Butterfly Gardening in Silver Spring, Maryland

Flowers and the Butterflies and Moths Seen Nectaring on Them
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You can attract butterflies and moths with fruit.
Butterflies that nectar at the most different plants.
Butterfly List for the Garden 2004 -2007
Butterfly List for the Garden 1993-2003
Notes on Sightings
Caterpillars in the Garden
Butterfly-Attracting Plants in the Garden
Flowers and the Butterflies and Moths Seen Nectaring on Them
Butterfly species and the nectar plants that they visit based on data from my butterfly garden.
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In my yard, I have seen the following butterflies and moths nectar on the flowers of the plants listed below:

Abelia (shrub): Cabbage White, Sleepy Orange, Red Admiral, Silver-Spotted Skipper, Zabulon Skipper

American Holly: Spring Azure

Arugula: Cabbage White

Azalea: Nessus Sphinx moth

Black-Eyed Susan: Orange Sulphur, Summer Azure, Pearl Crescent, Variegated Fritillary, Silver-Spotted Skipper, Hayhurst’s Scallopwing, and Sachem.

Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum):  Red-banded Hairstreak,

Blueberry Bush: Silver-Spotted Skipper

Blue Cardinal Flower (Great Blue Lobelia) (Lobelia siphilitica): Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Monarch, Silver-Spotted Skipper, Sachem, Zabulon Skipper, Clouded Skipper, and Fiery Skipper.

Bloodflower (Asclepias curassavica): Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Black Swallowtail, Cabbage White, Orange Sulphur, Pearl Crescent, Variegated Fritillary, Monarch, Gray Hairstreak, Sachem.

Brazilian Verbena (Verbena bonariensis): Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Pipevine Swallowtail, Black Swallowtail, Cabbage White, Clouded Sulphur, Orange Sulphur, Gray Hairstreak, Red-banded Hairstreak, Variegated Fritillary, American Lady, Painted Lady, Red Spotted Admiral, Monarch, Silver-Spotted Skipper, Wild Indigo Duskywing, Horace’s Duskywing, Hayhurst’s Scallopwing, Sachem, Peck's Skipper, Fiery Skipper, Least Skipper, Ocola Skipper, Tawny-Edged Skipper, Little Glassywing, Crossline Skipper, Dun Skipper, and Zabulon Skipper.

Butterfly Bush (Buddleia davidii): Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Black Swallowtail, Spicebush Swallowtail, Pipevine Swallowtail, Cabbage White, Clouded and Orange Sulphur, Summer Azure, Banded Hairstreak, Red-banded Hairstreak, Great Spangled Fritillary, Variegated Fritillary, Monarch, Red Admiral, American Lady, Painted Lady, Red-spotted Purple, Question Mark, Wild Indigo Duskywing, Horace’s Duskywing, Silver-Spotted Skipper, Sachem, Peck’s Skipper, Tawney-edged Skipper, Southern Broken-Dash, Little Glassywing Skipper, Zabulon Skipper, Crossline Skipper, Fiery Skipper, Ocola Skipper, Yellow-collared Scape Moth, Nessus Sphinx, Hummingbird Clearwing, and Snowberry Clearwing.

Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa): Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Cabbage White, Orange Sulphur, Sleepy Orange, Gray Hairstreak, Great Spangled Fritillary, Pearl Crescent, Monarch.

Catnip: Cabbage White, Gray Hairstreak, Hayhurst's Scallopwing, Silver Spotted Skipper, Dun Skipper,

Garlic Chives (Chinese Chives) (Allium tuberosum): Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Eastern Tailed Blue, Gray Hairstreak, Red-banded Hairstreak, White M Hairstreak, Great Spangled Fritillary, Variegated Fritillary, Eastern Comma, Red Spotted Purple, Silver-Spotted Skipper, Fiery Skipper, and Sachem.

Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca): Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Black Swallowtail, Monarch, Summer Azure, Banded Hairstreak, Great Spangled Fritillary, American Lady, Painted Lady, Silver Spotted Skipper, Sachem, Little Glassywing Skipper, Zabulon Skipper, Squash Vine Borer Moth, Yellow-collared Scape Moth, and Anania funebris moth.

Collards: Cabbage White

Common Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale): Cabbage White, Clouded Sulphur, Orange Sulphur, Pearl Crescent

Common Sage (Salvia officinalis) Cabbage White, Silver Spotted Skipper, Sachem, Zabulon Skipper, Fiery Skipper

Cosmos: Spicebush Swallowtail, Orange Sulphur, Sleepy Orange, Painted Lady, Sachem, Clouded Skipper, Sachem

Creeping Wood Sorrel (Oxalis corniculata): Cabbage White, Eastern Tailed Blue, Gray Hairstreak

Daisy Fleabane (Erigeron annuus): Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Cabbage White, Eastern Tailed Blue, Pearl Crescent, American Lady, Silver Spotted Skipper, Sachem

Dame's Rocket (Hesperis matronalis): Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Cabbage White, Orange Sulphur, Silver Spotted Skipper, Horace's Duskywing, Sachem

Day Lily: Cabbage White, Clouded Sulphur

Delphinium:  Spicebush Swallowtail, Zabulon Skipper

Dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum): Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Cabbage White, Eastern Tailed Blue, Summer Azure, Gray Hairstreak, Banded Hairstreak, Red-banded Hairstreak, Great Spangled Fritillary, American Lady, Red Admiral, Eastern Comma, Wild Indigo Duskywing, Horace's Duskywing, Hayhurst's Scallopwing, Silver Spotted Skipper, Sachem, Little Glassywing, Dun Skipper, Nessus Sphinx Moth.

Giant Sunflower Sachem

Globe Amaranth (Gomphrena globosa): Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Cabbage White, Gray Hairstreak, Red-banded Hairstreak, Variegated Fritillary, Pearl Crescent, Common Buckeye, American Lady, Monarch, Silver-Spotted Skipper, Wild Indigo Duskywing, Hayhurst’s Scallopwing, Common Sootywing, Horace’s Duskywing, Common Checkered Skipper, Sachem, Peck’s Skipper, Fiery Skipper, Zabulon Skipper, Tawny-edged Skipper, Least Skipper, Dun Skipper, Clouded Skipper, Ocola Skipper, Corn Earworm Moth, Ailanthus Webworm Moth.

Ground Ivy (Gill-over-the-Ground) (Glechoma hederacea): Cabbage White, Clouded Sulphur, Orange Sulphur, Eastern Tailed Blue, Wild Indigo Duskywing, Juvenal's Duskywing

Heath Aster (Aster pilosus): Cabbage White, Clouded Sulphur, Orange Sulphur, Eastern Tailed Blue, Gray Hairstreak, Red-bordered Hairstreak, White M Hairstreak, Pearl Crescent, Monarch, Common Checkered Skipper, Sachem, Fiery Skipper, Yellow-collared Scape Moth.

Heliotrope: Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Summer Azure, Monarch, Question Mark, Wild Indigo Duskywing, Silver Spotted Skipper, Painted Lady, Sachem, Peck's Skipper, Fiery Skipper, Little Glassywing, Zabulon Skipper, Clouded Skipper.

Joe-Pye Weed (Eupatorium fistulosum): Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Black Swallowtail, Red-banded Hairstreak, Variegated Fritillary, Monarch, Sachem, and Silver-Spotted Skipper.

Lantana: Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Spicebush Swallowtail, Cabbage White, Gray Hairstreak, Red Admiral, Monarch, Silver Spotted Skipper, Wild Indigo Duskywing, Hayhurst’s Scallopwing, Sachem, Fiery Skipper, Little Glassywing Skipper

Late-flowering Boneset (Eupatorium serotinum): Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Black Swallowtail, Cabbage White, Orange Sulphur, Summer Azure, Eastern Tailed Blue, Gray Hairstreak, Red-banded Hairstreak, White M Hairstreak, Great Spangled Fritillary, American Snout, Pearl Crescent, American Lady, Painted Lady, Monarch, Red-spotted Purple, Horace’s Duskywing, Wild Indigo Duskywing, Silver-Spotted Skipper, Sachem, Peck’s Skipper, Yellow-collared Scape Moth, Ailanthus Webworm Moth.

