BUTTERFLY PLANTS: Plant host plants to have yard full of butterflies
Gardeners’ Dirt, March 30, by Janet McCrea/Victoria County Master Gardener
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY JANET MCCREA/VICTORIA COUNTY MASTER GARDENER –
Giant Swallowtail Larva
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY JANET MCCREA/VICTORIA COUNTY MASTER GARDENER
Cloudless Sulphur Larva
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY JANET MCCREA/VICTORIA COUNTY MASTER GARDENER
Gulf Fritillary Larva
Have you ever dreamed of having a yard full of butterflies, but you weren’t sure how to make your dream come true? Well, let me tell you about host plants for butterflies.
Host plants are the specific plants the female butterfly looks for when she is searching for the perfect place to lay her eggs. These host plants are also the food source the emerging caterpillar needs to survive. Although a butterfly is able to nectar on a wide variety of flowers, its caterpillars are only able to eat from these very specific food sources.
Perhaps the most widely recognized butterfly/host plant relationship is between the Monarch butterfly and milkweed. There are over 30 species of milkweed that are native to Texas. Species of milkweed that grow well in the Crossroads area include Antelopehorns (Asclepias asperula), Slim (Asclepias linearis), Zizotes (Asclepias oenotheroides), Butterfly (Asclepia tuberosa), and Green Antelopehorn (Asclepias viridis). In addition to Monarchs, milkweed is also a host plant for Queen and Soldier butterflies.
Another species of milkweed that grows well here, but is not native, is the Tropical milkweed (Asclepias curassavica). This plant is not recommended because it can negatively impact monarch health and migration.
The first butterfly host plant to my yard was a Passionvine (Passiflora spp.).
It came up in my yard by way of underground runners from my neighbor’s yard. I put up a trellis for it, and in no time, the trellis was covered with beautiful purple flowers. Then I began noticing spiny caterpillars munching on the leaves. After a little research, I discovered that these caterpillars were the larval form of the Gulf Fritillary butterfly. That was in 2016.
Now, every year, I have multitude of Gulf Fritillary butterflies in my yard. Passionvine is also a host plant for Julia Heliconian, Zebra Longwing, and Variegated Fritillary butterflies.
In 2016, I planted a Satsuma Orange tree (Citrus spp.). At the time, I did not know that citrus was a host plant for the Giant Swallowtail, North America’s largest butterfly.
In November of 2017, I noticed what looked like bird droppings on my little orange tree. It was actually Giant Swallowtail caterpillars! Their host plants also include Hercules Club (Zanthoxylum clava-herculis), Hop Tree/Wafer Ash (Ptelea trifoliate), Lime Prickly-Ash (Zanthoxylum fagara), and Common Rue (Ruta graveolens).
Another swallowtail butterfly you may want to attract to your yard is the Pipevine Swallowtail. Its caterpillars need plants in the Aristolochia species, including Swanflower, (A. erecta), Texas Dutchman’s Pipe (A. reticulata), and Wooly Pipevine (A. tomentosa). The butterfly lays its eggs on the host plant’s tendrils and on both sides of the host leaf.
If you have Dill (Anethum graveolens), Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare spp.), Parsley (Petroselinum crispum spp.), or Common Rue (Ruta graveolens) in your herb garden, you may attract Black Swallowtails. The caterpillar’s appearance will change as it goes through each instar, but the entire larval stage lasts between 14 and 24 days.
In its last instar, its appearance slightly resembles a monarch caterpillar, but you will know which caterpillar it is by what plant it is on. A monarch caterpillar will not be found on herbs, only on milkweed.
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) is the host plant for several different butterfly species, including Bordered Patch, Gorgone Checkerspot, Silvery Checkerspot, and Painted Lady.
Texas Bluebonnets (Lupinus texensis) are the host plant for Gray Hairstreak and Eastern Tailed-Blue butterflies. The Common Buckeye butterfly utilizes Snapdragon Vine (Maurandella antirrhiniflora), Toadflax (Linaria spp.), Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja spp.), and Frogfruit (Phyla spp.), among others.
To attract sulphur butterflies, such as Little Sulphur, Cloudless Sulphur, Orange-barred Sulphur, and Sleepy Orange butterflies, plant a Senna, such as Lindheimer’s Senna (Senna lindheimeriana), or Partridge Pea (Chamaecrista fasciculate).
If you plant host plants for butterflies in your yard, your dream of having a yard full of butterflies will soon come true.
The Gardeners’ Dirt is written by members of the Victoria County Master Gardener Association, an educational outreach of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. This article appeared in the March 30 edition of The Victoria Advocate.
REFERENCES:
Native Host Plants for Texas Butterflies by Jim Weber, Lynne Weber, and Roland H. Wauer
Raising Butterflies in the Garden by Brenda Dziedzic
The Life Cycles of Butterflies by Judy Burris & Wayne Richards