Native Plants That Attract Butterflies

Releasing butterflies in a non-native area can lead to disease and disrupt native butterfly migration patterns.

Butterflies add charm and grace to the most idyllic garden settings. To have these fleeting, ephemeral creatures visit your garden, you first must understand what the butterflies want and need. Like most creatures, they will only visit gardens that provide the types of food and shelter they need to survive.

Life Cycle of the Butterfly

Butterflies are not always delicate, beautiful creatures. They begin their lives as eggs hidden on the bottom side of leaves. When the egg hatches, a caterpillar emerges, ungainly and ugly. Caterpillars should eat up to 30 lbs. of food per day to grow fat enough to survive the pupa stage, where it wraps itself in a cocoon and undergoes massive changes. When the pupa stage is over, the familiar form of the butterfly emerges and dries its wings. Eventually, the butterfly will lay its own eggs and the cycle will begin again.

Food For Larvae

The caterpillars that become butterflies aren't attracted to flowers or nectar for food. Instead, they require tree leaves for their nourishment. Butterflies lay their eggs on particular host plants, and the caterpillars hatch and devour leaves on the trees to grow until it is time for them to cocoon themselves and become butterflies. Some trees that common butterflies use as host plants are willow, birch, elm and many kinds of fruit trees. The fruit trees, in particular, play double duty for the larvae and fully grown butterflies.

Food For Butterflies

One of the changes a butterfly undergoes in its pupa stage affects its ability to eat. Where a caterpillar can devour leaves using its mandibles, a butterfly must rely on its proboscis to sip at nectar and sweet juice. The fruit that falls from the fruit trees and lies rotting on the ground provides some nectar for butterflies. They are also attracted to many kinds of common flowers like marigolds and lilacs. Other plants that attract butterflies include the butterfly bush, butterfly weed and bee balm.

Choosing your plants

Deciding which plants to include in your butterfly garden will depend greatly on where you live. Some plants attract certain butterflies, so check with your local butterfly association to discover which butterflies are common in your area. Many caterpillars and butterflies will starve to death before they eat the wrong food, so choose your plants accordingly. Before you plant anything, check with your local garden store to ensure that a plant will thrive in your garden.

References

• The Butterfly Site: Butterfly Food and Nectar Plants
• Garden Gate Magazine: Butterfly Plants
• The Butterfly House: Butterfly Gardening
• University of Kentucky College of Agriculture ENTFact; How to Make Butterfly Gardens; Stephanie Bailey; January 1994
• The Children's Butterfly Site; Lifecycle of Butterflies and Moths; Paul Opler

Resources

• North American Butterfly Association: Native Plant Garden Guides