How To Attract Butterflies To Your Garden

Joyful Butterflies - It's Easy To Get Their Attention

Butterflies are so beautiful and wonderful pollinators. It's always a surprise to see one appear and to watch their graceful flight is an absolute blessing. 

Watching butterflies is a spectator sport. It's mind blowing to know home many species of butterflies exist in the southwestern United States. It's mind blowing to see how many exist in North America, other regions of the Americas and the rest of the world. Why collect Hot Wheels when you can catch a glimpse of beautiful, delicate butterflies?

There are particular plants, colors and specific nectar found in flowering plants that will attract butterflies to you property all season long. If you live in southern California or the Southwestern United States, you can have butterflies all year long if you plant the right host plants. A host plant is a plant that butterflies will decide to lay their larvae. When the larvae eventually turns into a caterpillar, the host plant will then be their food. 

There are other factors in attracting butterflies besides colorful plants. Butterflies are just like people .. we all like specific locations, climates, colors and groups of people. The color of your plants, the topography of your property (are you desert, mountain, coastal, forest?), and the climate (is your property cool, hot or mild?) of your yard can also determine what sort of butterflies will be attracted to your property and if they’ll lay their larvae. Different species enjoy hot arid, others enjoy cold or mild climates.

We all know that the climate in the West and Southwestern U.S. can change daily or have extended periods of hot, dry weather. Extreme weather conditions usually need specific plants. Look for native plants or plants from similar climates or hardiness zones that will more than likely thrive. Native plants will definitely attract butterflies.

I’m in hardiness zone 9b and I’m able to add a colorful and hardy plants that are actually native to the Mediterranean. My climate is close to Turkey and Italy. My local nursery usually carries different varieties of butterfly plants from around the world. 

Nectar plants or hanging nectar bottles should be set in a sunny spot to encourage the butterflies to land on them. Most butterflies like to feed where it’s sunny and in an open space.

Gardens definitely need both host and nectar plants to attract lots of butterflies. Host plants are where butterflies lay their eggs and where caterpillars grow. Host plants will be eaten by the caterpillars, so put them in a location away from any of your fruiting plants as like tomatoes. That way, caterpillars will have a long way to travel if they decide to feed off of your heirloom tomato plants.

Nectar plants will be frequented by adult butterflies. Butterflies feed off of nectar plants. Nectar plants will keep those pretty butterflies from wondering into your neighbor’s yard. Growing colorful nectar plants to attract butterflies is like a kid in a candy store. The butterflies will be happy helpful pollinators. With consistent food growing everywhere they’ll lay their larvae and the cycle of butterfly life will soon begin in your garden.

If you find you're having problems with ants climbing your plants, grow in a pot and keep water in the saucer underneath the pot. This will keep ants from climbing on the plant and attacking the butterflies.

Butterflies find it really hard to fly when it's windy. If you live in a windy place, provide protection from the elements with tall hedge plants or walls of plants.

Most butterflies eat nectar from flowers, though some eat sap, dung, and other things. 

If you have color, flowering plants with nectar, host plants .. . you'll attract butterflies.

