"What is a caterpillar garden? " you ask.

[Gloria]

Nice plant list...

https://savvygardening.com/flowers-t...out-grown-ups/

Yes, everyone is on a mission to plant milkweed (which is great, don’t get me wrong), but in the meantime, there are dozens of other butterfly species aside from the monarch who have nowhere left to lay their eggs because we aren’t growing the right plants in our yards. And, in some cases, we’re purposefully killing the sole larval food source of some of North America’s most beautiful butterfly species.
So, today, it’s my mission to change that. Here, in a simple, easy-to-use format, is a list of larval food sources for some of North America’s butterflies and a handful of useful ideas for how to incorporate these plants into your landscape. Rather than butterfly gardening, I like to call this caterpillar gardening!

Monarch – milkweed

Great spangled fritillary, meadow fritillary, Zerene fritillary, Atlantis fritillary, and silver-bordered fritillary – violets
(and only violets! Please stop killing the violets in your lawn!)

Gulf fritillary – passionflower

Baltimore checkerspot – white turtlehead, hairy Penstemon, speedwell, honeysuckle, arrowwood, white ash

Milbert’s tortoiseshell – stinging nettle

Eastern tiger swallowtail – plum, apple, ash, willow, elm, and others

Spicebush swallowtail – sassafras, spicebush, tulip tree, sweet bay magnolia

Pipevine swallowtail – Dutchman’s pipe, black bindweed, knotweed

Painted lady – Yarrow, thistle, lupine, borage, sunflower, lambsquarters, sage

Eastern comma – Elm, hops, nettles

Red admiral – nettle, hops

Eastern black swallowtail – Angelica, dill, fennel, Zizia, lovage, wild carrot

Pearly crescent – aster

Little wood satyr – orchard grass

Common wood nymph – bluestem, porcupinegrass

Mourning cloak – willow, cottonwood, birch, elm, hops, white ash, basswood

American lady – pussytoes, sagebrush, sunflower, lupine, nettle, Canada thistle, hollyhock, mallow

Viceroy – willow, birch, plum, hawthorn, serviceberry, cherry

American snout – hackberry

Metalmark – yellow thistle

Spring azure – plum, cherry, maple, hop, blueberry, viburnum, wingstem, and others

Gray hairstreak – false indigo, bush clover, lupine, clover, vetch, hibiscus, mallow hawthorn, and others

Banded hairstreak – oak, hickory, ash, walnut

Wild indigo duskywing – baptisia, wild lupine, crownvetch

Cloudless sulphur – cassia

Southern dogface – false indigo, clover, alfalfa

[Gloria]

A bit more information on the Baltimore Checkerspot larval host. The information above is correct but a bit more complex. Plus habitat is very specific.

Rare, Threatened and Endangered Animal Fact Sheets

Baltimore checkerspot caterpillars (larvae) feed almost exclusively on white turtlehead (Chelone glabraL.), especially in the summer when the caterpillars are small. Later in their development when they are much larger, Baltimore checkerspot caterpillars may use a variety of other host plants in addition to turtlehead, including arrowwood viburnum (Viburnum recognitum Fernald), narrow-leaved plantain (Plantago lanceolata L.), penstemon (Penstemon spp. Schmidel) and honeysuckle (Lonicera spp. L.)

Several species of flowering plants provide nectar for adult Baltimore checkerspots. Plants must be blooming during the flight period of the adult butterfly in order to serve as a nectar source. In Maryland, Baltimore checkerspots may obtain nectar from milkweeds (Asclepias spp. L.), especially common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca L.), dogbane (Apocynum spp. L.), several species of mountain mint (Pycnanthemum spp. Michx.) and wild blackberry (Rubus spp. L.).

Baltimore checkerspot colonies are located in early-successional, stream-fed wet meadows with few trees and shrubs. In general, habitats are fairly “weedy” with waist-high herbaceous vegetation including sedges and rushes and few woody plants. The soils in these wet meadows are mostly clay with a pH level of 6.8 or less, making them naturally acidic. The water table (aka water level) varies from the surface to 8-9 inches below the soil; in many wetlands the water table varies throughout the wetland.

