KTRS 550 Inside Out Show Spring Break Updates Butterfly Gardening

by MaryAnn Fink
Conservation Specialist
copyright 2010

BUILD A BETTER BUTTERFLY GARDEN (See Plant list at end of this blog!)

• Install native flowering plants – Because many butterflies and native flowering plants have co-evolved over time and depend on each other for survival and reproduction, it is particularly important to install native flowering plants local to your geographic area. Native plants provide butterflies with the nectar or foliage they need as caterpillars and adults.

Adult butterflies could possibly mistake a non-native, invasive plant for a good egg-laying site, which could prevent the survival of its offspring. Grow your nectar-producing native plants in sunny areas that are protected from strong winds.

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center has lists of recommended native plants by region and state at www.wildflower.org/ collections.

Better Butterfly Garden Checklist:

• Plant type and color is important – Adult butterflies are attracted to red, yellow, orange, pink, and purple blossoms that are flat-topped or clustered, and have short flower tubes.

• Plant for continuous bloom - Butterflies need nectar throughout the adult phase of their life span. Try to plant so that when one plant stops blooming, another begins.

• Get them to stay – To ensure that butterflies will take up residence in your habitat rather than just pass through, your garden should include “host plants” that serve as larval (caterpillar) food.

• Avoid herbicides and pesticides – These types of lawn care and plant maintenance products contain chemicals that will kill butterflies and other beneficial insects in both their adult and larval phases.

• Provide a place to rest – Butterflies need sun for orientation and to warm their wings for flight. Place flat stones in your garden to provide space for butterflies to rest and bask in the sun.
Inspiring Americans to protect wildlife for our children’s future.

Go to: http://www.nwf.org/gardenforwildlife.

Common Butterflies and the plants they eat (This is for Missouri and most of the lower Midwest)

American Painted Lady- cudweed, everlast
Black Swallowtail- parsley, dill, fennel, Queen Anne’s lace, common rue, zizia
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail - wild black cherry, tulip tree, willow, sweetbay, basswood
Giant Swallowtail - prickly ash, citrus, common rue, hoptree
Monarch - milkweeds
Painted Lady (Cosmopolite) - thistles, mallows
Red Admiral/White Admiral- wild cherries, black oaks
Silver-spotted Skipper- locusts, other legumes
Spicebush Swallowtail- sassafras, spicebush
Sulphurs- clover, alfalfa, asters
Viceroy- willows, cottonwood
Western Tiger Swallowtail- willow, plum, alder, sycamore, hoptree
Zebra Swallowtail- pawpaw

To search for butterflies in your state or county, visit www.butterfliesandmoths.org/map.

For more information about MaryAnn's favorite projects, speaking engagement details or Eco-audit/ Landscape consultations, contact MaryAnn at http://www.maryannfink.com/.