BIRDS, BUGS & CRITTERS-The Good, Bad & Ugly forum: Butterfly host plants
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| Do you grow any host plants for butterflies? Please share you experience, and pictures of the butterflies, their caterpillars, and host plants are always appreciated. Karen |
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| I grow butterfly weed (A. tuberosa) which is a host plant for monarchs. I couple of years ago I had monarch caterpillars. Karen
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| I love butterfly bush because it is attractive to "flutterbys" AND to other pollinators. My favorite new-to-me attractor last season was scarlet runner beans, which I grew on a trellis right in front of my kitchen window. I saw 'way more hummers there than at my official feeders.
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| Yes, my feeder is always busy. Karen
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| The ageratum was given to me by a friend and the Pearl Cresents seem to like it.
A small town has no secrets except itself |
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| Joe Pye Weed also given by the same friend attracted a battered Red Spotted Purple.
A small town has no secrets except itself |
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| Cup Plant and and Angelwing/Comma
A small town has no secrets except itself |
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| I had 2 caterpillars on parsley growing on my deck yesterday. They looked much like monarch cats to me. They hadn't eaten much of the plant yet, but there was caterpillar poop on the deck all around that pot. An hour later they were gone. Now something is eating my basil, also growing in a pot near the parsley. Apparently basil is a host plant for some other swallowtails. I discovered that chewed up basil late yesterday, and there was caterpillar poop around the container. I can't find the cats, though. We also had a bad storm last night (again!) - I guess it's possible they were washed/blown off or maybe a predator got them. We did have 50 mph winds. I wouldn't have minded sacrificing the parsley to the cats, but my basil.... I need basil when my tomatoes ripen.  Maybe I'd better sow more just in case. I'll watch closely for those hiding cats. Karen |
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| I hope you find the cats, and I think I'd sow more basil too! A small town has no secrets except itself |
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| I cleaned up those pots some. The petunias were getting long and leggy and had been badly damaged by all the storms so I cut them back hard. I found 3 cats on those which had eaten holes in the blossoms. Totally different from the cats I found on the parsley. And I found yet different tiny cats on the ruds in a flower bed. I don't think they were different instars of the same cats, I think they were probably a totally different bug. Seems I have a regular fertility clinic for caterpillars in my yard. Karen |
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| "Seems I have a regular fertility clinic for caterpillars in my yard." LOL Karen. Here is a website I just found that lets you select plants that are especially attractive to pollinators by your zipcode! http://www.pollinator.org/guides.htm |
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| very cool |
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| Hi Karen, Thought I better stop by.... glad I did!!!  Neat link Emily!! Although not a host plant, many butterflies are attracted to the marigolds; including this Gulf Fritillary.
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| Karen, fertility clinic, LOL! Emily, it took me a while to read thru the zipcode link. I expect to see a lot of those butterflies since a lot of the plants and trees grow around here. Christine, it's a beautiful butterfly! This butterfly was new this year. Actually, it's a moth. An 8 spotted Forester. I just found it in my book.
A small town has no secrets except itself |
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