What should I plant to make a
Butterfly Garden?
  
Don Herbison-Evans,
( donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley & Helen Schwencke

There are two aspects to a butterfly garden:

1. attracting adult butterflies to breed, and
2. attracting adult butterflies to feed.


Caterpillar of Common Eggfly (Hypolimnas bolina)

feeds on plants in ACANTHACEAE

Attracting Butterflies to breed

It is more useful to provide caterpillar host plants than to provide nectar plants for adults. There's a big difference between increasing the population of butterflies, and just feeding passing adults. Growing the host plants feeds the life cycle so you end up with more butterflies.

There are a few plant families that are foodplants of a number of Butterfly species, particularly

Grasses (POACEAE) 50 Australian butterfly species
Reeds (CYPERACEAE) 25 Australian butterfly species
Mistletoes (LORANTHACEAE) 25 Australian butterfly species

For other butterflies, you need native plants from a variety of other plant families.

Here are Helen Schwencke's Top 10 Butterfly food-plants:

Senna gaudichaudii
Climbing Senna
CAESALPINIACEAE
Catopsilia pyranthe (Yellow Migrant)
Eurema smilax (Small Grass-yellow)
Eurema hecabe (Large Grass-yellow)
Secamone elliptica
Corky Milk-vine
APOCYNACEAE
Euploea corinna (Australian Crow)
Tirumala hamata (Blue Tiger)
Cullen tenax
Emu Foot
FABACEAE
Papilio demoleus (Chequered Swallowtail)
Zizina otis (Common Grass-blue)
Lampides boeticus (Tailed Pea-blue)
Hygrophila angustifolia
Karamat
ACANTHACEAE
Junonia hedonia (Chocolate Argus)
Junonia villida (Meadow Argus)
Hypolimnas bolina (Varied Eggfly)
Zizula hylax (Dainty Grass-blue)
Pseuderanthemum variabile
Love Flower
ACANTHACEAE
Doleschallia bisaltide (Australian Leafwing)
Junonia orithya (Blue Argus)
Hypolimnas alimena (Bluebanded Eggfly)
Hypolimnas misippus (Danaid Eggfly)
Hypolimnas bolina (Varied Eggfly)
Cynanchum carnosum
Mangrove Wax-flower Vine
APOCYNACEAE
Danaus affinis (Swamp Tiger)
Danaus chrysippus (Lesser Wanderer)
Euploea corinna (Australian Crow)
Pipturus argenteus
Native Mulberry
URTICACEAE
Mynes geoffroyi (Jezebel Nymph)
Catopyrops florinda (Speckled Line-blue)
Vanessa itea (Yellow Admiral)
Capparis lucida
Thornless Caper
CAPPERACEAE
Belenois java (Caper White)
Elodina parthia (Chalky Pearl-white)
Cepora perimale (Caper Gull)
Melodorum leichhardtii
Zig-zag Vine
ANNONACEAE
Protographium leosthenes (Four-barred Swordtail)
Graphium eurypylus (Pale Triangle)
Netrocoryne repanda (Eastern Dusk-flat
Citrus australasica
Finger Lime
RUTACEAE
Papilio aegeus (Orchard Swallowtail)
Papilio fuscus (Fuscous Swallowtail)
Papilio anactus (Dainty Swallowtail)

The caterpillars of some exotic butterfly species were already adapted to feed on exotic plants in our gardens, like


Danaus plexippus

Monarch
NYMPHALIDAE

Gomphocarpus fruticosus

Milkweed
APOCYNACEAE

Pieris rapae

Cabbage White
PIERIDAE

Tropaeolum majus

Nasturtiums
BRASSICACEAE

A few native Australian butterfly caterpillars have adapted to feeding on exotic plants in suburban gardens in Australia, including:


Citrus Butterfly
Papilio aegeus
,

Lemon Trees
Citrus limon

Dainty Swallowtail

Papilio anactus

Orange Trees
Citrus sinensis

Blue Triangle
Graphium choredon
,

Camphor Laurel
Cinnamomum camphora

Australian Crow
Euploea corinna
,

Oleander
Nerium oleander
Leptotes plinius
Zebra Blue
Leptotes plinius

Plumbago
Plumbago auriculata

Pea Blue
Lampides boeticus

Spanish Broom
Spartium junceum

Grass Blue
Zizina otis

White Clover
Trifolium repens


female butterfly of Common Eggfly

Attracting Butterflies to feed

This requires mainly flowers with nectar. Good, but exotic, plants are:
Buddleia davidii
Buddleia davidii
   
Pentas lanceolatum
Pentas lanceolata
   
Lantana camara
Lantana camara

Some species of butterfly also drink sap exuding from trees and the juices of rotting fruit.
Try leaving juicy cut fruit on a bird table in your garden.
You can cheat by placing little coloured plastic saucers around the garden with dilute honey in them.


Further reading :

Frank Jordan & Helen Schwencke,
Create More Butterflies,

Peter Valentine,
Gardening for Butterflies.

Butterflies and Other Invertebrates Club
various booklets.


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(updated 29 November 2009, 6 February 2023)