Photo	Butterfly	Nectar Plants	Host Plants
	California Sister (Adelpha bredowii)	butterfly bush and overripe fruit	oaks, especially gambel oak
	Red- spotted Purple (Limenitis arthemis)	butterfly bush, lantana, and milkweed	birches, aspen tree, and willow
	Empress Leilia (Asterocampa leilia)	sap, dung, and occasionally flower nectar	hackberry and tree Celtis pallida in the elm family
	Hackberry Emperor (Asterocampa celtis)	sap, rotting fruit, dung, carrion, and will take moisture at wet spots along roads and streams	hackberry and sugarberry
	Coronis Fritillary (Speyeria coronis)	unkown	violets
	Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae)	blazing stars, butterfly bush, hibiscus, lantana, zinnia, and salvia	passionvines and passion flowers
	Mexican Fritillary (Euptoieta hegesia)	lantana, stachytarpheta, and turnera	passionvines, morning glories, and turnera
	Mormon Fritillary (Speyeria mormonia)	goldenrod	violets
	Nokomis Fritillary (Speyeria nokomis)	thistles	viola nephrophylla
	Northwestern Fritillary (Speyeria hesperis)	gaillardia, rabbitbrush, purple mints, and shrub cinquefoil	violets
	Variegated Fritillary (Euptoieta claudia)	butterfly bush and milkweed	passion flowers, woodland stonecrop, and violet
	Zebra Heliconian (Heliconius charithonius)	lantana and shepherd's needle	passionvine
	Monarch (Danaus plexippus)	butterfly bush, blazing stars, milkweed, lantana, salvia, blood flower, and coreopsis	milkweed and blood flower
	Queen (Danaus gilippus)	climbing milkweed, butterfly bush, lantana, zinnia, and blood flower	milkweed and blood flower
	American Snout (Libytheana carinenta)	aster, black-eyed Susan, flowering dogwood, dogbane, and goldenrod	hackberry and sugarberry
	American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis)	aster, milkweed, marigold, verbena, Joe-Pye weed, goldenrod, and dogbane	everlastings, daisy family, mallow, ironweed, sunflower
	Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia)	aster, coreopsis, swamp milkweed, and verbena	snapdragon, verbena, ruellia, swamp verbena, and plantain family
	Dotted Checkerspot (Poladryas minuta)	nectar from flowers including yellow composites	beardtongues  in the figwort family
	Bordered Patch (Chlosyne lacinia)	flower nectar	sunflowers, ragweed, crownbeard, and cockleburs
	Arctic Fritillary (Boloria chariclea)	goldenrods and asters	violets, scrub willows, and possibly blueberry
	Callippe Fritillary (Speyeria callippe)	impatiens, passion vine, and hibiscus	violets
	Edwards' Fritillary (Speyeria edwardsii)	flower nectar	violets
	Freija Fritillary (Boloria freija)	flower nectar	dwarf bilberry and other plants in the heath family
	Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele)	black-eyed Susan, milkweed, blood flower, passion flowers,and  tall verbena	violets
	Silver-bordered Fritillary (Boloria selene)	goldenrod, black-eyed Susans	violets
	Zerene Fritillary (Speyeria zerene)	unknown	violets
	Field Crescent (Phyciodes pulchellus)	flower nectar	asters
	Fulvia Checkerspot (Chlosyne fulvia)	flower nectar	paintbrush
	Green Comma (Polygonia faunus)	dung and carrion	small pussy willow, black birch, alder, western azalea, and gooseberry
	Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa)	overripe fruit, tree sap, milkweed, dogbane, butterfly biush, and zinnia	elm, aspen, hackberry, birch, and willow
	Mylitta Crescent (Phyciodes mylitta)	dogbane, fleabane, and white clover	asters
	Northern Crescent (Phyciodes cocyta)	dogbane, fleabane, and white clover	asters
	Painted Crescent (Phyciodes picta)	flower nectar	field bindweed, aster, and hairy tubetongue
	Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui)	aster, blazing stars, butterfly bush, buttonbush, milkweed, verbena, and zinnia	hollyhock, shasta daisy, sunflower, and mallow
	Pale Crescent (Phyciodes pallida)	flower nectar	thistles
