Raising Butterflies in Your Garden, Part I

On a warm, sunny day everyone loves watching colorful butterflies fluttering through their garden, stopping to nectar on flowers and flowering bushes. With the addition of a few host plants, an ordinary flower garden can be transformed into a waystation or habitat that not only attracts the butterflies, but provides them with plants on which to lay their eggs.

Each variety of butterfly has specific host plants where it lays its eggs and when the caterpillar emerges, feeds on the leaves of those plants. About seven years ago I began incorporating host plants into the garden and have successfully raised and released monarchs, eastern black swallowtails and giant swallowtails.


Monarch host plants include all types of milkweed and my garden includes Common (Asclepias Syriaca), Whorled (Asclepias Verticillata), Butterfly Weed  (Asclepias Tuberosa), and Tropical (Asclepias Curassavica).  Common, Whorled, and Butterfly Weed, are perennial milkweeds in our NY climate zone.  Tropical is an annual and has to be replanted each Spring.  All milkweeds secrete a sticky, white sap that is irritating to the skin and eyes.

Black Swallowtail host plants include Fennel, Dill, Parsley, Queen Ann's Lace, Carrot, and occasionally Rue.

The Giant Swallowtail is the largest butterfly found in North America, measuring up to 6" across the wings.  I've provided Rue for its host plant.  In southern climates its caterpillars feed on citrus trees. Rue is irritating to the skin and eyes and has a pungent odor.

I make a point of buying host plants from a garden center that hasn't used pesticides on them, since caterpillars will die from eating those leaves. Online nurseries are also a good source for plants and many of them mention on their site that they don't use harmful chemicals. We also avoid using pesticides in and around our garden.

Monarch Host Plants:

Butterfly Weed

Swamp Milkweed

Whorled Milkweed

Tropical Milkweed

Common Milkweed

Black Swallowtail Host Plants:

Dill

Queen Ann's Lace

Fennel

Parsley

Giant Swallowtail Host Plant:

Rue

If you have an interest in attracting specific butterflies that are typical in your area of the country, provide them with their host plant and you'll have a good chance of spotting them in your garden.