Attracting Butterflies

Butterflies appreciate nectar and pollen-rich pollen plants. Grouping similar flower colors in large masses is the best way to get their attention. Try to stagger flowering times so butterflies have food throughout their adult phase. There are two types of food sources: larval (host plants) for the caterpillars, and nectar (nectar plants) for the adult butterflies. Plant larval food sources in a sunny area. Be prepared – they will be devoured! Plant nectar food sources in a sunny area along with a "sunning stone" so butterflies can rest and sunbathe. Some butterflies also delight in eating bits of overripe fruit, melon or orange rinds. Finally, butterflies need shallow watering spots. Simple mud puddles, a flat rock placed in a birdbath just below the water surface or a shallow sand-filled pan sunk into the ground and kept moist will do the trick.

Hummingbirds are drawn like magnets to bright orange or red tubular and trumpet-shaped flowers. Although the hummer’s slender, pointed bill is designed for feeding from tubular flowers, it works just fine on other kinds of flowers such as begonias, dianthus and zinnias. Do not use pesticides if you want to attract butterflies and hummingbirds.

ANNUALS

Name	Hummingbird Nectar Plant	Butterfly Nectar Plant	Butterfly Larval Host Plant
Ageratum Ageratum		X
Bachelor’s Buttons Centaurea			American Lady
Begonia, Wax Begonia	X
Bidens Bidens		X
Borage Borago			Painted Lady
Canna Canna (bulb)	X
Carnation, Pinks Dianthus	X	X
Cleome Cleome		X	Checkered White
Cosmos Cosmos		X
Dahlia Dahlia (bulb)		X
Dill Anethum graveolens			Black Swallowtail
Fennel, Bronze Foeniculum vulgare			Black Swallowtail
Flowering Maple Abutilon	X	X
Flowering Tobacco Nicotiana		X
Four-O’clocks Mirabilis	X
Fuchsia Fuchsia	X
Gazania Gazania		X
Geranium, Zonal Pelargonium	X
Gladiolus Gladiolus (bulb)	X
Gloriosa Daisy Rudbeckia hirta		X	Silvery Checkerspot
Heliotrope Heliotropium		X
Impatiens Impatiens		X	American Lady
Lantana Lantana		X
Larkspur Consolida	X
Licorice Vine Helichrysum			American Lady
Lily of the Nile Agapanthus (tropical)	X	X
Marigold Tagetes	X	X	Dainty Sulphur
Mexican Sunflower Tithonia	X	X
Nasturtium Tropaeolum	X	X
Pansy and Viola Viola		X
Parsley Petroselinum			Black Swallowtail
Pentas Pentas		X
Petunia, Single-flowered Petunia	X
Phlox Phlox drummondii	X	X
Pot Marigold Calendula	X
Sage Salvia	X	X
Snapdragon Antirrhinum	X		Buckeye
Statice Limonium		X
Sunflower Helianthus annuus		X	Silvery Checkerspot
Sweet Alyssum Lobularia		X
Verbena Vebena bonariensis			Buckeye
Zinnia Zinnia	X

