Gardening in the Coastal Southeast
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Gardening for Butterflies and Moths

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tiger swallowtail on Vaccinium arboreum

Butterflies and moths are common and diverse through the Coastal Southeast. Unfortunately, most neighborhoods have cleared away the native vegetation and destroyed their natural habitats. We must make some effort to bring them back to our gardens.  The effort is well-rewarded by the addition of color, energy and activity to the garden.

Several good books and websites exist on the subject of gardening for butterflies. Find one for that addresses your state for the most specific advice.  Watching these insects is much more interesting if you know their names and understand their behaviors. These references will give additional information on the plants that attract butterflies and moths. 

Simply planting a wide assortment of colorful flowering plants is an easy way to attract butterflies. Butterflies are attracted to some flowers more than others. With a little research, you can learn which flowers are the best for a butterfly garden. Attracting moths is more challenging. Some of the showiest moth species do not eat in their adult stage. A few will come to night-blooming plants. White or pale, tubular flowers will attract moths. While viewing them at night may be a challenge, too,
a few interesting and attractive moths fly during the day and in the early evening. The following list includes some familiar plants with flowers that attract butterflies and moths. While native flowers tend to be the best for attracting butterflies and moths, some exotic plants are excellent sources of nectar, too.
  Abelia x grandiflora – glossy abelia

  Aloysia virgata - sweet almond verbena
  Asclepias species – milkweeds (native and exotic types are available)
  Bidens pilosa – Spanish needle (a garden “weed”)
  Buddleia  species and hybrids – butterfly bush
  Calliandra inaequalis and other species – powderpuff bush
  Echinacea purpurea – purple coneflower
  Gaillardia pulchellum – wild basketflower
  Hamelia patens 
- firebush
  Hibiscus rosa-sinensis - hibiscus
  Helianthus species - sunflowers
  Lantana montevidensis – purple trailing lantana
  Lantana hybrid – yellow trailing lantana
  Liatris species – blazing star
  Pentas lanceolata – pentas
  Phlox drummondii – wild phlox
  Phyla nodifera  - frog bit or matchweed  
  Rudbeckia species – black-eyed susan and gloriosa daisy
  Sabal palmetto – cabbage palm
  Salvia species – salvia (Salvia coccinea is a native species)
  Solidago species – goldenrods (some compact cultivated selections are available)
  Stachytarpheta species - porterweed 
  Stokesia laevis – Stoke’s aster
  Tecoma capensis
 – Cape honeysuckle
  Vernonia species - ironweed

  Vaccinium arboreum - sparkleberry
 
Providing flowers for nectar is a bit like establishing a coffee shop in a neighborhood. Customers will come and go, but they will not stay for very long. If you want butterflies and moths to make your garden their home, you need to provide food for their larvae. Butterfly caterpillars, in particular, are very picky about their food. Plant the food plants they like and you will have lots of butterflies. Moth caterpillars tend to be less specific but some of the showier species are particular about what they eat. Native plants are very important as host plants for butterfly and moth caterpillars. Following is a list of some valuable food plants for caterpillars.
  Anethum graveolens (dill) - larval food plant for black swallowtail
  Aristolochia species (pipevine) - larval food plant for pipevine and goldrim swallowtails
            (native species are best, some exotic Aristolochia species are suspected of being harmful to our native butterflies)
  Asclepias tuberosa and other native milkweeds - larval food plant for queen and monarch butterflies 
  Asimina species (pawpaws) – larval food for zebra butterfly 
  Boehmeria cylindrica (false nettle, a weed of moist places) – larval food plant for red admiral 
  Bidens pilosa (Spanish needle) – larval food plant of dainty sulphur

