Plants to Attract Butterflies to Your Backyard Butterflies are happy to come to our backyards if we provide what they need. Some things to consider in making plant choices are that nectar plants (flowers) attract a wide variety of butterflies, and that larval foodplants attract very specific kinds of butterflies seeking plants on which to lay eggs and that will nourish the caterpillars. Since many common butterflies are on the wing throughout the year in our valley—as long as it isn’t too cold or hot and dry—we can use different flowering plants to provide nectar throughout the year. In late fall, mountain marigold and rabbitbrush robe themselves in golden heads attracting a host of species. During the spring, patches of wildflowers come alive with butterflies. Late summer flowering shrubs include red bird of paradise, butter- fly bush, Mexican sunflower, lantana, desert lavender, and bee-brush; perennials include desert verbena, butterfly mist, floss-flower, and native passion vine. Strategic plantings or massing of these plants will fill a garden with a wide variety of butterflies. Some caterpillar food plants make excellent background plantings, screens, or spots of greenery. Desert hackberry, a tall native shrub of desert washes is the foodplant of the Empress Leilia, and the American Snout. Fern acacia, a tropical-looking, low native shrub that makes a soft accent near a patio or pool, is also the foodplant of the Acacia Skipper, and the Mexican Yellow. Native mesquites are foodplants for hairstreaks, feather tree for sulphurs, kidneywood for the often numerous Marine Blue butterflies; and citrus trees for the Giant Swallowtail— the caterpillars resemble bird droppings. The plants listed here make a good start on a butterfly garden. Many of these species look their fullest and best from late summer through fall, a time when there are normally many butterflies in the garden. Desert Connections is a joint project of Tucson Botanical Gardens and Tucson-Pima Public Library and is funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. BUTTERFLY PLANT LIST Perennials Ageratum corymbosum, Flossflower, nectar plant for male Queens Aristolochia watsonii, Native pipevine, foodplant for Pipevine Swallowtail Bouteloua curtipendula, Sideoats grama (grass), foodplant for Orange Skipperling Cosmos sulphureus, Cosmos, nectar plant Dicliptera resupinata, Twinseed, foodplant for Texan Crescent Eupatorium greggii, Butterfly mist, nectar plant for male Queens Eupatorium odoratum, Eupatorium, nectar plant for many butterflies Galvezia juncea, Galvezia, foodplant for Tropical Buckeye Glandularia gooddingii, Desert verbena, nectar plant for many butterflies Passiflora foetida, Native passionvine (vine), foodplant for Gulf Fritillary Petroselinum crispum, Parsley (biennial), foodplant for Black Swallowtail Senna covesii, Desert senna, foodplant for Sleepy Orange, Cloudless Sulphur Thymophylla pentachaeta, Dogweed, nectar plant; foodplant for Dainty Sulphur Shrubs Acacia angustissima, Fern acacia, foodplant for Acacia Skipper, Mexican Sulphur Aloysia gratissima, Beebrush, nectar plant for gossamer wings Anisacanthus thurberi, Native honeysuckle, nectar plant; foodplant for Elada Checkerspot Asclepias linaria, Pineleaf milkweed, foodplant for Queen, Monarch Asclepias subulata, Desert milkweed, foodplant for Queen, Monarch Atriplex spp., Saltbush, foodplant for Western Pygmy Blue Baccharis sarothroides, Desert Broom, nectar (winter) for many, esp. Great Purple Hairstreak Bebbia juncea, Sweet bush, nectar plant for gossamer wings and sulphurs Buddleia davidii, Butterfly bush, nectar plant Caesalpinia pulcherrima, Red bird of paradise, nectar plant for swallowtails and sulphurs Calliandra californica, Baja fairy duster, foodplant for various Blues Chrysothamnus nauseosus, Rabbitbrush, nectar (fall) for many species Dalea spp., Indigo bush, nectar plant; foodplant for Southern Dogface Hyptis emoryi, Desert lavender, nectar plant Lycium spp., Wolfberry, nectar plant (winter) Lantana spp., Lantana, nectar plant Senna hirsuta var. glaberrima, Long-pod senna, foodplant for Sleepy Orange, Cloudless Sulphur Tagetes lemmoni, Mountain marigold, nectar (fall) for many species Tithonia fruticosa, Mexican sunflower, nectar; foodplant for Bordered Patch Trees & Large Shrubs Acacia greggii, Catclaw, nectar plant Celtis pallida, Desert hackberry, foodplant for Empress Leilia, American Snout Celtis reticulata, Canyon hackberry, foodplant for Empress Leilia, American Snout Citrus spp., Citrus trees, foodplant for Giant Swallowtail Eysenhardtia orthocarpa, Kidneywood, nectar; foodplant for Marine Blue Havardia pallens, Tenaza, nectar plant Lysiloma watsoni, Feather tree, foodplant for Agarithe Sulphur Prosopis velutina, Native mesquite, nectar; foodplant for Leda Hairstreak, Palmers