PERENNIALS

Name	Hummingbird Nectar Plant	Butterfly Nectar Plant	Butterfly Larval Host Plant
Aster Aster		X	Pearl Crescent Silvery Checkerspot, Sulphurs
Anise Hyssop Agastache	X	X
Beard-Tongue Penstemon digitalis	X		Baltimore Checkerspot
Bee Balm, Wild Bergamot Monarda	X	X
Bellflower Campanula	X	X
Black-eyed-Susan Rudbeckia		X
Blanket Flower Gaillardia		X
Bleeding-Heart Dicentra eximia		X
Blue Mist Spirea Caryopteris		X
Butterfly-bush Buddleia	X	X
Butterfly Weed, Milkweed Asclepias		X	Monarch
Cardinal Flower Lobelia cardinalis	X	X
Catmint Nepeta	X	X
Chive, Garlic Allium		X
Columbine Aquilegia	X	X
Coneflower, Purple Echinacea purpurea		X
Coral Bells Heuchera	X
Coreopsis Coreopsis		X
Daisy, Shasta and Oxeye Leucanthemum		X
Daylily Hemerocallis	X	X
Delphinium Delphinium	X
False Indigo Baptisia			Clouded Sulphur, Eastern Tailed Blue
Forget-Me-Not Myosotis		X
Foxglove Digitalis	X
Gayfeather Liatris		X
Globe Centaurea Centaurea		X	Painted Lady
Globe Thistle Echinops	X	X
Goldenrod Solidago	X	X	Baltimore and Silvery Checkerspot
Grass, Big Bluestem Andropogon			Skippers, Common Wood-Nymph
Grass, Switchgrass Panicum			Skippers
Hibiscus, Swamp Mallow Hibiscus	X		Gray Hairstreak
Hollyhock Alcea rosea	X		American Lady, Checkered Skipper, Comma, Painted Lady
Hosta Hosta	X
Iris, Blue Flag Iris virginica shrevei	X	X
Ironweed Vernonia		X
Joe Pye Weed Eupatorium		X
Lavender Lavandula		X
Leadplant Amorpha canescens		X
Lily, Asiatic and Oriental Lilium (bulb)	X	X
Maltese Cross Lychnis chalcedonica	X
Meadow Rue Thalictrum	X	X
Mint Mentha		X
Nodding Onion Allium cernuum		X
Obedient Plant Physostegia	X
Oriental Poppy Papaver	X
Phlox Phlox	X	X
Pincushion Flower Scabiosa	X	X
Queen of the Prairie Filipendula		X
Red-Hot Poker Kniphofia	X	X
Rockcress Arabis		X
Rose Mallow Malva			Checkered Skipper Gray Hairstreak, Painted Lady
Rue Ruta			Black Swallowtail, Giant Swallowtail
Salvia Salvia	X	X
Sedge Carex			Eyed Brown, Little Wood-Satyr
Sedum Sedum spectabile		X
Soapwort Saponaria	X
Sneezeweed Helenium autumnale		X	Dainty Sulphur
Sweet William Dianthus	X
Turtlehead Chelone glabra			Baltimore Checkerspot
Verbena Verbena		X
Veronica Veronica		X
Violet Viola			Aphrodite Fritillary, Great Spangled Fritillary, Variegated Fritillary
Yarrow Achillea		X

TREES & SHRUBS

Name	Hummingbird Nectar Plant	Butterfly Nectar Plant	Butterfly Larval Host Plant
Alder Alnus glutinosa	X
Apple and Crabapple Malus	X		Red-spotted Purple, Spring Azure Tiger Swallowtail, Viceroy
Aspen and Poplar Populus		X	Red-spotted Purple Tiger Swallowtail, Viceroy
Beautybush Kolkwitzia	X
Birch Betula nigra			Mourning Cloak Tiger Swallowtail, White Admiral
Blueberry Vaccinium	X		Spring Azure
Buckeye, Red Aesculus pavia	X
Cherry and Plum Prunus			Coral Hairstreak, Red-spotted Purple Spring Azure, Striped Hairstreak, Tiger Swallowtail, Viceroy, White Admiral
Clethra, Summersweet Clethra		X
Dogwood Trees Cornus mas, C. kousa		X	Spring and Summer Azure
Dogwood, Redtwig Cornus alba			Spring Azure
Elm Ulmus			Comma, Mourning Cloak Question Mark
Hackberry Celtis			Hackberry Butterfly, Mourning Cloak Question Mark, Tawny Emperor
Hawthorn, Cockspur Crataegus crus-galli			Red-spotted Purple, Striped Hairstreak
Honeysuckle Lonicera		X
Lilac Syringa		X
Mockorange Philadelphus		X
New Jersey Tea Ceonanthus americanus		X	Spring Azure
Oak Quercus			Banded Hairstreak, Edward’s Hairstreak
Pear Pyrus		X
Privet Ligustrum		X
Rhododendron Rhododendron	X	X
Rose of Sharon Hibiscus syriacus		X	Gray Hairstreak
Serviceberry, Apple Amelanchier			Striped Hairstreak
Spicebush Lindera benzoin	X		Spicebush Swallowtail
Spirea Spiraea			Spring Azure
Viburnum, Arrowwood Viburnum dentatum		X	Spring Azure
Weigela Weigela	X
Willow and Pussywillow Salix		X	Mourning Cloak, Red-spotted Purple Swallowtail, Viceroy, White Admiral

VINES

Name	Hummingbird Nectar Plant	Butterfly Nectar Plant	Butterfly Larval Host Plant
Clematis Clematis		X
Dutchman's Pipe Aristolochia durior	X		Pipevine Swallowtail
Honeysuckle Lonicera	X
Hops Vine Humulus lupulus	X		Comma, Question Mark
Morning Glory Ipomoea	X
Scarlet Runner Bean Phaseolus coccineus	X		Gray Hairstreak
Trumpet Vine Campsis	X