	Pearl Crescent (Phyciodes tharos)	aster, swamp milkweed, verbena, and zinnia	aster
	Phaon Crescent (Phyciodes phaon)	lippia and composites including shepherd's needle	dogfruit and mat grass in the verbena family
	Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis)	when rotting fruit, tree sap, dung, and carrion are unavailable do Question Marks visit flowers such as common milkweed, aster, and sweet pepperbush	American elm, red elm, hackberry, Japanese hop, nettles, and false nettle
	Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)	aster, butterfly bush, milkweed, and shasta daisy	false nettle
	Texas Crescent (Phyciodes texana)	flower nectar	honeysuckle, twinseed, and low plants of the acanthus family: ruellia, jacobina, beloperone, and siphonoglossa
	Tiny Checkerspot (Dymasia dymas)	unknown	plants in Acanthus family
	California Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis californica)	flower nectar	buckbrush and wild lilacs
	Edith's Checkerspot (Euphydryas editha)	flower nectar	paintbrush, beardtongues, lousewort, owl's clover, Chinese houses, and plantain
	Gorgone Checkerspot (Chlosyne gorgone)	nectar, especially from yellow flowers	sunflower and crosswort
Photo: USDA Agricultural Research	Gray Comma (Polygonia progne)	sap	gooseberries and azalea
Photo: Walter Siegmund	Hoary Comma (Polygonia gracilis)	sweet everlasting	currants, gooseberries, western azalea, and mock azalea
Photo: Bill Bouton	Leanira Checkerspot (Thessalia leanira)	flower nectar	Indian paintbrush
Photo: D Gordon E Robertson	Milbert's Tortoiseshell (Aglais milberti)	lilac, goldenrod, and thistle	false nettle
Photo: Ingrid Taylar	Northern Checkerspot (Chlosyne palla)	flower nectar	goldenrod, rabbitbrush, and asters
Photo: Bill Bouton	Painted Crescent (Phyciodes picta)	flower nectar	field bindweed, aster, and hairy tubetongue
Photo: Walter Siegmund	Variable Checkerspot (Euphydryas chalcedona)	flower nectar	besseya, penstemon, Indian paintbrush, snowberry, honeysuckle, and plants from several other families including boraginaceae and rosaceae
Photo: Terry Spivey	West Coast Lady (Vanessa annabella)	aster, yarrow, and goldenrod	hollyhock, mallow, false nettle
Photo: D Gordon E Robertson	Common Wood-Nymph (Cercyonis pegala)	rotting fruit and flower nectar	purpletop and other grasses
Photo: David Bygott	Red Satyr (Megisto rubricata)	unkown	Bermuda grass and St. Augustine grass
Photo: Walter Siegmund	Rocky Mountain Parnassian (Parnassius smintheus)	sedum and asteraceae family	stonecrop
Photo: Calibas	Anise Swallowtail (Papilio zelicaon)	zinnia, aster, and butterfly bush	dill, fennel, parsley, and Queen Anne's lace
Photo: Mongo	Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes)	butterfly bush, milkweed, red clover, and thistle	dill, fennel, parsley, and rue
Photo: Mongo	Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes)	red Mexican bird of paradise,  lantana, azalea, bougainvilla, bouncing Bet, dame's rocket, goldenrod, Japanese honeysuckle, and swamp milkweed	trees and herbs of the citrus family: prickly ash, hop tree, and common rue
Photo: Steve L Martin	Indra Swallowtail (Papilio indra)	red Mexican bird of paradise, flower nectar	aromatic herbs of the parsley family growing among rocks
Photo: Alves Gaspar	Old World Swallowtail (Papilio machaon)	red Mexican bird of paradise, flower nectar	rarely plants in the parsley family and sagebrushes: Arctic wormwood and wild tarragon
Photo: Kaldari	Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor)	red Mexican bird of paradise, butterfly bush, lantana, swamp milkweed, mexican sunflowers, verbena, and petunia	pipevine
Photo: Jim Conrad	Pale Swallowtail (Papilio eurymedon)	red Mexican bird of paradise, California buckeye, yerba santa, and wallflower	wild cherry, wild plum, coffee berry, ash