Lavender (Lavendula spp.): Cabbage White, Silver Spotted Skipper, Horace's Duskywing, Hayhurst's Scallopwing

Liatris: Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Cabbage White, Gray Hairstreak, Horace's Duskywing, Sachem, Little Glassywing Skipper.

Marigold: Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Cabbage White, Clouded and Orange Sulphurs, Sleepy Orange, Pearl Crescent, Variegated Fritillary, Great Spangled Fritillary, Monarch, American Lady, Painted Lady, Red Admiral, Wild Indigo Duskywing, Horace's Duskywing, Hayhurst’s Scallopwing, Sachem, Peck’s Skipper, Clouded Skipper, Zabulon Skipper, Fiery Skipper, Ocola Skipper, Webworm Moth, Yellow-collared Scape Moth

Marjoram: Hayhurst's Scallopwing

Mint: Cabbage White, Summer Azure, Gray Hairstreak, Silver-Spotted Skipper, Sachem, Peck's Skipper

Mist Flower (Wild Ageratum) (Eupatorium coelestinum): Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Cabbage White, Orange Sulphur, Eastern Tailed Blue, Monarch, Pearl Crescent, Variegated Fritillary, American Lady, Common Buckeye, Red Admiral, Red Spotted Admiral, Silver-Spotted Skipper, Sachem, Common Sootywing, Common Checkered Skipper, Wild Indigo Duskywing, Horace's Duskywing, Hayhurst's Duskywing, Peck’s Skipper, Southern Broken-Dash, Zabulon Skipper, Fiery Skipper, Least Skipper, Ocola Skipper. Yellow-collared Scape Moth

Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia): Silver-Spotted Skipper

Mustard Greens: Cabbage White, Monarch

New England Aster (Aster novae-angliae): Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Cabbage White, Clouded and Orange Sulphurs, Monarch, Variegated Fritillary, Pearl Crescent, Painted Lady, Common Checkered Skipper, Horace's Duskywing, Sachem, Peck’s Skipper, Clouded Skipper, Dingy Cutworm Moth, Celery Looper Moth. Yellow-collared Scape Moth

New York Ironweed: Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Orange Sulphur, Monarch, Silver Spotted Skipper, Sachem, Peck's Skipper

Oregano (Origanum vulgare): Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Black Swallowtail, Cabbage White, Orange Sulphur, Summer Azure, Eastern Tailed Blue, Gray Hairstreak, Variegated Fritillary, Wild Indigo Duskywing, Silver-Spotted Skipper, Sachem, Peck’s Skipper, Fiery Skipper, Zabulon Skipper, Little Glassywing, Squash Vine Borer Moth.

Oriental Lilies (Lilium speciosum): Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Spicebush Swallowtail, Monarch, Silver-Spotted Skipper, and Zabulon Skipper.

Petunia (Petunia hybrida): Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Zabulon Skipper

Phlox (Phlox divaricata): Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Spicebush Swallowtail, Silver-Spotted Skipper, Sachem, Zabulon Skipper

Pink Turtlehead (Cheloni lyoni): Red-spotted Purple.

Privet (Ligustrum vulgare): Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Spicebush Swallowtail, Black Swallowtail, Clouded Sulphur, Summer Azure, American Lady, Red Admiral, Eastern Comma, Wild Indigo Duskywing, Silver-Spotted Skipper, Little Glassywing Skipper, Yellow-collared Scape Moth

Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea): Black Swallowtail, Orange Sulphur, Clouded Sulphur, Banded Hairsteak, Great Spangled Fritillary, American Lady, Painted Lady, Red-spotted Purple, Wild Indigo Duskywing, Horace’s Duskywing, Sachem, Little Glassywing Skipper, and Webworm Moth.

