Helping Butterflies at Home
Butterfly numbers have been steadily declining over the last two decades. Research has recently shown that we have lost 22% of our butterfly population since 2000. Two main causes of this decline are the loss of habitat and the use of chemicals.
Things you can do:
Create more habitat by planting more native plants and trees.
Plant native host and nectar plants for them. Plant a variety of colors to attract a broader range of butterfly species. Even planting in containers on a balcony is beneficial!
Monarch caterpillar on butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa).
Be chemical free.
Avoid the use of insecticides, pesticides, including mosquito spraying, and herbicides in your garden.
Fiery Skipper nectaring on Joe-pye weed (Eutrochium maculatum)
Create shelter areas.
Provide areas with dense foliage, leaf and stick piles, or other sheltered spots for butterflies to rest and overwinter.
Here is a list of some common butterflies and their host plants. Consider adding a few of these to your garden:
Monarchs: milkweeds (Asclepius sp.) Do not plant tropical milkweed as it stays green longer disrupting the monarch butterfly's migration patterns by potentially causing them to linger in the area instead of migrating south.
Spicebush Swallowtail: spicebush (Lindera benzoin) and sassafras (Sassafras albidum)
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail: white ash, wild cherry (Prunus serotina), tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), sweat bay magnolia (Magnolia virginiana)
Black Swallowtail: Golden Alexanders (Zizia aurea), they also eat parsley and dill.
Pipevine Swallowtail: Pipevine (Aristolochia macrophylla)
Zebra Swallowtail: Pawpaw tree (Asimina triloba)
Clouded sulphur: clovers
Orange sulphur: Partridge pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata)
Banded Hairstreak: oaks, hickories, walnut
Juniper Hairstreak: Eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana)
Gray Hairstreak: flowers and seeds of tick-trefoils (Desmodium), Rose mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos)
Eastern Tailed Blue: flowers and seeds of clover, tick-trefoils (Desmodium), clovers
Red Admirals: Serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea)
Spring/Summer Azure: buds and flowers of flowering dogwoods, wild black cherry (Prunus serotina), viburnums (Viburnum spp), blueberries (Vaccinium spp), wing stem (Verbesina alternifolia)
Variegated Fritillary: violets (Viola spp.) and pansies, Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata)
Viceroy: Serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea)
Mourning Cloak: willows, hackberry, elms, birches
Eastern Comma: Nettles (Urtica spp.), elms (Ulmus spp.)
Question Mark: hackberry tree, elms (Ulmus spp.), nettles (Utica spp.)
Pearl Crescent: asters like blue wood aster (Symphyotrichum cordifolium) and New England asters (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae) (not white wood aster)
American Lady: Plantain-leaved pussytoes (Antennaria plantaginifolia)
Painted Lady: Field thistle (Cirsium discolor), Rose mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos), and asters like New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae)
Various skippers: Little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)