There are no insect-free plants, but there are good insects - Our Butterfly List
Whether we're out giving a talk or a customer is at the nursery, we are asked many questions pertaining to almost anything plant-related. One of the questions that has become more of interest to us is: "Will I have more problems with insects now that I am planting more native plants?" First, all plants, native or otherwise, are visited by some insect. Keep an eye on Little Leaf Linden during July and August. Moreover, many of us have been led to believe that an insect-free world is possible, if not desirable. So say the chemical companies, anyway. Second, pesticides can actually cause more problems than they solve by killing far more good insects (98%) than the bad (2%). Chemical impact beyond their purpose is another issue, but that is for another time.
We have not used an insecticide, miticide, or fungicide or 20+ years and was forced to use a dormant oil application for the first time in 2009 in a very limited area. One might think that since we haven't used them, it means that our insect susceptibility is reduced because we grow natives. You'd be wrong. We have fewer pest problems because we grow our trees, shrubs and perennials under greatly reduced stress levels. In essence, the way we grow our plants reduces our need for many forms of pest control. It's also important to know that because we don't spray, the insects that eat the pests are also present, which further reduces our need for chemicals. Having predacious, good insects helps an ecosystem find a balance so that one group does not dominate and become a pest. This is not to say that we are not periodically invaded by bag worm or have a tree or two defoliated; we are, it's that we try to treat it in ways other than spraying.
There is another reason why we don't spray, one far more devious and underhanded: we love butterflies. As hard as it may be to believe, pesticides do kill butterflies, an outcome that is simply unacceptable.
Attracting butterflies can be as simple as planting daisies. However, if you're looking to attract an army of different butterflies, you must plant both the species that provide the flowers they feed on, and the species that lay their eggs on, too. The reason for the layered approach is this: butterflies gather nectar from all kinds of plants, but many species will only lay their eggs on a few specific species, and some are solely dedicated to one species. For example, the Zebra Swallowtail lays its eggs only on Asimina triloba (Paw Paw), and the American Painted Lady has eyes only for Antennaria plantaginifolia (Pussytoes). Species like these are not alone; many of the most beautiful butterflies are like this.
Over the years, we have seen the results of our no-spray approach bear unpredicted fruit. One night, while attanding to the greenhouses, we noticed that our Staphylea trifolia (Bladdernut) was in bloom and that it had drawn one hundred or so moths! After some checking with an entomologist, we discovered that the moth was specific to Bladdernut. The other closest Bladdernut to us was more than four miles away! The moths pinpointed our plants from miles away and showed up in force. Amazing!
Other species have shown up that you'd not see normally, because they're usually in secluded areas. Yet, species like the Spicebush Swallowtail and Orange Dog have eaten some of our 5-gallon shrubs to the ground. Even more reclusive species like the Promethea Moth have appeared on plants in the field. Even our greenhouses have had visitors. In fact, every year since 2001, the American Lady caterpillars make a showing on our Pussytoe plants, and not just a couple of them—we're talking twenty to thirty individuals!
So will good or interesting insects show up on your plants if you plant natives in your yard? We'd have to say yes! All it takes is a little planning and care, and you'll have a chance to bring in all kinds of bugs that you'd never think would be there.
The Butterfly List
The following is a list of larval host plants and the butterfly species that are attracted to them.
- Amelanchier spp.
- Bruce Spanworm
- Blindy Sphinx (small)
- Striped Hairstreak
- Amorpha canescens
- Black-spotted Prominent
- Dog Face
- Asimina triloba
- Zebra Swallowtail
- Betula spp.
- Compton Tortoiseshell
- Dreump Duskywing
- Mourning Cloak
- Tiger Swallowtail
- White-marked Tussock Moth
- Carya spp.
- Hickory Hairstreak
- Hickory Horn D.
- Luna Moth
- Skipper spp.
- Catalpa
- Catalpa Sphinx
- Ceanothus americanus
- Filamont Beaver
- Spring/Summer Azure
- Celtis spp.
- American Snout
- Hackberry
- Io Moth
- Question Mark
- Mourning Cloak
- Spiny Oak Slug
- Tawny Emperor
- Comptonia
- Gray Hairstreak
- Cornus spp.
- Monkey Slug
- Dogwood Thyativid
- Polyphemus Moth
- Spring/Summer Azure
- Unicorn Caterpillar
- Corylus spp.
- Polyphemus Moth
- Saddled Prominent
- Crataegus spp.
- Interruped Dagger Moth
- Small Eyed Sphinx
- Smeared Dagger Moth
- Striped Hairstreak
- Fraxinus spp.
- American Dagger Moth
- Black Auches
- Giant Leopard Moth
- Harvis Three-Spot
- Hickory Horned Devil
- Linden Looper
- Spiny Oak Slug
- Tiger Swallowtail
- Lindera benzoin
- Giant Leopard Moth
- Promethea Moth
- Spicebush Swallowtail
- Populus spp.
- Compton Tortoiseshell
- Red-spotted Purple
- Twin Spotted Sphinx
- Satin Moth
- Sigmoid Prominent
- Viceroy
- Virgin Moth
- Prunus spp.
- Cherry Dagger Moth
- Coral Hairstreak
- Striped Hairstreak
- Viceroy
- Wild Cherry Sphinx
- Tiger Swallowtail
- Red-spotted Purple
- Ptelea trifoliata
- Giant Swallowtail
- Quercus spp.
- Striped Hairstreak
- Edward's Hairstreak
- Banded Hairstreak
- Rhus spp.
- Spring/Summer Azure
- Ribes spp.
- Gray Comma
- Rubus spp.
- Sphinx Hairstreak
- Salix spp.
- Acadian Hairstreak
- Compton Tortoiseshell
- Mourning Cloak
- Northern Finned Prominent
- Red-spotted Purple
- Striped Hairstreak
- Viceroy
- Sassafras albidum
- Cecropia Moth
- Imperial Moth
- Io Moth
- Spicebush Swallowtail
- Smilax
- Spotted Phosphila
- Turbulent
- Spiraea spp.
- Woolly Bear
- Tilia spp.
- Question Mark
- Viburnum spp.
- Hummingbird Cloverwing
- Vitis spp.
- Grapeleaf Skeletoniter
- Xanthoxylum spp.
- Giant Swallowtail
- Skipper spp.