Photo: Jay Williams	Two- tailed Swallowtail (Papilio multicaudata)	red Mexican bird of paradise, lilac, swamp milkweed, and thistle	velvet ash, chokecherry, common hoptree, and flowering ash
Photo: Brocken Inaglory	Western Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio rutulus)	red Mexican bird of paradise, lavender, zinnia	flowering ash, aspen tree, willow
Photo: Stephen Patrick	Cabbage White (Pieris rapae)	scarlet monkeyflower, impatiens, passion vine, lavender, verbena, aster, cosmos, and oregano	mustard (cabbage) family, nasturtium, spider flower
Photo: Bob Peterson	Cloudless Sulphur (Phoebis sennae)	red Mexican bird of paradise, and flower nectar	senna, cassia, and desert senna
Photo: Anne Toal	Dainty Sulphur (Nathalis iole)	red Mexican bird of paradise, common dogweed, Labrador tea, asters, wild marigold, and rabbitbrush	daisy family, dogweed, and low-growing plants in the aster family: shepherd's needle, sneezeweed, fetid marigoldd, and cultivated marigold
Photo: Anne Toal	Large Orange Sulphur (Phoebis agarithe)	lantana, shepherd's needle, bougainvilla, rose periwinkle, turk's cap, and hibiscus	feather tree, and pithecellobium and inga species in the pea family
Photo: Megan McCarty	Mexican Yellow (Eurema mexicana)	flower nectar	acacia and diphysa, especially fern acacia
Photo: Megan McCarty	Orange Sulphur (Colias eurytheme)	aster, common milkweed, and goldenrod	alfalfa, clovers, related legumes, and white clover
Photo: Megan McCarty	Southern Dogface (Zerene cesonia)	alfalfa, coreopsis, houstonia, and verbena.	small-leaved plants in the pea family: alfalfa; prairie clovers, indigo, and clover
Gossamer-wing Butterflies (Family Lycaenidae)
Photo: Jerry Friedman	Purplish Copper (Lycaena helloides)	trailing lantana and sweet bush	docks, sorrels, and knotweeds
Photo: Clinton & Charles Robertson	Gray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus)	sweet bush, trailing lantana, milkweed, blood flower, goldenrod, and Queen Anne's lace	legumes, hibiscus, hollyhock, passion flowers, and mallow
Photo: Anne Toal	Great Purple Hairstreak (Atlides halesus)	sweet bush, trailing lantana, desert broom, goldenrod, Hercules club, shepherd's needle, sweet pepperbush, and wild plum	mistletoes
Photo: Megan McCarty	Juniper Hairstreak (Callophrys gryneus)	sweet bush, trailing lantana, winter cress, dogbane, common milkweed, wild carrot, shepherd's needle, butterflyweed, and white sweet clover	junipers, especially alligator juniper
Photo: David Bygott	Leda Hairstreak (Ministrymon leda)	sweet bush, mesquite, trailing lantana, and seepwillow	mesquites
Photo: Gary Jue	Boisduval's Yellow (Eurema boisduvalliana)	scruffy prairie clover, buckwheat, false indigo, and white sweet clover	senna and cassia species in the pea family
Photo: Anne Toal	Caeraunus Blue (Hemiargus isola)	scruffy prairie clover, buckwheat, false indigo, and white sweet clover	acacias, kidneywood, and baja fairy duster
Photo: Bill Bouton	Greenish Blue (Plebejius saepiolus)	scruffy prairie clover, buckwheat, clovers, and falseindigo	clovers, especially alsike
Photo: Anne Toal	Marine Blue (Leptotes marina)	scruffy prairie clover, buckwheat, false indigo, and white sweet clover	baja fairy duster, kidneywood, false indigo, members of the pea family, leadwort, alfalfa, milkvetch, and mesquite
Photo: Anne Toal	Reakirt's Blue (Hemiargus isola)	buckwheat, white clover, and false indigo	pea family
Photo: Michael Rosenberg	Sleepy Orange (Abaeis nicippe)	scruffy prairie clover, cassia, wild indigo, and white sweet clover	sennas and shepherd's needle
Photo: Katja Schulz	Spring Azure (Celastrina ladon)	scruffy prairie clover, buckwheat, dogbane, privet, blackberry, false indigo, common milkweed, and white sweet clover	woody shrubs and occasionally herbs: dogwood, New Jersey tea, meadowsweet, and collinsia
