Butterfly garden host plant | Attract butterflies to garden: Gardening

Helping You Become a More Successful Gardener

Discovering the basics of butterfly life is a great way to learn how to draw these beautiful creatures into your garden for a closer look. These winged jewels are so varied in their size and color – and so thrilling to watch – that even the most beautiful ground-bound plants provide only a backdrop to their motion.

Plant pricklyash, rue and citrus – even conifers – and a giant swallowtail might just pop into your garden for a visit. (The giant swallowtail is one of the largest North American butterfly species, with a wingspan that often reaches 5 inches!)

You can get in on all the excitement by familiarizing yourself with butterfly preferences, starting with host plants – those specific species that particular butterflies use to lay their eggs and then serve as a food source for hatching larvae.

The following list contains a number of common North American butterfly and colorful moth species that you may see in your local area, along with the preferred plants on which they lay their eggs. If you want to invite some of these stunning creatures into your garden, try planting some of their host plants and see who comes for a visit – and stays to raise a family.

Common North American Butterflies

Butterflies	Common Host Plants
American copper (Lycaena hypophlaeas)	Sheep sorrel
American painted lady (Vanessa virginiensis)	Buckeye, hollyhock, mimulus, snapdragon, plantain, thistle, verbena
American snout (Libytheana carinenta)	Hackberry, violet
Anicia checkerspot (Euphydryas chalcedona)	Figwort (Scrophulariaceae), snowberry
Anise swallowtail (Papilio zelicaon)	Carrot, lemon, lime, orange
Appalachian eyed brown (Satyrodes appalachia)	Sedges
Atlantis fritillary (Speyeria atlantis)	Violet
Baltimore (Euphydryas phaeton)	Plantain, turtle head (Chelone glabra)
Banded hairstreak (Satyrium calanus)	Oak, nuts
Black swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes)	Carrot
Brown elfin (Incisalia augustinus)	Blueberry, lilac
Buckeye (Junonia coenia)	Snapdragon, vervain
Cabbage white (Pieris rapae)	Cabbage, mustard, nasturtium
California sister (Limenitis bredowii)	Oak
Checkered white (Pontia protodice)	Mustard
Clouded sulfur (Colias philodice)	Clover, legumes, marigold
Cloudless sulfur (Phoebis sennae)	Senna (Cassia)
Comma (Polygonia comma)	Hops, nettle
Common snout (Libytheana carinenta) and American snout (Libytheana bachmanii)	Hackberry, violet
Common wood nymph (Cercyonis pegala)	Grasses
Coral hairstreak (Satyrium titus)	Cherry, plum
Eastern tailed blue (Everes comyntas)	Legumes
Eastern tiger swallowtail or lack swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes)	Carrot
Eyed-brown satyr (Lethe eurydice)	Grasses
Giant swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes or Heraclides cresphontes)	Pricklyash, citrus, rue
Gray hairstreak (Strymon melinus)	Cactus, corn, hops, legumes, mallow, mint, snapdragon, strawberry
Gulf fritillary (Agraulis vanillae)	Passionflower, violet, willow
Harvester (Feniseca tarquinius)	Only carnivorous butterfly (feeds on aphids, plantlice)
Little copper (Lycaena phlaeas)	Sheep sorrel
Little yellow (Eurema lisa)	Legumes
Meadow fritillary (Boloria bellona)	Violet
Monarch (Danaus plexippus)	Milkweed
Mourning cloak (Nymphalis antiopa)	Birch, cottonwood, elm, hackberry, poplar, willow
Mylitta crescent (Phyciodes mylitta)	Aster, thistle
Olive hairstreak (Mitoura grynea)	Cedar
Olive hairstreak (Mitoura grynea)	Cedar
Orange sulfur (Colias eurytheme)	Alfalfa, clover, legumes, marigold
Painted lady (Vanessa cardui)	Daisy, thistle
Pearl crescent (Phyciodes tharos)	Aster
Queen (Danaus gilippus)	Milkweed
Question mark (Polygonia interrogationis)	Elm, hackberry, hops
Red admiral (Vanessa atalanta)	Nettle, false nettle
Red-spotted purple (Limenitis arthemis subsp. astyanax)	Cherry, poplar, willow
Satyr (Polygonia satyrus)	Nettle
Silvery blue (Glaucopsyche lygdamus)	Legumes
Southern dogface (Colias cesonia)	Clover, Legumes
Spicebush swallowtail (Papilio troilus)	Sassafras, spicebush (Lindera benzoin)
Spring azure (Celestrina ladon or C. argiolus)	Blueberry, Ceanothus, dogwood, lupine, viburnum
Variegated fritillary (Euptoieta claudia)	Passionflower, violet
Veined white (Pieris napi)	Mustard
Viceroy (Limenitis archippus)	Cherry, milkweed, poplar, willow
Western tiger swallowtail (Papilio rutulus)	Hops, poplar, willow
Zebra swallowtail (Eurytides marcellus)	Pawpaw

Colorful Moths

Notable Moths	Common Host Plants
Cecropia (Hyalophora cecropia)	Apple, cherry, elderberry, maple, plum
Five-spotted hawk sphinx (Manduca quinquemaculata)	Phlox, tomato
Io (Automaris io)	Corn, rose
Luna (Actias luna)	White birch, sweetgum, persimmon, black walnut, willow

Warnings

To be successful, your entire butterfly garden needs to be maintained using strictly organic methods. That means avoiding every pesticide or biological control method used for caterpillars (even those labeled “organic”), or you may inadvertently kill off your butterflies.
Only a few butterflies and their relatives – cabbage, mourning cloak and alfalfa among them – are considered plant pests. Some species migrate thousands of miles to lay their eggs and die, while their offspring magically retain the instinctive ability to return to the place where their parents fed and mated.

Facts

The striking color patterns on butterfly wings are caused by optical refraction patterns from light bouncing off its thousands of tiny scales.
Like lots of gardening trends, butterfly gardening came to the US from Europe, where it started in the 1980s. The trend really got its big American kickoff in 1988 with the opening of Butterfly World in Florida.

Tips

Because butterfly larvae eat the host plants they hatch on, your plants can get a bit raggedy. If your only option to help keep the area looking tidy is to trim off unsightly leaves, just be sure they don’t have a chrysalis (a pupa’s protective covering) attached.

Resources

Visit the Learn2Grow Plant Database to learn more about certain butterfly host plants.

Next Steps

Growing a Nursery (for Butterfly Babies)
A butterfly garden is more than just a bunch of pretty flowers – it means including host plants for these delicate creatures to raise their families on. Learn the importance of including host plants in your garden, as well as how to plant your own “butterfly nursery.”
Open Your Own “Caterpillar Hotel”
“Caterpillar hotels” are the perfect way to invite more butterflies into your garden. By selecting the right host plants, the beautiful winged creatures will lay their eggs in your yard and begin an ongoing cycle of life right before your eyes. (No reservations needed.)
Create a Five-Star Butterfly Restaurant
Attracting butterflies to your yard is fun – if you understand basic butterfly garden needs. Learn what it takes to create a butterfly garden that flutters with activity. With the right menu, plenty of seating and the perfect ambiance, your garden can become the hottest butterfly restaurant in town!

Articles

Plants

Plant Search

Inspirations

Projects

Problem Solvers

Gardening Guides

Butterflies and the Host With the Most