A number in front of a flower name indicates a particularly recommended plant (1 = most recommended). Numbers in "BLOOM SEASON" correspond to the month (4 = April, 5 = May, etc.). Abbreviations: A=alien species, N = native species.
FLOWER | HEIGHT | COLOR | BLOOM SEASON |
ATTRACTED BUTTERFLIES |
COMMENTS | ||
N/A | Bur marigolds Bidens |
white,pink yellow |
Gulf Fritillary Vanessids Common Buckeye Skippers |
||||
A | Heliotrope Heliotropium arborescens |
white, pale purple | many |
long-lived where no hard freezes |
|||
N | Yerba santa Eriodictyon |
white, lavendar | many | available from Las Pilitas nursery | |||
N | Phacelia Phacelia californica |
lavendar | many | ||||
A | Butterfly bush Buddleia davidii |
purple, magenta, white |
many |
season of bloom depends on pruning |
|||
A | Statice Statice |
purple | many | ||||
A | 1 | Dandelion Taraxacum officinale |
yellow | Gossamer Wings (Lycaenids) Vanessids Skippers |
a common lawn weed | ||
A | 1 | Jupiter's beard Centranthus ruber |
pink crimson |
Pipevine Swallowtail Anise Swallowtail California Tortoiseshell Vanessids Common Buckeye Monarch Comm. Checkered-Skipper |
easy to grow; white-flowered variety unattractive to butterflies |
||
A | Cape Plumbago Plumbago capensis |
light blue | Swallowtails Vanessids Monarch Skippers |
requires support | |||
N | 1 | California buckeye Aesculus californica |
pink-white | many (best native nectar plant) |
prune to desired height | ||
A | Sage Salvia clevelandii and others |
light purple | Pipevine Swallowtail Anise Swallowtail |
||||
N | Spikeweeds (tarweeds) Hemizonia |
yellow | many | ||||
N | Whitethorn Ceanothus incanus |
white | no summer water needed | ||||
A | Butterfly bush Buddleia globosa |
gold | California Sister Monarch |
||||
N | Toyon Heteromeles californica |
white | many |
do not prune in spring | |||
N/A | 1 | Thistles Cirsiumsp. |
pink, purple | many, especially fall Monarchs |
|||
A | 1 | Lantanas Lantana camara, hirta, montevidensis |
yellow, orange, magenta, white, pink |
Pipevine, Anise, Western Tiger Swallowtails Gray Hairstreak Gulf Fritillary Checkerspots Vanessids Monarch Skippers |
easy to grow; white flowers attract Checkerspots and Common Buckeye |
||
A | Verbena Verbena |
purple | Pipevine, Anise, Western Tiger Swallowtails Monarch |
'Homestead Purple' is a good cultivar |
|||
A | Glossy abelia Abeliax grandiflora |
white | Vanessids (Ladies and Red Admiral) Monarch |
a shrub | |||
A | Blue leadwort Cerastostigma griffithii |
bright blue | Gulf Fritillary Ladies Skippers |
||||
A | Escallonia Escallonia montevidensis |
white, pink | Swallowtails Vanessids (Ladies and Red Admiral) Monarch |
easy to establish; prune for size or to induce bloom |
|||
A | Mexican sunflower Tithonia rotundifolia |
orange | Pipevine & Western Tiger Swallowtails Monarch |
||||
N | Anchor plant Colletia cruciata |
white | Vanessids Common Buckeye Monarch |
prickly, cactus-like plant |
|||
A/N | Asters Aster |
lavendar | Gossamer Wings Crescents Vanessids Common Buckeye Monarch Skippers |
Abbreviations: A = alien species, N = native species.
FLOWER | COMMENTS | |
A | Daylilies(Hemerocallis) | Common in the area but butterflies don't visit them. |
A number in front of a plant name indicates a particularly recommended plant (1 = most recommended). Abbreviations: A=alien species, N = native species.