Photo: Forest & Kim Starr	Western Pygmy-Blue (Brephidium exile)	scruffy prairie clover, buckwheat, false indigo, and white sweet clover	pigweed, saltbush species, and others in the goosefoot family
(Family Riodinidae)
Photo: Anne Toal	Fatal Metalmark (Calephelis nemesis)	flower nectar	seepwillow and sometimes virgin's bower
Photo: Megan McCarty	Palmer's Metalmark (Apodemia palmeri)	flower nectar	mesquites
Photo: Svdmolen	Mormon Metalmark (Apodemia mormo)	eriogonum, buckwheat, and yellow-flowered composites: senecio and rabbitbrush	buckwheat
Photo: Systasea Zampa	Arizona Powdered-Skipper (Systasea zampa)	French marigold	mallows
Photo: Brocken Inaglory	Common Checkered-Skipper (Pyrgus communis)	white-flowered composites: shepherd's needles, fleabane, and asters; also French marigold, oregano, sedum "autumn joy," red clover, knapweed, and beggar's ticks	globemallows, mallow, hollyhock, alkali mallows, velvet-leaf, and poppy mallow, and beggar's ticks
Photo: David Bygott	Erichson's White Skipper (Heliopyrgus domicella)	French marigold	mallows
Photo: Northern Prairie Wildlife	Small Checkered-Skipper (Pyrgus scriptura)	French marigold	alkali mallow, scarlet globemallow, and desert globemallow
Photo: Stonebird	Northern White Skipper (Heliopetes ericetorum)	French marigold	unknown
Photo: Vitaly Charny	Golden-banded Skipper (Autochton cellus)	French marigold, trailing arbutus, blackberry, abelia, and hollyhock	legumes, New Mexico locust, and hog peanut
Photo: Bill Bouton	Violet-clouded Skipper (Lerodea arabus)	French marigold, bidens, and lantana	Bermuda grass and green spangletop
Photo: Eugene Zelenko	"White" Common Checkered-Skipper (Pyrgus communis albescens)	French marigold	mallows
Photo: Aaron Gunnar	Northern Cloudywing (Thorybes pylades)	nectar from blue, purple, pink, or white flowers including dogbane, selfheal, crown vetch, Japanese honeysuckle, thistles, common milkweed, Deptford pink, and hoary vervain	legumes, and plants in the pea family: beggar's ticks, bush clover, clover, and lotus
Photo: Pbedell	Golden-headed scallopwing (Staphylus ceos)	unknown	pigweeds and Fremont's goosefoot
Photo: Kretyen	Funereal Duskywing (Erynnis funeralis)	deerweed and California buckwheat	deerweed, legumes: New Mexican locust, bur clover, desert ironwood, and vetch
Photo: Bill Bouton	Persius Duskywing (Erynnis persius)	flower nectar	lupine, golden banner, lotus, and other legumes
	Mexican Cloudywing (Thorybes mexicana)	flower nectar	clover, wild pea, and vetch
	Mohave Sootywing (Hesperopsis libya)	flower nectar	shadscale
	Afranius Duskywing (Erynnis afranius)	flower nectar	legumes: deerweed, lupine, and milkvetch
	Common Sootywing (Pholisora catullus)	ogbane, marjoram, oxalis, white clover, common milkweed, peppermint, cucumber, and melon	lambsquarters, amaranths, and cockscomb
	Dreamy Duskywing (Erynnis icelus)	lueberry, wild strawberry, blackberry, Labrador tea, dogbane, New Jersey tea, winter cress, purple vetch, and lupine	willows, poplars, aspens, and occasionally birch
	Persius Duskywing (Erynnis persius)	flower nectar	lupine, golden banner, lotus, and other legumes
	Sleepy Duskywing (Erynnis brizo)	wild azalea, blueberry, blackberry, and dandelion	scrub oak and other shrubby oaks
	Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus)	aster, ironweed, verbena, milkweed, and woodland stonecrop	grasses, sedges, especially bermuda grass
	Orange Skipperling (Copaeodes aurantiacus)	flower nectar	side oats grama, Bermuda grass, sideoats grama, and green spangletop
	Dull Firetip (Apyrrothrix araxes)	nectar from monarda and baccaris	oaks: Arizona blue, emory, and Mexican blue
	Viceroy (Limenitis archippus)	aster, butterfly bush, and milkweed	aspen tree and willow
	Weidemeyer's Admiral (Limenitis weidemeyerii)	sap, snowberry, tree sap, and carrion	willow, aspen, cottonwood, ocean spray, and shadbush