- Attract butterflies to your garden by growing host plants.feeding butterflies image by Penny Williams from Fotolia.com
Most types of caterpillars prefer particular types of plants and you can invite butterflies to your garden by growing these plants. A female butterfly usually lays eggs on the particular type of plant for its species because the caterpillar needs to access the host plant to survive. Once the caterpillar eats its first meal, it must continue eating that type of plant. - Passion flower (Passiflora spp.) feeds the larvae of the variegated fritillary, meadow fritillary, gulf fritillary and zebra longwing butterflies. About 400 species of the passion flower exists, coming in a wide range of colors, sizes and shapes. The passion flower comes from the Americas, but has spread to other parts of the world. They grow as climbers and thrive both indoors and outdoors.
- Rue (Ruta graveolens) serves as a host plant to the larvae of the giant swallowtail and eastern black swallowtail butterflies. It has lacy blue-green leaves and small, yellow flowers that bloom from June through August. Catholic priests used to dip the branches of rue into holy water and hold them up to sprinkle the holy water on to their congregation. It grows to be 30 to 36 inches in height and is deer resistant.
- Some elms (Ulmus spp.) can feed the larvae of morning cloak, viceroy, question mark and comma butterflies. These include the winged elm (Ulmus alata) and the slippery elm (Ulmus rubra). The winged elm can grow to be 90 feet in height. Originating in North America, the winged elm grows well in urban areas and has wing-like projections on opposite sides of twigs and branches. The slippery elm has broad leaves with long, thin ends and hairy undersides.
Passion Flower
Rue
Elm
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