Butterfly Nectar Plants - Feeding Our Favorite Beauties

American Painted Lady (Vanessa virginiensis) on Black-eyed Susan

Butterfly Nectar Plants are more common than you may think.

When I first decided to create a butterfly garden, I was at a lost as to what plants would attract butterflies to my small city garden. Then I went to the supermarket.

It was a beautiful autumn day, warm and sunny. As supermarket's often do, a display of fall-blooming perennials was for sale, outside the store. I my breath caught in my throat as I saw the riot of insects on the New England Asters and Sedums. Several varieties of butterflies, flies, assorted bees, were all crowded on the flowers, hurriedly feeding.

I wanted to buy the plants, but was afraid to have part of that crowd flying around in car as I drove. I made a mental note to plant these high-performing plants in my butterfly garden.

Nectar plants are what adult butterflies feed on. Nectar is secreted by tissues called nectaries inside the flower. This sweet sugary liquid provides food and energy for the butterflies. While sucking the liquid through their proboscis tubes, the butterfly collect pollen on their body. This pollen is spread to other similar flowers and the butterfly moves to other blossoms.

Here is a top thirteen list. All the plants are very common in garden centers and at nature center plant sales. Some plants will work in some regions of the North America better than others. For more guidance, see the North American Butterfly Association Gardening Brochures

Top Thirteen Nectar Plants

Purple Cornflower (Echinacea purpurea)

New England Aster (Aster novae-angliae)

Joe-Pye Weed (Eupatorium spp.)

Liatris (Liatris spp.)

New York Ironweed (Veronica noveboracensis)

Goldenrod (Solidago spp)

Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia spp.)

Coreopsis (Coreopsis spp.)

Milkweeds (Ascelepias spp.)

Pentas (Pentas lanieolata)

Lantana (Lantana camara)

Sedums (Sedums spp.)


More Butterfly Information

Butterfly Life Cycle
egg
larva
chrysalis
adult

Where to find them
The most common butterfly species
Seven butterfly families
Spring butterflies

Attracting Butterflies
Top nectar plants
Top host plants


Field Guides
Black Butterflies
Mourning Cloak Butterfly
Swallowtail Butterflies

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