- Maricopa County Cooperative Extension Home Horticulture:
Environmentally Responsible
Gardening & Landscaping in the Low Desert
Butterfly Gardening in the Low Desert
- Most adult butterflies feed on nectar. They are generally attracted to brightly colored flowers that are shallow and wide enough to provide a perching platform. Deep flowers like petunias may be avoided. Also, not all flowers are good sources of nectar for butterflies. Many commonly planted flowers were developed for their appearance rather than their ability to produce nectar. For example, geraniums do not produce much nectar. Butterflies may also feed on plant sap, rotting fruit and even animal dung. Butterfly & Moth Information
Common Nectar Plants for Butterflies
| Ageratum (Ageratum houstonianum) | Aster (Aster spp.) |
| Anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) | Astilbe (Astilbe x arendsii) |
| Cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus) | Bee Balm (Monarda spp.) |
| Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus) | Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia spp.) |
| Heliotrope (Heliotropium arborescens) | Blanket flower (Gaillardia x grandiflora) |
| Lantana (Lantana spp.) | Bush Cinquefoil (Potentilla fruticosa) |
| Lobelia (Lobelia spp.) | Butterfly Bush (Buddleia spp.) |
| Marigold (Tagetes spp.) | Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) |
| Mignonette (Reseda odorata) | Catmint (Nepeta mussini) |
| Nasturtium (Tropaeolum) | Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) |
| Pincushion flower (Scabiosa atropurpurea) | Coreopsis (Coreopsis spp.) |
| Sunflower (Helianthus spp.) | Daisy (Chrysanthemum maximum) |
| Sweet Alyssum (Lobularia maritima) | Lilac (Syringa vulgaris) |
| "Torch" Tithonia (Tithonia rotundifolia) | Ornamental onion (Allium spp.) |
| Verbena (Verbena spp.) | Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) |
| Zinnia (Zinnia elegans) | Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) |
| Salvias (Salvia spp.) | |
| Yarrow (Achillea spp.) |
Larval Plants for Butterflies (will vary with region):
| Plant: | Butterflies that feed on: |
| Aster (Aster spp.) | Pearl crescent (Phycioides tharos) |
| Citrus | Giant swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes) |
| Clover, Alfalfa | Clouded sulphur, alfalfa or orange sulphur |
| Grasses, Sedges | Skippers, nymphs and satyrs |
| Lupine (Lupinus spp.) | West coast lady (Vanessa annabella) |
| Marigold (Tagetes spp.) | Dainty sulphur (Nathalis iole) |
| Mallow (Malvaceae) | Dotted hairstreak, West coast lady |
| Milkweeds (Asclepias spp.) | Monarch, queen |
| Passion flower (Passiflora spp.) | Gulf fritillary (Agraulis vanillae), zebra |
| Pipevine (Aristolochia spp.) | Pipevine swallowtail (Papilio philenor) |
| Snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus) | Buckeye (Junonia coenia) |
| Parsley, Dill, Fennel | Black swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) |
| Thistle (Cirsium spp.) | Painted lady (Vanessa cardui) |
| Violets (Viola spp.) | Fritillaries |
Resources for Butterfly Gardens
Butterfly Societies and Newsletters
- Butterfly Gardener's Quarterly, P.O. Box 30931, Seattle, Washington, 98103 USA.
Butterfly Gardeners Association, 1201 North Main Street, Allentown, PA 18104.
Connecticut Butterfly Association, Inc., P.O. Box 9004, New Haven, CT 06532-0004, USA. A new group for butterfly enthusiasts, plans field trips, butterfly garden tours, and a public butterfly garden project.
The Lepidopterists' Society, Ron Leuschner, Publications Manager, 1900 John Street, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266-2608. USA
North American Butterfly Association, 909 Birch Street, Baraboo, Wisconsin 53913 USA
Sonoran Arthropod Studies Institute, P.O. Box 5624, Tucson, AZ 85703. USA. Phone: (520) 883-3945.
The Xerces Society, 10 SW Ash Street, Portland, Oregon 97204. USA
Young Entomologists' Society, 1915 Peggy Place, Lansing Michigan 48910. USA
Butterfly Gardening and Identification References
- Arduser, M. 1993. Insect Gardening. In: Missouri Conservationist, Vol. 54 (1): 21-25.