[jack]

Great list, but it was strange to see knotweed, a scourge wherever it is, on it.

[KC Clark]

Any list promoting the planting of wild carrot in the US is questionable.

Watched a black swallowtail laying a bunch of eggs on my Golden Alexander today. Twenty minutes later, I could not find a single one. Zizia is a great choice for black swallowtails because the predators have a much harder time finding the eggs/caterpillars. On dill, both are easy to spot.

[skip1909]

I was surprised to see plaintain and orchard grass on there too. Both are a pain in my yard. I swear the ticks and mosquitos love to hang out on the little flowering stalks and attack everytime I walk by. I have virginia knotweed in my yard too, not nearly the same as the hellish japanese knotweed.

[Gloria]

Originally Posted by KC Clark

Any list promoting the planting of wild carrot in the US is questionable.

Watched a black swallowtail laying a bunch of eggs on my Golden Alexander today. Twenty minutes later, I could not find a single one. Zizia is a great choice for black swallowtails because the predators have a much harder time finding the eggs/caterpillars. On dill, both are easy to spot.

Not Queen Ann's Lace which is sometimes called wild carrot .


Daucus pusillus / American wild carrot sometimes called small wild carrot. I agree that planting it might not be the best option but depending on where you live if it is growing already I don't think it is a problem.

http://www.americansouthwest.net/pla...-pusillus.html

https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=dapu3

[Gloria]

Very good observations by all. Thank you.

There are a couple of not so good choices on the list and it would have been nice if the list used botanical names to avoid confusion. There are also other plants that could have been included. But overall I thought it was a good idea with many sound choices.

Fallopia cilinodis (Fringed Black-bindweed) is native..

Fallopia convolvulus (Black-bindweed) is non-native and very weedy.

Polygonum was once known commonly as knotweed hence the Virginia knotweed and hopefully that was what was meant. I don't really know but once again botanical names would have helped.

[Gloria]

The caterpillars of the butterfly Vanessa atalanta (Red Admiral) feed on the foliage of Pennsylvania Pellitory and other members of the Nettle family.
I don't plant it but always leave it growing wherever I find it.

Pennsylvania Pellitory (Parietaria pensylvanica)

Growing along our garage and several other rather shady spots.
Pennsylvania Pellitory/Parietaria pensylvanica
Nettle family (Urticaceae)

[KC Clark]

Originally Posted by Gloria

Not Queen Ann's Lace which is sometimes called wild carrot .

Daucus pusillus / American wild carrot sometimes called small wild carrot.

In Ohio, "wild carrot" is QAL. I had no clue there was an American wild carrot and I've spent a lot of time discussing black swallowtail hostplant choices with people across the country. Problem with common names and problem with plant recommendation lists that are aimed at the entire country. And speaking of entire country, a black swallowtail hostplant problem I've read about many times is not addressed in that list. Many people along the gulf find that the plants on that list cannot handle the high heat. Mock Bishop's Weed AKA Ptilimnium capillaceum seems to be the best answer.

[Gloria]

Originally Posted by KC Clark

In Ohio, "wild carrot" is QAL. I had no clue there was an American wild carrot and I've spent a lot of time discussing black swallowtail hostplant choices with people across the country. Problem with common names and problem with plant recommendation lists that are aimed at the entire country. And speaking of entire country, a black swallowtail hostplant problem I've read about many times is not addressed in that list. Many people along the gulf find that the plants on that list cannot handle the high heat. Mock Bishop's Weed AKA Ptilimnium capillaceum seems to be the best answer.

That is why any list should be a guide line to get you thinking. A list can never be all inclusive even when very local. People that only buy from nurseries and garden centers have a much narrower knowledge of plants and I think, benefit from seeing the broader lists. This forum has had members from out west that know about plants the Midwest has never heard of and would not do well here in the Great Lakes area. South eastern plant life can sound like the same as here but varieties make a big difference. Discussions like this are helpful to remind us to dig deeper don't you think?