If you are planning to create a butterfly garden in your landscape it is important that you find out some plants or other things which will serve as hosts to caterpillars of butterflies. There are plants like butterfly weed that serves as host to both butterflies and their caterpillars. It is an attractive garden plant and is also deer resistant. Though you may be hesitating to pay for a weed, it is a fact that butterflies have a special liking for weeds. There are various trees and shrubs that serve as caterpillar food. These include Flowering dogwood trees such as Cornus florida which attracts caterpillars of Spring azure blue butterflies. Another one is Viburnums which attracts Spring aszure blues. Easter cottonwood that attract caterpillars of Tiger swallowtail butterflies and Oak tree that attract Red- spotted purple butterfly caterpillars. There are many herbs and vegetables that serve as caterpillar food and they include Curley - leaf parsley and dill which is a favorite food of Black swallowtail butterfly caterpillars. Other items include carrot and celery which is the favorite of Black swallowtail. Also there are certain wild flowers which are dear to caterpillars. They include Common milk weed or Asclepias Syriaca which is the favorite of Monarch butterfly caterpillars. Another is Red clover or Trifolium pretense which attracts the caterpillars of Clouded sulfur butterfly caterpillars. Perennial flowers like Hollyhocks and Steeple bush are also favorite food for caterpillars of Painted Lady and checkered skipper butterfly and Clouded sulfur butterfly. moderator's note: removed website link, see point 1.1 of usage rules
Butterfly Garden Host & Nectar Plants Mexican Petunia - Buckeye False Foxglove - Buckeye Firecracker - Buckeye Passionvine - Zebra Longwing, Gulf Fritillary, Julia, Variegated Fritillary Violet - Variegated Fritillary Willow - Viceroy, Red-spotted Purple, Tiger Swallowtail butterflies; Cecropia and many other moths Black Cherry - Red-spotted Purple, Tiger Swallowtail, and many moths Bays (Red, Swamp) - Palamedes ST and Spicebush ST Sparkleberry - Striped Hairstreak butterfly Frogfruit - White Peacock, Buckeye, Phaon Crescent Water Hyssop - White Peacock Wisteria - skippers Canna Lily - Brazilian Skipper Summer Farewell - Southern Dogface Dandelion - Woolly Bear, Hitched Arches, some tiger moths, and more moths Pearly Everlasting - American Lady Pussytoes Certain native Asters - Pearl Crescent and more Milkweed - Monarch, Queen, Soldier Bee Balm is one of the hosts to the cool Hermit Sphinx. The caterpillar is called the Black Knight.Joe-pye weed is host to the really cool Clymene moth Black-eyed Susan is host to Silvery Checkerspot and the Wavy-lined Emerald which has the coolest caterpillar EVER Indigo - Duskywings, Ceraunus Blue Blue Pea Vine - Long-tailed Skipper Blue Toadflax - Buckeye Citrus - Giant Swallowtail (the caterpillar is called the Orange Dog) Croteleria - Bella Moth Jute - Checkered Skippers Peppergrass - Several Whites White Clover- Orange Sulphur & Southern Dogface Rice button Aster- Pearl Crescent Beggarticks- Dainty Sulphur Plumbago- Cassius blue White twinevine- Queen & Soldier Black Eyed Susan- Silvery Checkerspot Spanish Needles- Long tailed skipper, Hoary Edge Skipper, Northern Cloudywing Mistletoe- Great Purple Hairstreak Moths- Firebush- Pluto Sphinx, Tersa Sphinx Starclusters (such as Pentas) - tersa sphinxDandelion- Wooly BearPhlox- trumpet vine sphinxdaisy- camouflaged looperVerbena- Common looper Don't forget, butterflies and moths are only pests when they take over a plant. They are an important part of pollenation and the survival of many plants in our world. Let's keep our Day and Noght jewels (butterflies & moths) flying! Shay
And a couple more. White Clover- Orange Sulphur & Southern Dogface Rice button Aster- Pearl Crescent Beggarticks- Dainty Sulphur Plumbago- Cassius blue White twinevine- (we have lots by our lake)- Queen & Soldier Black Eyed Susan- Silvery Checkerspot
