Our garden attracts many varieties of butterflies, skippers and moths. Among the most dramatic, though common, butterflies are the swallowtails. At this time of year we see dozens and dozens of tiger swallowtails (Papilio glaucas) on the tall perennial phlox late in the afternoon.
In this hot dry weather, many butterflies need supplemental water, sugar and minerals.
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To feed adult butterflies, fruit and Gatorade are replenished almost daily. |
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Swallowtail butterfly caterpillar about to make a chrysalis. |
If you want a LOT of butterflies, it helps to provide the plants where they lay their eggs. Many butterflies are host specific and will lay eggs only on one type of plant.
Many types of swallowtail caterpillars look similar. Black swallowtails (Papilio polyxenes asterius Stoll) hang out, dance around and mate on the perennial phlox so this could be one of their caterpillars.
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Swallowtail caterpillar eating dill, a favorite food. |
This year the garden has a dozen parsley plants, 8 fennel plants, and plenty of dill. We are being rewarded with plenty of caterpillars.
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Our view of the butterfly feeder from the kitchen window. |
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Giant swallowtail, Papilio cresphontes Cramer caterpillar |
Giant swallowtail butterflies are the largest of the species with wings that span 6-inches and more. To bring them to the garden, we grow rue. We started with one plant given to us by another butterfly grower, then I started several plants from seed. Now our mature plants are making seed.
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Rue for Giant Swallowtail larvae - can you see the eggs? |
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Spicebush swallowtail caterpillar, Papilio troilus |
Here's a link to a website that chronicles bringing butterfly eggs and caterpillars into the house to enjoy watching the entire process up close. The site is
Berkeleys Anise Swallowtails. By the way the butterflies called Anise Swallowtail (
Papilio zelicaon) looks a lot like the Western Tiger swallowtail (
Papilio rutulus) and the Eastern Black Swallowtail (Papilio
polyxenes).
What's that Bug, "If you live in the central to eastern states, the you have Black Swallowtails. If you are west of the Rocky Mountains, they are Anise Swallowtails."
Joyful Butterfly's site provides a list of host plants
BUTTERFLY SPECIES | HOST PLANTS |
Anise Swallowtail | anise, parsley, carrot, dill, fennel, rue |
Eastern Black Swallowtail | parsley, carrot, dill, fennel, rue |
Giant Swallowtail | citrus, hop tree, prickly ash, rue |
Pipevine Swallowtail | dutchman's pipe, pipevines (not the exotics), Virginia snakeroot |
Spicebush Swallowtail | spicebush, sassafras, camphor tree (Cinnamomum camphora) |
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail | many broadleaf trees and shrubs, lilac, willow, birch, tuliptree, cherry |
Zebra Swallowtail | pawpaw |
Monarch | Milkweed (Asclepias) |
Viceroy | willow, poplar, aspen, apple, cherry, plum |
Red-Spotted Purple | apple, aspen, cherry, hawthorn, hornbeam, poplar, willow |
Great Spangled Fritillary | violets, (Viola tricolor) |
Variegated Fritillary | Violets, (Viola tricolor), pansies, stonecrops, passionflowers, plantains |
Meadow Fritillary | violets (Viola sororia, Viola pallens) |
Mourning Cloak | elm, poplar, willow |
Question Mark | elm, hackberry, hop, nettle |
Green Comma | rhododendron, azalea, birch, willow |
Red Admiral | nettle, false nettle, hop |
Painted Lady | members of the mallow family, Malva sylvestris, Tree mallow (Lavatera) |
American Painted Lady | daisies, everlastings, other composites, Hollyhock (Alcea rosea) |
Buckeye | plantain, snapdragon, stonecrop, verbena, (Verbena bonariensis) |
Baltimore Checkerspot | turtlehead, false foxglove, plantain, white ash |
Pearly Crescentspot | asters New England Aster (A. novae-angliae) |
Great Purple Hairstreak | mistletoes |
Gray Hairstreak | cotton, mallows, strawberry, legumes, mints |
American Copper | sheep sorrel, curly dock, mountain sorrel |
Tailed Blue | clovers, beans, peas |
Spring Azure | blueberry, California lilac, dogwoods, meadowsweet, viburnums |
Cloudless Sulphur | senna, clovers, other legumes |
Clouded Sulphur | clovers and other legumes |
Orange Sulphur | white clover, alfalfa, vetch, lupine |
Dogface | false indigo, clovers, lupine, vetch, leadplant |
Checkered White | crucifers, Cleome |
Cabbage White | Cabbage, Mustards, other crucifers, nasturtium |
Zebra Longwing | passionflowers |
Gulf Fritillary | passionflowers, (Passiflora caerulea) |
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