Gardening for insect life certainly runs the risk of raising an eyebrow or two. Why, would anyone wish to attract insects, one might ask?? Well the simple answer is that not all insects are bad. In fact many insects are beneficial to your garden specifically and to the ecosystem in general. The obvious examples are the pollinators and those heroic predatory insects whose appetites keep the numbers of not so beneficial insects down to a tolerable level. So - we are aware of the fact that we need our six legged friends. But, I’m getting ahead of myself. What I am really setting out to do here is talk about that poster child for the insect world – that sunny fluttering flower of an insect, the butterfly.
According to the Butterflies of the SF Bay Region – there are (or at least were at the time of print in1965!!) 122 butterfly species documented in the region. Most of us are familiar with the more charismatic of these such as the Pipevine and Anise Swallowtails. I also commonly see Whites and and Skippers in my postage stamp of a garden in Berkeley.
Not surprisingly, I am partial to local natives and that is most of what grows on my postage stamp. The cool thing is that along the front fence there runs a very hearty Dutchman’s Pipevine and for the past two summers I have seen the large blue-black Pipevine Swallowtail flutter by and oviposit eggs on the vine. Following, of course, there are hungry larvae munching away. Oddly enough the caterpillars – once they reach maturity and are ready to pupate – seem determined to take off over land (this is a dangerous prospect in my area as there are sidewalks and broad residential streets to navigate). Twice I have been lucky enough to capture one and have it produce its chrysalis in a place where I can keep a close eye on it.
Setting out to attract butterflies, one must ask the question – what do butterflies really want? The answer is not simple, since these creatures have four distinctly different life stages. Outlined below are the basic ideas that one needs to keep in mind in order to provide for the needs of each stage of the life cycle.
Habitat Requirements For Life Stages
EGG – un oeuf is un oeuf
Allow for areas of undisturbed vegetation, if you have the space for it. Avoid vigorous clearing, pruning and if the larval host plants are deciduous leave them intact, even after they dry up and go dormant.
LARVA - time to eat and grow up
Many of the local butterfly species have specific requirements when it comes to growing up plump and ready to pupate. Some butterfly species are host-specific, requiring the sustenance of only one species of plant (the example that stands out here is the Pipevine Swallowtail, which of course needs the Pipevine). Others are more flexible, requiring sustenance from a specific family of plants (for example the Anise Swallowtail needs plants from the parsley family). And then there are the generalists.
CHRYSALIS – time to rest and rearrange
Similar to the needs of the egg stage, areas of undisturbed vegetation, leaf litter and woodpiles. Some flutterbys pupate in the soil, some wrap themselves up in leaves, some produce the well known chrysalis hanging from or strapped to a stem. In a small yard the urge to tidy things up can be difficult to overcome, but perhaps there is a hidden corner somewhere that could be sacrificed.
ADULT – time to reproduce
While the larval stage seems to be consumed with munching endless amounts of leaf material, the adult stage needs nectar to keep up the energy required in attracting a mate and reproducing. Different species of butterflies emerge at different times so the garden needs continuously blooming nectar sources. It can be an interesting challenge to figure out a way to have plenty of nectar-producing plants blooming from spring all the way until the end of summer. According to Mikula (1997), butterflies are attracted to flowers in this order of preference: purple, pink, yellow, white, blue and red. Since butterflies are cold blooded they need places to bask such as dark colored boulders. Shallow impressions filled with mud and water can also be very attractive to some species, as sources of both water and mineral nutrients.
And so you may wonder how does all of this relate to what Oaktown Native Plant Nursery grows?? Here are two lists. The first is a list of larval host plants by butterfly, the second is a general list of our nectar plants. Have a look and make your shopping list today!
Larval Host Plants by Butterfly
- Anise Swallowtail – Yampah (Perideridia kelloggii), Lomatium (Lomatium californicum and L. dasycarpum)
- American Lady – Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea)
- Blues – Giant Vetch (Vicia gigantean), Buckwheat (Eriogonum latifolium & E. nudum), California Lilac (Ceanothus thyrsiflorus), Deerbrush (Lotus scoparius), Lupine (Lupinus albifrons & L. variicolor), Buckeye (Aesculus californica)
- Buckeye – Sticky Monkey Flower (Mimulus aurantiacus)
- California Tortoiseshell - California Lilac (Ceanothus thyrsiflorus)
- Chalcedon Checkerspot - Foothill Penstemon (Penstemon heterophyllus)
- Checkered skipper, Grey Hairstreak, West Coast Lady and Painted Lady – Checkerbloom, (Sidalcea malviflora)
- Morning Cloak – Arroyo Willow (Salix lasiolepis)
- Mylitta crescent – Venus Thistle (Cirsium occidentale)
- Northern Checkerspot – Wooly Paintbrush (Castilleja foliosa) & Common Aster (Aster chilensis)
- Pale Swallowtail – Coffeeberry (Rhamus californica), California Lilac (Ceanothus thyrsiflorus) & Holly Leaf Cherry (Prunus ilicifolia)
- Pipevine Swallowtail – Dutchman’s Pipevine (Aristolochia californica)
- Sister – Oaks, particularly (Quercus agrifolia & Q. chrysolepis)
- Skippers (Umber, Fiery and California Ringlet) – many native bunch grasses
- Tailed Copper – California Gooseberry (Ribes californicum) & Pink Flowering Currant (Ribes sanguinium var. glutiosum)
- Whites – San Francisco Wallflower (Erysimum franscianum)
General List of Nectar Plants by botanical and common name
Achillea millefolium – Yarrow
Cirsium occidentale – Venus Thistle
Erigeron glaucus - Seaside Daisy
Eriophyllum confertiflorum – Golden Yarrow
Eriophyllum staechadifolium – Lizardtail
Grindelia sp. – Gumplant
Lessingia filaginifolia – California Beach Aster
Monardella villosa – Coyote Mint
Phacelia bolanderi - Bolander Phacelia
Phacelia californica - Common Phacelia
Salvia clevelandii – Cleveland Sage
Sedum spathulifolium – Stonecrop
Solidago californica – California Goldenrod
Verbena lasiostachys – Robust Verbena
Wyethia angustifolia – Narrow-leaf Mules Ears
Wyethia helenoides – Grey Mules Ears
References
Butterflies of the San Francisco Bay Region, JW Tilden, UC Press, 1965.
California Butterflies, JS Garth & JW Tilden, UC Press, 1986.
Caterpillars In The Field and Garden; A Field Guide To The Butterfly Caterpillars Of North America, TJ Allen, JM Brock & J Glassberg, Oxford University Press, 2005.
Garden Butterflies of North America, R. Mikula, Willow Creek Press, 1997.
