To get the butterflies to arrive, you just need to provide the right plants. Once you start planting your garden, be patient. Butterflies and eggs might show up right away or it may take some time for them to find your garden. If you plant, eventually they will show up. Remember: Native and Florida Friendly plants not only encourage better habitats for butterflies but also reduce the costs of watering.
Host Plants: Host plants are plants on which butterflies will lay their eggs. Butterflies are specialists, and their larvae can only consume certain types of plants per species. Host plants will be eaten by caterpillars, so be ready for caterpillars to be munching on leaves and the plant to not always look great. This is part of the process.
Here is a list of some common Florida butterflies and which host plants they will use for their caterpillars. Some plants are easy to find in stores, others are much difficult. Many host plants are considered weeds!
Attract This Butterfly With This Caterpillar Host
- Monarch caterpillars eat Milkweed
- Queen caterpillars eat Milkweed
- Zebra Longwing caterpillars eat Passionvine
- Julia Longwing caterpillars eat Passionvine
- Gulf Fritillary caterpillars eat Passionvine
- Orange Barred Sulphur caterpillars eat Cassia
- Cloudless Sulphur caterpillars eat Cassia
- Dainty Sulphur caterpillars eat Spanish Needles
- Polydamas Swallowtail caterpillars eat Pipevines
- Pipevine Swallowtail caterpillars eat Pipevines
- Giant Swallowtail caterpillars eat Hercules Club / Wild Lime / Citrus / Rue
- Spicebush Swallowtail caterpillars eat Camphor / Spicebush
- Palamedes Swallowtail caterpillars eat Red Bay
- Tiger Swallowtail caterpillars eat Sweetbay Magnolia
- Zebra Swallowtail caterpillars eat Pawpaw
- Eastern Black Swallowtail caterpillars eat Parsley, Dill, Fennel / Rue
- Red Spotted Purple caterpillars eat cherry
- Red Admiral caterpillars eat False Nettle / Pellitory
- Phaon Crescent caterpillars eat Frogfruit
- Question Mark caterpillars eat Elms
- Carolina Satyr caterpillars eat grasses
- Buckeye caterpillars eat Plantain
- Painted Lady caterpillars eat Cudweeds
- White Peacock caterpillars eat Water Hyssop
Nectar Plants: Nectar plants are used by most butterflies, but some types will attract more of one species of butterflies than others. It is helpful to have a variety of these available so that many species of butterflies will be drawn to your garden.
Add some of these nectar plants to your garden to attract all sorts of adult butterflies: Penta, lantana, plumbago, golden dewdrop, salvia, porterweed, butterfly bush,firebush, asters, blazing star, anise hyssop, coreopsis, blanket flower, scorpion tail,rosin weed, firecracker plant or iron weed.
Web Resources: Learn more online at some of these butterfly and gardening resources:
- NSiS Native Butterfly Gardening: http://www.nsis.org/butterfly/butterfly.html
- Florida Gardener: http://www.floridagardener.com/butterflies/butterflyplants.htm
Book Resources: Want to learn more about butterflies and butterfly gardening? Try your local library for some of these books:
- Florida’s Fabulous Butterflies
- Authors: Emmel, Kenney
- ISBN: 0911977155
- Caterpillars of Eastern North America
- Author: Wagner
- ISBN: 0691121443
- Florida Butterfly Gardening
- Authors: Minno, Minno, Pierce
- ISBN: 0813016657
- Your Florida Guide to Butterfly Gardening
- Author: Daniels
- ISBN: 0813017904