Metalmark Tips for the Butterfly Garden Choose a warm, sunny location. Butterflies are warm-weather fans. Take advantage of warm southern exposures to prolong flowers of fall-blooming species. Plant in masses. Masses of colorful, fragrant flowers are more likely to capture the attention of a passing butterfly. One plant here and there will not be nearly as effective as five flowering plants grouped together. Choose flowers that are flat-topped or clustered and have short flower tubes. Butterflies like landing pads where they can sit comfortably to sip nectar. Choose flowers in the yellow, orange, red, and pink range. These are preferred by butterflies, but they will also visit flowers of other colors. Plant with different blooming periods in mind. Butterflies may be on the wing year round in our area. Include larval foodplants for different species. For a truly effective butterfly garden, you need to provide places for the adults to lay eggs and leaves for the caterpillars to eat. Provide windbreaks. The butterflies won’t be buffeted by the wind and won’t have to expend extra energy as they fly about looking for food and mates. Provide shade. Even warm weather creatures need some shade, particularly when temperatures rise above 95 degrees. Provide flat stones or rocks. Butterflies like places to rest and places to bask in the sun. Provide areas of damp soil. Male butterflies like to take in salts and nutrients from muddy soils. Don’t use herbicides or pesticides. Herbicides may kill the larval foodplants; pesticides may kill both the caterpillars and adults. Desert Connections is a joint project of Tucson Botanical Gardens and Tucson-Pima Public Library and is funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Desert Connections Wild About Butterflies Annotated Bibliography Alcock, John. In a Desert Garden: Love and Death Among the Insects. W. W. Norton & Company, 1997. Introduces the reader to the lives and loves of desert insects as they forage through a backyard oasis. Arizona Native Plant Society and Sonoran Arthropod Studies Institute. Desert Butterfly Gardening, 1996. This $2. booklet describes desert and low water use plants for attracting butterflies. Both nectar and larval food plants are covered and small color photos show both plants and butterflies. Bailowitz, Richard A. and Brock, James P. Butterflies of Southeastern Arizona. Sonoran Arthropod Studies Institute, 1991. Includes distribution, flight period, and larval food plants for butterflies found in southeastern Arizona. Mostly black and white photos with a few color plates at the end. Bailowitz, Richard A. and Danforth, Douglas. 70 Common Butterflies of the Southwest. Southwest Parks and Monument Association, 1997. Compact guide to some of the butterflies of the Southwest. Includes information on where to find them. Large color photographs. Brock, Jim P. and Kaufman, Kenn. The Kaufman Focus Guide to Butterflies of North America. Houghton Mifflin Co., 2003. Comprehensive field guide to the butterflies of North America. Introduction includes useful information on how to find and identify butterflies as well as ways to help in their conservation. Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Butterfly Gardening. Handbook #175, 2003. Accounts of some common butterfly species in North American; practical gardening information on butterfly and caterpillar plants for different regions of the U. S. Buchmann, Stephen L. and Nabhan, Gary Paul. The Forgotten Pollinators. Island Press/ Shearwater Books, 1996. Explores the relationships between plants and the animals they depend on for reproduction. Grissell, Eric. Insects and Gardens. Timber Press, 2001. Introduces the reader to insect biology and the role of insects in garden ecology. Casts an appreciative eye on the doings of insects. Mikula, Rick. The Family Butterfly Book. Storey Books, 2000. Offers family projects and activies for identifying, carying for, and raising caterpillars in the backyard. Stokes, Donald and Lillian and Williams, Ernest. The Butterfly Book. Little, Brown and Company, 1991. An easy guide to butterfly identification and behavior as well as gardening to attract them. The Xerces Society and Smithsonian Institute. Butterfly Gardening – Creating Summer Magic in your Garden. Sierra Club Books, 1998. Covers basics of gardening for butterflies. Includes sections on garden design and butterfly photography. Desert Connections is a joint project of Tucson Botanical Gardens and Tucson-Pima Public Library and is funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Desert Connections Wild About Butterflies Children’s Bibliography Carle, Eric. The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Philomel Books, 1987. Board book describes the hatching of an egg and the life of a caterpillar as it