Wendy Potter-Springer - Grow a Butterfly Garden

Wendy Potter-Springer

Few sights are more delightful than that of a butterfly dancing on the breeze. But sadly enough, butterflies have become all too rare in our rapidly expanding world. The sheer beauty of butterflies has, in the past, prompted the collection and sale of these insects. Twenty years ago this could have been blamed for their disappearance, but it is unusual in this day and age for a collector to capture and kill a butterfly. Most modern day collectors capture their beautiful specimens on film.

So where have the butterflies gone?

The disappearance of butterflies must largely be blamed on ourselves. Condominiums and shopping malls have taken over the fields and grassy meadows that served as the breeding grounds for many of our butterflies, and the misuse of backyard pesticides has left them with no alternative environment in which to live and multiply.

By growing a few chosen plants in your yard, you will be making a major contribution toward the preservation of these fragile insects, supplying them with a haven in which to live and breed.

You dont need a large area to have a successful butterfly garden teeming with winged color. A butterfly garden can be grown in a window box, from hanging pots on a terrace or balcony, or from a patch of yard. All it takes is a little planning.

You will, however, need to plant your butterfly garden in a sunny spot, as butterflies are notorious sun-worshippers. But most butterfly flowers are easy to grow and require little care, which affords you plenty of time to sit back and enjoy the view of color, not just on the ground, but in the air as well.

Monarch butterfly with asters.

There are two kinds of butterfly flowers: food plants for caterpillars, and nectar plants for adults. This bulletin includes both, as well as some advice to keep in mind when planning your butterfly garden.

Although butterflies need a shady spot to find respite from the sun during those days we consider scorchers, for the most part they spend their time in the sunshine. This is due to a butterflys need to raise its body temperature in order to fly. Butterflies perch on flowers and shrubs to bask in the sun and absorb the solar benefits until their bodies reach a temperature of 86 to 104F.

So it should come as no surprise that most butterfly flowers are those of the sun-loving variety. Many of the plants listed in this bulletin are sun lovers, providing butterflies with just the right spot to get going each day.

The colors in a butterfly garden also play a major role in their attraction. Scientists now know that butterflies have the ability to identify colors. Purple, pink, yellow, and white are the colors most often preferred by butterflies, so when planning your garden youll want to keep these colors in mind.

You may have noticed the absence of specific butterflies that were once common in your neighborhood. This could very well be due to the use of pesticides.

Pesticides have no place in your butterfly garden. Their sole purpose is to destroy insects, and while many who use them are not thinking about killing off their butterflies, this is the inevitable outcome. You can also work to minimize the use of aerial pesticides (used for mosquito control) and herbicides (used for roadside week control) by your local government agencies.

If you would like to help reestablish a rare or endangered species that was once common to your neighborhood, youll need to do some research. Check in with your local natural history, conservation, or ecological associations for more information about butterfly species native to your area and their population status. You may even be able to assist in programs led by local experts attempting to reintroduce lost species of butterflies to your area.

Another way to help native butterfly species maintain or boost their population is to grow the known food or host plant of those species. If you grow host plants, be sure to leave them intact when the growing season is over. Do not use them for cut flowers or cut them back in the fallyou may destroy hibernating adult butterflies, their pupae, or their eggs.

On the following pages, you will find a list of some known host plants. For more information, consult with your local chapter of the National Audubon Society.

The plants on which a butterfly will lay eggs are called host plants. When the eggs hatch caterpillars, the host plant provides the food and shelter that the caterpillars need to survive. Some caterpillars will feed on only one specific plant species, while others can feed on many different plants within the same family. For example, the caterpillars of Black Swallowtail butterflies are found on many different members of the Carrot (Umbelliferae) family, such as carrot, dill, fennel, and Queen Annes lace. Its important to check with local resources, such as the National Audubon Society, a natural history museum, or any local nature, conservation, or ecological association, for information about caterpillar plant preferences in your area. You can also identify butterflies already present in your garden and consult a butterfly reference book to see what its caterpillars will eat.

Although butterflies may lay hundreds of eggs, very few caterpillars survivemost fall prey to predators and parasites. This is the natural way of balancing the environment. On average, only two to three of every hundred caterpillars live long enough to go through metamorphosis and emerge as butterflies.

Below is a list of some common butterfly species and the plants that are most attractive to them as host plants for their caterpillars. Several of these plants are considered wildflowers and may already be growing in your yard or neighborhood. The butterflies are listed first by their common name, then by their genus. Again, before planting a host plant to attract a specific butterfly, be sure to check with local experts or a butterfly reference guide to make sure that butterfly is common to your area.

Giant Swallowtail(Papilio cresphontes). Preferred host plants are prickly ash (Zanthoxylum spp.), hop tree (Ptelea trifoliata), rue (Ruta graveolens), and varieties of citrus trees.

Pipevine Swallowtail(Battus philenor). Preferred host plants are varieties of birthwort, also known as Dutchmans Pipe (Aristolchia spp.).

Black Swallowtail(Papilio polyxenes). Preferred host plants belong to the Carrot (Umbelliferae) family, including dill, parsley, fennel, and Queen Annes lace (Daucus carota).

Zebra Swallowtail(Eurytides marcellus). Preferred host plant is pawpaw (Asimina triloba).

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail(Papilio glaucus). Preferred host plants are black cherry (Prunus serotina), tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera), sweet bay (Magnolia virginiana), aspen (Populus tremuloides), and cottonwood (Populus deltoides).

Western Tiger Swallowtail(Papilio rutulus). Preferred host plants are aspen (Populus tremuloides), willow (