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Butterfly Host Plants
Butterfly host plants are those which female adult butterflies either lay their eggs on or on which the larva (caterpillars) feed. Sometimes the plant where the egg is laid is not the same plant which the caterpillar eats. A caterpillar's main purpose is to eat and grow fat. Most caterpillars eat leaves, but some eat flower buds or seeds. The Harvester caterpillar is the only carnivorous caterpillar. It feeds only on aphids. Most adult butterflies sip moisture (nectar) from plants, carrion or dung. Adult butterflies don't eat anything else. Butterfly caterpillars generally prefer to eat native plants or "weeds" instead of cultivated varieties of garden ornamentals. Much is often made of those butterfly larva species which only eat certain plants. What I want to know is which plants give the the most "bang" for the limited space in my small garden. I want to know, which plants serve the needs of several species of butterfly larva? There are a few butterfly host plants that are useful to several species of butterfly larva. I have two good ones in my backyard, False Indigo and Clovers. False Indigo (Baptisia australis) hosts Orange Sulphur, Clouded Sulphur, Frosted Elfin, Eastern Tailed Blue, Hoary Edge, and Wild Indigo Duskywing. False White Indigo (Baptisia alba) is an alternative. Clovers, both red and white, provide food for many butterfly caterpillars including Gray Hairstreak, Orange Sulphur, Common (Clouded)Sulphur, Northern Cloudy Wing (Thorybes pylades and the Sleepy Orange (Eurema nicippe). And there are more "multi-host-ers". Nettles (Urtica), particularly Stinging Nettle, host Question Marks, Eastern Comma, Satyr Common Milbert's Tortoiseshell (Numphalis milberti) and the Red Admiral. Plantains (Plantago spp.) feed the Common Buckeye larva. Pussy Willows (Salix discolor) feed Mourning Cloak, Red-Spotted Purple and Viceroys. Suphur Buckwheat (Eriogonum umbellatum) Mormon Hairstreak, Square Spotted Blue, Dotted Blue, Acmon Blue, San Bernardino Blue, Green Hairstreak, Gorgon Copper, Purplish Copper and Lupine Blue. Coast Live Oak (Querus agrifolia) feeds California Sister, Boisduval's Hairstreak, Herr's Hairstreak, California Hairstreak, Gray Hairstreak, Goldhunter's Hairstreak, Nut Brown Hairstreak, Santa Monica Mountains Hairstreak, Echo Blue, Wright's Duskywing, Mournful Duskywing, Propertius Duskywing and Lucustra Dusky Wing. Wild Lupines (Lupinus perennis) are food for Clouded and Orange Sulphurs, Gray Hairstreak, Eastern Tailed-Blue, "Karner' Melissa Blue (rare in gardens) and Painted Lady. The Common Blue Violet (Viola sororia) is home to Great Spangled and Aphrodite Fritillaries. Checkerbloom (Sidalcea malviflora) provides for Painted Lady, West Coast Lady, Two Banded Checkered Skipper, Common Checkered Skipper and Gray Hairstreak. If you would like to find more butterfly host plants for your region, The Butterfly Gardener's Guide by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Claire Hagen Dole, editor, lists plants region by region. And of course,
North American Butterfly Association has great region butterfly gardening guides.
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