 Buchnera americana (blue hearts) - larval food plant for buckeye butterfly
  Carya species (hickories) - larval food plant for royal walnut moth and hickory horned devil
  Chamaechrista and Senna species - larval food plant for sulphur butterflies
  Celtis laevigata (hackberry) – larval food plant for snout, hackberry and questionmark butterflies
  Cleome species and hybrids (spiderflower) – larval food plants for whites
  Citrus hybrids (orange, tangerine) - larval food plants for giant swallowtail
  Daucus carota (carrot or Queen Anne’s lace) – larval food plant for black swallowtail
  Fraxinus species (ash trees) – larval food for tiger swallowtail
  Gnaphthalium species (pearly everlasting or cudweed) – larval food plants of  American painted lady
  grasses and sedges (various species) – larval food for satyrs, wood nymphs, brown and 
pearly eye
  Liquidambar styraciflua (sweet gum) - larval food for the luna moth
  Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree, yellow poplar)- larval food for tiger and spicebush swallowtails
  Lindera benzoin (spicebush) - larval food for spicebush swallowtails
  Magnolia virginiana (sweet bay magnolia) - larval food plant for tiger swallowtail

  Passiflora incarnata (passionvine) - larval food plants for zebra longwing, julia, gulf fritillary (as with Aristolochia, some of the exotic Passiflora species are suspected of being harmful to our native butterflies)
  Persea borbonica (red bay) - larval food plant for spicebush and Palemedes swallowtail 
  Petroselinum crispum (parsley) - larval food plant for black swallowtail
  Phoradendron serotinum (mistletoe) – larval food plant for great blue hairstreak (a benefit of mistletoe in your trees)
  Phyla nodifera (frog bit or matchweed – a native lawn "weed") – larval food plant for Phaon crescent and white peacock
  Plantago species (plantain, a weed of lawns) – larval food plant for buckeye
  Plumbago auriculata (plumbago) - larval food plant for cassius blue 
  Ptelea trifoliata (hoptree) – larval food plant for giant swallowtail
  Quercus species (oaks) – larval food plant for several hairstreak species
  Salix species (willow) - larval food of viceroy, red-spotted purple and mourning cloak
  Sassafras albidum (sassafras) – larval food for spicebush swallowtail
  Trifolium spp. (clovers) – larval food plants for whites and sulphurs
  Ulmus species (elms) – larval food plant for hackberry, question mark and comma anglewings
  Zanthoxylum clavae-herculeaum (Hercules club) – larval food plant for giant swallowtail


Here are a few additional tips for butterfly gardening.
While an open sunny area lets you grow more flowering plants, some butterflies prefer shady woodlands. A variety of habitats will attract more butterfly species.

Plant your butterfly garden where you can see and enjoy it – possibly along your driveway or near a window.

Be very careful using insecticides around your butterfly garden. If you do not like the appearance of chewed leaves, plant your caterpillar host plants where they are not so conspicuous.

Observe the other insects in your garden. Mantids, grasshoppers, beetles and others play important roles in nature and are fun to discover and watch. In particular, do not harm the birds, lizards, spiders, dragonflies and other natural predators of butterflies. Predators help keep the butterfly population balanced and healthy. 

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black swallowtail larva on fennel
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goldrim swallowtail (Jacksonville Zoo)
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pipevine swallowtail
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giant swallowtail larva, or orange dog
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zebra swallowtail
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zebra longwing
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gulf fritillary on porterweed
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variegated fritillary (UNF)
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monarch on a Stoke's aster (Jacksonville Zoo)
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queen butterfly on milkweed
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viceroy butterfly on willow
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cloudless sulfur caterpillar on a Senna
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phaon crescent on Erigeron
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banded hairstreak (missing part of its hindwings) on beach sunflower
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great purple hairstreak on aloysia flower spike
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common buckeye caterpillar on Seymeria
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bumblebee moth, sometimes mistaken for a tiny hummingbird (by R. Hubbuch)
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luna moth
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io moth
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io moth caterpillars on red bud, the hairs are irritating to some people
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tersa sphinx moth on pentas

some butterfly companions in the garden

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goldsmith beetle, a woodland beetle that is as colorful as a butterfly
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grizzled mantis, Gonatista grisea, probably common but very hard to spot
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a young garden spider, Argiope aurantia, a beneficial spider in the garden
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