I’ve seen and read many lists of flowers to plant to attract pollinators, including butterflies to the garden. How a flower is shaped and when it blooms are key to luring these beauties in. Although I feel it’s a great start to attracting a diversity of insects to the garden, most of these lists only address the feeding aspects of an adult butterfly.

Another detail I notice is most lists only include annuals and perennials, which are herbaceous (soft stemmed). Many great trees and shrubs are lacking representation in these blooming lists. Not only that, butterflies need ‘host plants’ for their larvae. A host plant is just what it sounds like, a plant that an insect (butterfly) can lay their eggs on and when the larvae hatch, can be fed upon. Usually, we’re not talking about much damage to the tree. Nothing the tree can’t handle.

Because I speak for the Lorax, and he speaks for the trees… I’ve compiled a list of TREES that many butterfly parents choose to raise their young on. So, don’t just think of the adult butterfly and the flowers, think about a great investment tree, that can serve as a butterfly nursery!

If you’d like a quote for a tree install, please contact me 🙂

The following is a list of larval host tree & shrubs and the butterfly species that are attracted to them.

Printable List – .pdf format

Amelanchier spp. – Serviceberry

• Bruce Spanworm
• Blindy Sphinx (small)
• Striped Hairstreak
• Amorpha canescens
• Black-spotted Prominent
• Dog Face
• Asimina triloba
• Zebra Swallowtail

Betula spp. – Birch

• Compton Tortoiseshell
• Dreump Duskywing
• Mourning Cloak
• Tiger Swallowtail
• White-marked Tussock Moth

Carya spp. – Hickory

• Hickory Hairstreak
• Hickory Horn D.
• Luna Moth
• Skipper spp.

Catalpa

• Catalpa Sphinx
• Ceanothus americanus
• Filamont Beaver
• Spring/Summer Azure

Celtis spp. – Hackberry

• American Snout
• Io Moth
• Question Mark
• Mourning Cloak
• Spiny Oak Slug
• Tawny Emperor
• Comptonia
• Gray Hairstreak

Cornus spp. – Dogwood

• Monkey Slug
• Dogwood Thyativid
• Polyphemus Moth
• Spring/Summer Azure
• Unicorn Caterpillar

Corylus spp. – Filbert

• Polyphemus Moth
• Saddled Prominent

Crataegus spp. – Hawthorn

• Interruped Dagger Moth
• Small Eyed Sphinx
• Smeared Dagger Moth
• Striped Hairstreak
• Fraxinus spp.
• American Dagger Moth
• Black Auches
• Giant Leopard Moth
• Harvis Three-Spot
• Hickory Horned Devil
• Linden Looper
• Spiny Oak Slug
• Tiger Swallowtail
• Lindera benzoin
• Giant Leopard Moth
• Promethea Moth
• Spicebush Swallowtail

Populus spp. – Poplar

• Compton Tortoiseshell
• Red-spotted Purple
• Twin Spotted Sphinx
• Satin Moth
• Sigmoid Prominent
• Viceroy
• Virgin Moth

Prunus spp. – Cherry

• Cherry Dagger Moth
• Coral Hairstreak
• Striped Hairstreak
• Viceroy
• Wild Cherry Sphinx

Prunus serotina – Black Cherry

• Tiger Swallowtail
• Red-spotted Purple

Ptelea trifoliata – Common hoptree

• Giant Swallowtail
• Quercus spp.
• Striped Hairstreak
• Edward’s Hairstreak
• Banded Hairstreak

Rhus spp. – Sumac

• Spring/Summer Azure

Ribes spp. – Currant

• Gray Comma
• Rubus spp.
• Sphinx Hairstreak

Salix spp. – Willow

• Acadian Hairstreak
• Compton Tortoiseshell
• Mourning Cloak
• Northern Finned Prominent
• Red-spotted Purple
• Striped Hairstreak
• Viceroy
• Sassafras albidum
• Cecropia Moth
• Imperial Moth
• Io Moth
• Spicebush Swallowtail
• Smilax
• Spotted Phosphila
• Turbulent

Spiraea spp. – Spirea

• Woolly Bear

Tilia spp. – Basswood

• Question Mark

Viburnum spp.

• Hummingbird Cloverwing
• Vitis spp.
• Grapeleaf Skeletoniter
• Xanthoxylum spp.
• Giant Swallowtail
• Skipper spp.

© The Naturarian