate. You might consider being less aggressive or giving them a patch of their own. Clouded Sulphurs prefers common clover and Buckeyes will use plantain as host plants. I've literally followed Clouded Sulphurs away from my carefully tended gardens over to the school soccer field across the street. There she laid eggs on some nasty looking clover.

Bermuda Grass
While some people consider it to be one of the less desirable grasses, Bermuda Grass is a host plant for many Skipper butterflies. I find at least fifty Skipper butterflies in my yard during August and September. The Fiery Skipper in particular uses Bermuda grass as a host plant. I actually didn't plant the Bermuda grass, it came on it's own, but rather than fight it, I've let it take over in spots and as a result I have lots of Skipper butterflies.

10
Willow - Various Sizes and Types
The Red Spotted Purple, Viceroy and the Mourning Cloak butterflies all use types of Willow as host plants. These are rare butterflies in my yard, but I do see them every year. I'm trying to attract more by planting Willow bushes and trees. Try to find a variety which will fit your yard's space.

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