eNature: Butterfly Gardening

These are some of the common, showy butterflies of this region and the food plant (or plants) appropriate for caterpillars of each species.

Butterfly Species		Caterpillar Plants
	Red-spotted Purple Limenitis arthemis astyanax	Willow, poplar, cherry
	Great Spangled Fritillary Speyeria cybele	Various violets (Viola)
	Silver-bordered Fritillary Boloria selene	Various violets (Viola)
	Painted Lady Vanessa cardui	Various mallows, thistles
	Common Buckeye Junonia coenia	Plantain (Plantago), various snapdragons
	Orange Sulphur Colias eurytheme	Clovers and other legumes
	Pipevine Swallowtail Battus philenor	Dutchman's Pipe (Aristolochia)
	Giant Swallowtail Papilio cresphontes	Citruses, Hoptree (Ptelea trifoliata), Prickly-ash (Zanthoxylum)
	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Papilio glaucus	Willow, poplar, alder
	Monarch Danaus plexippus	Milkweeds (Asclepias)

Nectar Plants

These are the best flowers to plant in this region to attract a wide variety of butterfly species. The plants listed here have been shown to be tolerant of the local climate and particularly attractive to the butterflies mentioned above.

Butterfly Weed (native)		Asclepias tuberosa
Black-eyed Susan (native)		Rudbeckia hirta
Purple Coneflower (native)		Echinacea purpurea
Swamp Milkweed (native)		Asclepias incarnata
Spotted Joe-Pye-weed (native)		Eupatorium maculatum
Mexican Sunflower		Tithonia rotundifolia