Brewer, Jo, and Dave Winter. 1986. Butterflies and Moths. Prentice-Hall Press, New York.
Damrosch, B. 1982. Theme Gardens. Workman Publishing Company, New York.
Feltwell, John. 1986. The Natural History of Butterflies. Facts on File, New York.
Gerberg, E.J., and R.H.Arnett, Jr. 1989. Florida Butterflies. Natural Science Publications, Inc., Baltimore.
Glassberg, J. 1993. Butterflies Through Binoculars. Oxford University Press.
Howe, W.H. 1975. The Butterflies of North America. Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City.
The Lepidopterists' Society."Where are the Butterfly Gardens", a booklet listing 135 public and private gardens in the U.S. and Canada with butterfly-attracting plants. Cost is $5.75 from Ron Leuschner, Publications Manager, The Lepidopterists' Society, 1900 John Street, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266.
Lewis, Alcinda. 1995. Butterfly Gardens; Luring Nature's Loveliest Pollinators to Your Yard. Brooklyn: Brooklyn Botanic Garden. ISBN 0-945352-88-3
Mitchell, R.T., and H.S. Zim. 1964. Butterflies and Moths. Golden Press, New York.
Milord, S. 1989. The Kid's Nature Book. Williamson Publishing, Charlotte, Vermont. Has butterfly gardening activity.
Ordish, G. 1975. The Year of the Butterfly. Charles Scribner's sons, New York.
Opler, Paul A., and George O. Krizek. 1984. Butterflies East of the Great Plains. John Hopkins Press, Baltimore.
Potter-Springer, Wendy. 1990. Grow a Butterfly Garden. Storey/Garden Way Publishing, Pownal, Vermont.
Pyle, Robert Michael. 1981. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Butterflies. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
Schneck, Marcus. 1993. Creating a Butterfly Garden; A Guide to Attracting and Identifying Butterfly Visitors. New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc. ISBN 0-671-89246-O
Scott, James A. 1986. The Butterflies of North America. Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA.
Sedenko, Jerry. 1991. The Butterfly Garden; Creating Beautiful Gardens to Attract Butterflies. New York: Villard Books, a division of Random House, Inc. ISBN 0-394-58982-3
Stokes, Donald, Lillian Stokes, and Ernest Williams. 1991. The Butterfly Book. Little, Brown and Company, Boston.
Tekulsky, Mathew. 1985. The Butterfly Garden. The Harvard Common Press, Boston.
Tilden, J.W., and Arthur C. Smith. 1986. A Field Guide to Western Butterflies. Houghton-Mifflin Company, Boston.
Walton, Richard. 1990. Familiar Butterflies. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
Wright, Amy Bartlett. 1993. Peterson First Guide to Caterpillars of North America. New Your: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 0-395-56499-9
The Xerces Society in association with The Smithsonian Institution. 1990. Butterfly Gardening; Creating Summer Magic in Your Garden. San Francisco, CA: Sierra Club Books. ISBN 0-87156-615-X
Butterfly Supplies
- For live insects, books, other equipment try:
The Brown Company
140 Dean Knauss Drive
Narragansett, RI 02882 USA
1-800-556-7670
Makes butterfly feeders and butterfly hibernation houses.
Brudy's Exotics P.O. Box 820874 Houston, TX 77282-0874 USA 1-800-926-7333 1995 Catalog $2.00
Bio Quip 17803 La Salle Avenue Gardena, CA 90248-3602 USA (310) 324-0620 books, insect supplies
Carolina Biological Supply Powell Laboratories Division 19355 McLoughlin Boulevard Gladstone, Oregon 97027 USA (503) 656-1641 1-800-547-1733 live and preserved insect specimens, books, craft kits, models, slides
Insect Lore Catalog P.O. Box 1535 Shafter, CA 93263 USA 1-800-LIVE BUG butterfly cultures, The Butterfly Curriculum, insect supplies and books
Judith Levicoff "Magical Migrating Monarchs" P.O. Box 212 Jenkintown, PA 19046 USA 1-800-385-9595 (215)576-1404 fax Learn to create butterfly gardens and raise Monarchs using educational materials, activities guide, garden growing kit, book.
Young Entomologists' Society, Inc. 1915 Peggy Place Lansing, MI 48910-2553 USA (517) 887-0499
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Butterfly Gardening in the Low Desert