NAME | HEIGHT | BUTTERFLY CATERPILLARS | COMMENTS | ||
A/N | Asters Aster |
Field Crescent |
naturalize on slope or in meadow | ||
N | Buckwheats Eriogonum latifolium, nudum, parvifolium |
Gray Hairstreak, Acmon Blue | (E. fascicularis not used) | ||
N | California buckeye Aesculus californica |
'Echo' Spring Azure |
can be pruned in late summer | ||
N | California bee plant Scrophularia californica |
Variable (Chalcedon) Checkerspot |
likes moisture | ||
N | California pipevine Aristolochia californica |
Pipevine Swallowtail | (A. elegans toxic to caterpillars) | ||
N | California sycamore Platanus racemosa |
Western Tiger Swallowtail | grows along streams | ||
N | Coffeeberry Rhamnus californica |
'Echo' Spring Azure |
'Eve Case' stays small, compact | ||
N | Cottonwoods, poplars Populus |
Western Tiger Swallowtail, Mourning Cloak, Lorquin's Admiral | |||
N | 1 | Cudweeds Gnaphalium |
American Lady | does well as edging or crevice plant | |
A | 1 | Fennel Foeniculum vulgare |
Anise Swallowtail | Plant should be kept cut back. | |
N | Globemallows Sphaeralcea |
Gray Hairstreak, Painted Lady West Coast Lady, Common Checkered-Skipper |
weedy mallows are also used | ||
A | 1 | Hollyhock Althaea rosea |
Painted Lady, West Coast Lady Common Checkered-Skipper |
Single or double-it doesn't matter. | |
A | Mexican milkweed Asclepias curassavica |
Monarch | |||
N | 2 | Narrow-leaved milkweed Asclepias fascicularis |
Monarch | ||
N | 1 | Nasturtium Tropaelum majus |
Cabbage White | easy; self seeds | |
A/N | Nettles Urtica |
Red Admiral Anglewings |
|||
A/N | 1 | Passion vine Passiflora caerulea (and others) |
Gulf Fritillary |
must be in full sun to be used | |
A | 1 | Pellitory Parietaria judaica |
Red Admiral |
needs water when dry to be used | |
A/N | Penstemon Penstemon |
Checkerspots (inland species prefer penstemon) Common Buckeye |
|||
N/A | 1 | Plantains Plantago hirtella, lanceolata |
Common Buckeye | common weed | |
N | Sidalceas Sidalcea |
Painted Lady, West Coast Lady, Common Checkered-Skipper; perhaps Gray Hairstreak | |||
A | Snapdragons Antirrhinum majus |
Common Buckeye | |||
A/N | Sticky monkeyflower Mimulus aurantiacus |
Checkerspots (combine with bee plant) Common Buckeye (combine with plantain) |
|||
N/A | Thistles Cirsium |
Mylitta Crescent, Painted Lady | plant in stages to stagger new growth | ||
N | Toyon Heteromeles californica |
'Echo' Spring Azure | prune to suit after spring adult flight | ||
N | Willows Salix |
Western Tiger Swallowtail, Mourning Cloak (prefers S. hindsii), Lorquin's Admiral |
A number in front of a butterfly indicates a particularly likely species (1 = most expected to be observed). Numbers in "FLIGHT PERIOD" and "CATERPILLAR SEASON" correspond to the month (4 = April, 5 = May, etc.), with < meaning earlier in the month, m the middle of the month, and > late in the month.
