OK, OK, in the interest of fairness, here is a monarch caterpillar.Īnd here is a gulf fritillary caterpillar on a passionflower:Īll photos courtesy of Wikipedia, except the passionflower, which is courtesy of the Santa Rosa County, Florida Extension Center. Share and share alike is rule #1 of the wildlife garden, after all. It perhaps should be said that if your goal is to attract larvae by planting these plants…you have to be prepared for them to be eaten. Scarlet runner beans ( Phaseolus coccineus) feed gray hairstreak caterpillars, and Dutchman’s pipes ( Aristolochia) are the only food eaten by the appropriately named pipevine swallowtail.Īnd as if I need any more reasons to love asters ( Aster spp), they are the only food source for larvae of the aster checkerspot butterfly. All caterpillars in the Speyeria family, which includes the regal fritillary, feast only on plants in the Viola species (violets). Alfalfa butterfly caterpillars (also known as orange sulphur) subsist only on, well, alfalfa ( Medicago sativa).Įastern black swallowtail caterpillars feed on members of the carrot family, primarily Queen Anne’s Lace that grows in the wild, but also including carrots, parsley, dill, and fennel. And I have seen it in our Lexington, Kentucky, backyard twice in the last two years. Larvae of the gulf fritillary larvae (right) subsist exclusively on Passiflora species, known as passionflower or maypop. The only host plant for larvae of the the Zebra swallowtail (above) is the pawpaw ( Asimina triloba)– another great reason to plant this native fruit tree. I should be posting caterpillar photos, but really….who wants to see those.) (Author’s note: At this point let me acknowledge that it is a cheap ploy on my part to publish butterfly photos with this post. The best known example is the monarch butterfly caterpillar, which eats only the sap from Asclepias species, or milkweeds, including butterfly weed ( A. Many butterfly (and moth) caterpillars only eat specific plants. It’s important to plant flowers whose nectar attract butterflies, but don’t forget the larvae (caterpillars). The undersides of wings are primarily yellow, with black, blue, and red markings. There is a yellow spot at the tip of each hindwing tail. The overall color of wings (top side) and body is dark blackish brown, with bands composed of several yellow spots. I’ve been reading a bit lately about butterflies and how to attract them to your yard and garden. The giant swallowtail is the largest butterfly in Missouri.
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