Cool link - I like how they define both native and non-native plants. Thanks!

I have Milkweeds in my garden for the Monarch caterpillers and fennel, parsly and dill for the swallowtail caterpillers. But mostly I find that the flowers here that attract lots of both are butterfly bush, zinnias and mexican sunflowers. In fact all three are great for attracting both butterflys and hummingbirds. Best flowering shrub would be Butterfly bush and I have five of them. Best annual, zinnias. A bed or two of zinnias is really beautiful to look at plus brings lots of butterflies to visit.

Another good one in my yard last year was verbena Homestead Purple. I also have butterfly weed, 2 buddleias, and grow zinnia every year, like Rita. For a few years I grew a hedge of mexican zinnias along my back fence, but haven't done that for several years.



Karen

Newyorkrita said:I have Milkweeds in my garden for the Monarch caterpillers and fennel, parsly and dill for the swallowtail caterpillers. But mostly I find that the flowers here that attract lots of both are butterfly bush, zinnias and mexican sunflowers. In fact all three are great for attracting both butterflys and hummingbirds. Best flowering shrub would be Butterfly bush and I have five of them. Best annual, zinnias. A bed or two of zinnias is really beautiful to look at plus brings lots of butterflies to visit.

Thanks for that advice Rita, I have a lot of butterfly bushes also but did not plant any milkweeds last year or zinnias. I think that is a really good idea if you want to attract butterflies. I purchased some 'RED CACTUS ZINNIAS and I cannot wait to plant them, I will plant all of them because the mass planting is big impact also the red color might attract some hummers right?

Karen Those MEXICAN ZINNIA'S make a great hedge, I love the mass planting.

Thanks.

Karen

Karen, the mass hedge effect looks great!

I have seen hummers feeding in the zinnias many times so yes, they do like zinnias also. But the main thing the zinnias attract are the butterflies. Plus I just love zinnias as I think they are so pretty.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/li...[lightbox

Oh geez, my dill plants are full of small swallowtail caterpillers. Hope the birds don't find them for a snack!

The Spicebush Swallowtail caterpillar will also eat Camphor tree (Cinnamomum camphora). This is more prevalent in the deep south as this tree needs warm weather to survive. I am in zone 7 and it won't live outdoors here so I have it in a pot. The Spicebush Swallowtails prefer my Spicebush outside but the wasps always get them. So, I put some young caterpillars on my Camphor tree and bring the pot inside to raise them.

Here is a Spicebush Swallowtail Caterpillar eating my Camphor tree:


This is an adult Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly:


Here is a another webpage with host plants for butterflies: www.joyfulbutterfly.com/articles/whatdocaterpillarseat.html

@kqcrna Are Mexican Zinnias the same as Tithonia? I love my Tithonia, I get tons of big butterflies visiting it every season.

Good idea, bringing the plant inside! One thing I might add...if you don't have the caterpillars contained in some way, they might wander away...it happens. There are possible dangers involved for the caterpillars inside...pets, people walking around not seeing the little cat on the floor, etc. I speak from experience, sadly. Also, if they pupate inside a house somewhere and left there, the butterfly can emerge in winter and that it's not so good, if it should be overwintering until spring. I know there are things you can buy to make sure they don't get away. Two sites for butterfly raising supplies I've used:
http://educationalscience.com/...
http://www.butterflystores.com...
That reminds me...I used to know where to get something like the pop-up pavilions at stores in town, but haven't seen any in a while. I need to shop!

All my plants stay outside. The Caterpillars are on their own!

@LindaTX8 You are so right about them wandering away!! When we first started raising caterpillars indoors we would frequently do it in the open and we had several wander off that we had to hunt down and put back on the sticks we wanted them to pupate on! Now most of ours are raised in enclosures.

However, my Camphor tree is a little too big to enclose, but, the Spicebush Swallowtail cats are kind enough to turn bright yellow right before they get ready to pupate. I am a stay at home mom so we have been able to catch most of them and put them in an enclosure before they wander off.

In the past, we have on occasion had a butterfly "appear" in our house and not know that we had him. All in all, we have contributed much more to the butterfly population than we have taken away so I don't get too upset about an accidental loss of a butterfly or caterpillar. Their chances of success are immensely higher in our house than outdoors!!

That's true, they are safer anywhere things can't get to them to kill them or parasitize them.

I need to find a book that will help us identify the types of butterflies that are hanging around our plants. We are seeing more and more different butterflies than we ever had. I have planted coneflowers, tall garden phlox, some petunias, some verbena, rudbeckias, as well as a lot of other cottage style gardening plants. Any suggestions for a good butterfly book that shows colored pictures of various varieties of butterflies? When one of the neighbor ladies move in about 3 or 4 yrs. ago, we "just had to have a butterfly bush!" She isn't home long enough to know if her bush atracts butterflies or not and not that observant when she is home..Duh! She says she keeps seeing them all over in my flowerbeds flying about. Hey,what can I say?

Well, I have Butterflies Through Binoculars the West...I'm pretty sure there's another one for "the East"(you're in the East, I see). The great thing about it is that it has little maps for each species, showing where they are know to be found and how many "broods" in what areas. Two broods would mean the butterflies lay eggs and the butterflies from the eggs would lay eggs again that same year, for example. There's also distinguishing markings pointed out on butterflies likely to be confused with other species. I also have a Peterson's field guide (I seem to have misplaced it right now) and a Field Guide to Butterflies by the National Audubon Society. Both good, but I just prefer the Butterflies Through Binoculars books the best.

Well, I have Butterflies Through Binoculars the West...I'm pretty sure there's another one for "the East"(you're in the East, I see). The great thing about it is that it has little maps for each species, showing where they are know to be found and how many "broods" in what areas. Two broods would mean the butterflies lay eggs and the butterflies from the eggs would lay eggs again that same year, for example. There's also distinguishing markings pointed out on butterflies likely to be confused with other species. I also have a Peterson's field guide (I seem to have misplaced it right now) and a Field Guide to Butterflies by the National Audubon Society. Both good, but I just prefer the Butterflies Through Binoculars books the best.

This 96 page book is my favorite. "Stokes Butterfly Book"
It has lists of plants for nectar and larval food, and has loads of clear photos of everything. All the life stages are shown, and there is even a chapter on "How to Rear Butterflies".
The subtitle of the book is "The Complete Guide to Butterfly Gardening, Identification and Behavior" and that is exactly what it is.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0316817805/
I bought a used copy off Amazon and it came looking like new. It doesn't look like new anymore! I've used it quite a bit this summer. Right now, there's plenty of them available for $4 total.

Carrots seem to be a good plant to have too. I currently have 4 eastern Swallowtail cats on my carrots eating them up so fast.

Anyone have thoughts on if I should plant a native milkweed or the curassavica? I have heard that the curassavica kills CA Monarchs. Is this true?