NAME |
PERIOD |
CATERPILLAR |
CATERPILLAR FOOD PLANTS |
COMMENTS | |
2 | Anise Swallowtail Papilio zelicaon |
fennel, parsley | |||
1 | Western Tiger Swallowtail Papilio rutulus |
cherry, poplar, sycamore, willow | 2nd brood much larger than 1st | ||
1 | Cabbage White Pieris rapae |
mustard (cabbage) family; nasturtium | |||
2 | Gray Hairstreak Strymon melinus |
mallows, buckwheats, many others | |||
'Echo' Spring Azure Celastrina ladon (echo) |
flowers of many spring-flowering shrubs & trees | ||||
Acmon Blue Plebejus acmon |
buckwheats (Eriogonum) lotus |
||||
Gulf Fritillary Agraulis vanillae |
passion vines | found near this plant when in sun | |||
Mourning Cloak Nymphalis antiopa |
hackberries, willows | ||||
2 | Painted Lady Vanessa cardui |
Hollyhock, cheeseweed, thistles, others | large fluctuations in abundance | ||
1 | West Coast Lady Vanessa annabella |
cheeseweed and other mallows | |||
1 | Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta |
pellitory, nettles | |||
Monarch Danaus plexippus |
3-6 & 9-11 (migrant) |
milkweeds | summers in Mount Diablo area | ||
2 | Common Checkered-Skipper Pyrgus communis |
cheeseweed, sidalceas, globemallows, mallows | |||
1 | Fiery Skipper Hylephila phyleus |
grasses and sedges, especially Bermuda grass, Bromus carinatus, Sporobolus | |||
Umber Skipper Poanes melane |
grasses and sedges |
Numbers in "FLIGHT PERIOD" and "CATERPILLAR SEASON" correspond to the month (4 = April, 5 = May, etc.), with < meaning earlier in the month, m the middle of the month, and > late in the month.
NAME |
FLIGHT PERIOD |
CATERPILLAR |
CATERPILLAR FOOD PLANTS |
COMMENTS | ||
Pipevine Swallowtail Battus philenor |
pipevines | |||||
Orange Sulphur Colias eurytheme |
alfalfa, clovers, and related legumes | in Bay Area in late summer | ||||
Field Crescent Phyciodes campestris |
asters | butterfly stays close to asters | ||||
Mylitta Crescent Phyciodes mylitta |
thistles | |||||
Checkerspots Euphydryas |
coastal: bee plant, sticky monkeyflower inland: penstemons |
|||||
California Tortoiseshell Nymphalis californica |
Ceanothus | large fluctuations in abundance | ||||
Common Buckeye Junonia coenia |
Plantain, monkeyflower, snapdragon | common in some years, scarce others | ||||
Lorquin's Admiral Limenitis lorquini |
cottonwoods, poplars, willows |
USDA ZONE: not applicable; very little frost, very little heat.
The soil around Berkeley is clay; add lots of compost in this particular area, even to grow weeds (or grow in
shallow raised beds on top of clay). Elsewhere compost should only be used where it does not destroy the
integrity of mineral surfaces that many native soils have. The weather is mild year-round and doesn't
correspond to USDA zones. Butterflies and caterpillars can be found almost year-round, so plan for nectar over
almost all the year and don't cut back caterpillar food plants all at once. Transfer any larvae from pruned plants
to fresh growing foliage. Many caterpillar food plants can be grown without watering (although watered plants
that are fresh and tender are more attractive to butterflies) since they are weeds, or can become weedy. These
weeds (aliens) are common in the region and are used frequently by the butterflies. For example, pellitory is not
commercially available but will transplant readily. Pellitory should not be planted in Contra Costa County or
near natural areas. Plantain is another favored weed that does not require the moist conditions necessary for the
native Plantago hirtella. Butterfly plants consist of every type of plant you might grow in your garden:
annuals, perennials, bushes, trees, vegetables, shade plants, weeds, lawn grass, and lawn weeds. Plan your
landscape as a whole, figuring out where you want each of these types of plants around your home, and then
incorporate butterfly plants into the landscape plan. It's also easy to add butterfly plants into an existing garden
this way. Try to work with other gardeners to maximize butterfly habitat in your neighborhood. Nectar plants
need to be in sunny places to be useful to butterflies. Water is very important in this region and should be
provided in as naturalistic a way as possible (e.g., an imitation of a seep on a rocky slope; a mud-bank on a flat
area). Keep notes and share what you learn!
Copyright © 1996 by the North American Butterfly Association, Inc. All rights reserved.