Radishes Cabbage White, Summer Azure, Silver Spotted Skipper

Red Clover: Cabbage White, Orange Sulphur, Spring Azure, White M Hairstreak, Silver-Spotted Skipper, Sachem, Peck's Skipper, Clouded Skipper, Zabulon Skipper, Tawny-edged Skipper, and Dun Skipper.

Salvia "Blue Bedder:" Cabbage White, Orange Sulphur, Gray Hairstreak, American Lady, Silver Spotted Skipper, Sachem, Peck's Skipper, Clouded Skipper, Fiery Skipper, Dun Skipper, Zabulon Skipper

Sedum (Autumn Joy): Cabbage White, Summer Azure, Gray Hairstreak, Red-banded Hairstreak, Pearl Crescent, Sachem, and Yellow-collared Scape Moth.

 Shasta Daisy: Sachem

Showy Coneflower (Rudbeckia speciosa): Clouded and Orange Sulphurs, Gray Hairstreak, Red-banded Hairstreak, Eastern Tailed Blue, Pearl Crescent, Monarch, American Lady, Wild Indigo Duskywing, Horace’s Duskywing, Hayhurst's Scallopwing, Silver-Spotted Skipper, Common Checkered Skipper, Sachem, Peck's Skipper, Zabulon Skipper, Yellow-collared Scape Moth.

Small White Aster (Aster vimineus): Cabbage White, Gray Hairstreak, White M Hairstreak, Pearl Crescent

Smooth Aster (Aster laevis): Orange Sulphur, Silver-Spotted Skipper, Monarch, Sachem, Peck's Skipper.

Stiff Goldenrod (Solidago rigida): Pearl Crescent, Sachem.

Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata): Great Spangled Fritillary, Monarch, Red-banded Hairstreak, Silver-Spotted Skipper, Sachem, Peck's Skipper

Sweet Pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia): Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Cabbage White, Summer Azure, Gray Hairstreak, Silver-Spotted Skipper, and Sachem.

Tall Goldenrod (Solidago altissima) Red-banded Hairstreak, Locust Borer Beetle

Tansy: Gray Hairstreak, Sachem

Thyme: Cabbage White

Tickseed Sunflower (Bidens coronata) Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Cabbage White, Gray Hairstreak, Pearl Crescent

Tithonia (Mexican Sunflower): Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Cabbage White, Clouded Sulphur, Orange Sulfur, Gray Hairstreak, Monarch, Fiery Skipper, and Sachem.

Valerian (Valerian officinalis): Cabbage White

Verbena (Verbena tenera): Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Silver-Spotted Skipper, Sachem, Zabulon Skipper, and Clouded Skipper.

White Clover (Trifolium repens): Cabbage White, Orange Sulphur, Spring Azure, Eastern Tailed Blue, Gray Hairstreak, Red-banded Hairstreak, American Lady, Pearl Crescent, Buckeye, Wild Indigo Duskywing, Hayhurst’s Scallopwing, Silver-Spotted Skipper, Sachem,

Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa): Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Black Swallowtail, Spicebush Swallowtail, Silver-Spotted Skipper

Wingstem (Actinomeris alternifolia): Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Monarch, Sachem, Ocola Skipper

Winter Cress (Barbarea species): Cabbage White

 Zinnia: Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Black Swallowtail, Cabbage White, Orange Sulphur, Sleepy Orange, Pearl Crescent, Variegated Fritillary, American Lady, Painted Lady, Monarch, Silver-Spotted Skipper, Sachem, Zabulon Skipper, Clouded Skipper, Ocola Skipper

 

The above list is the basis for the shorter list of the most attractive flowers in the garden found.  See "The Most Attractive Nectar Plants for Butterflies and Moths in my Garden" link to the left.

Butterfly Gardening in Silver Spring, Maryland
Copyright © 2004, Eric Raun. All Rights Reserved.
If you have questions, comments, or suggestions, please contact me at  raueri at msn.com