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.

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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.

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