Images by Melody Wilson.
Images from TGU’s wholesale nursery.
Host Plant & Most Common Visitor
Common nectar plants.
For More Information:
Please check out:
North American Butterfly Association https://nababutterfly.com/
Texas A&M Harris County http://counties.agrilife.org/harris/files/2011/05/bflygrdn.pdf
Butterflies and Moths of North America https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/
Author: Melody Wilson
Contact: melody.wilson@thegroundup.com
The warmer months of July and August bring sightings of many different types of butterflies in the Houston area, we can see butterflies and moths almost year-round in Southeast Texas. Starting a butterfly garden can be as easy as planting a variety of colorful flowering plants to attract the feeding adult butterflies. With some planning, your butterfly garden can become a haven for all stages of the butterfly life cycle and multiple species of these beautiful pollinators.
I started on my journey in butterfly gardening when we moved into our new house last July. It took a little bit to wrap my head around planting plants solely to be a food source, but now I'm hooked. I have lost count of the number of pots of Asclepias that I have put in to feed my hungry little cats.
Our perennial pad at The Ground Up is bursting with pollinator-friendly plants right now, and when I took a short walk through the nursery and saw several different butterfly species in the perennial area without any difficulty, I knew I would be adding to my pollinator paradise.
Life Cycle
An adult butterfly will lay eggs on a host plant. Once the eggs hatch, the larva (caterpillars) will eat the host plant, often to the point of complete defoliation. Once the caterpillars are large enough, they will pupate and eventually become butterflies. The adult butterflies will feed on nectar from a variety of flowers, mate for the cycle to begin again.
Things to Consider
A butterfly habitat needs the same basic needs as we do: they require a sheltered area, water, food (for both the larva and adults), and a bright sunny area. Having a row of trees and shrubs will protect the butterflies from the weather and wind.
Your butterfly garden needs a space that gets full sun as most of the plants that attract butterflies are sun-loving.
Placing flat stones, or places for the butterflies to perch and sunbathe in your butterfly garden allows them a resting area where they can raise their body temperature when it is cooler.
The addition of shallow pools or puddles with sand and soil allows them a place to drink. There are no safe pesticides in a butterfly garden. All insecticides are toxic to butterflies and caterpillars.
Plants
It’s a good idea to become familiar with the different host plants that each species of butterfly prefers so you can attract butterflies you want to see. This is by no means the entire list of Nectar and Host Plants for our area, but a pretty good example to start with. Planting large masses of color, will attract more butterflies, and planting a variety of flowers of different heights with different bloom periods that span throughout the season is the best way to provide a steady supply of nectar for the adult butterflies.