Learn about Florida Panhandle Butterflies

Florida Panhandle Butterflies

Butterfly Magic

Butterflies are such a magical part of a garden (it is said that fairies disguise themselves as butterflies sometimes!) as are birds, beetles and bugs. Many wildflowers and other plants depend on butterflies for pollination: in the Southwest some species of Skippers feed on yucca as larvae and act as the sole pollinator of the plants flowers when they bloom. Many butterflies are shy and rarely seen by humans, others are friendly and unafraid. Red Admirals will come and sit on your shoulder day after day and Wood Nymphs will follow you down a woodland path. A flower we plant for one will no doubt be enjoyed by many. There is really no way to separate any part of the intricate and complex food web from any other part. So although the focus here is on butterflies and their needs, those things you do for them you do for every life form on the planet.

Butterflies common to this area:

"Host" Plants for a few
common Butterfly larvae

Butterfly Host Plant

Monarch

Milkweed (butterfly weed)

Gulf Fritillary Passion flower

Cloudless Giant Sulpher Butterfly bush, lantana, butterfly weed, penta, pineapple sage

Eastern Black Swallowtail Umbellifera, Queen Anne's lace, carrot, parsley

Painted Lady Thistles, mallow, sunflower, hollyhock, yarrow

Skippers Grasses

Red Admiral Nettles, woodland trees (birch, wild cherry)

Common Buckeye
Plantain, verbena

Wild Nectar plants

Buttonbush	Salvia	Gallardia
Milkweeds	Monarda	Joe-Pye Weed
asters	peas	Goldenrods
Blue Mist Flower	Coral Honeysuckle	Penstemon
Boltonia	Larkspur	Phlox
Carolina Jessamine	Mexican Hat	Pickerel Weed
Purple Coneflower	Red Sage	Blazing Star
mustards	mints

Some Notes on Butterfly Gardening:

To get them to come—plant a few of their favorite nectar plants.

To get them to stay—plant food for the larvae, or "host" plants.

Sunshine is critical for most butterflies. Put their favorite nectar plants in full sun.

Most butterfly caterpillars do little damage to garden plants because they usually feed singly or in very small groups. The exceptions are: Cabbage butterfly (Whites) larvae, and the larvae of the beautiful black Swallowtail, which are fond of carrot tops, parsley and dill. Plant a little extra for them.

Garden sprays of all kinds are harmful to butterflies, birds and beneficial insects.

Create a meadow if you can, or a small “wild” garden. These are the most attractive to butterflies.

Plant a good mix of wildflowers and garden flowers.

Fragrant flowers appeal to butterflies just as they do to humans.

Many butterflies travel only short distances from where they lived as caterpillars—so plant many “host” plants as well as nectar plants.

Water is an important need in the lives of many butterflies. A birdbath sunk in the ground with a sandy base and beach would be a most welcome feature! Or leave a faucet dripping slowly on a little patch of mud.

Provide a little patch of flagstone or a pile of dark rocks for them to sun on.

Many of the plants enjoyed by butterflies are appreciated by birds and other beneficial insects as well. Plant for one and you plant for all!

Naturalized Butterfly Bush, Buddleia lindeyana

If you’re going to add a buddleia to your yard Buddleia lindeyana is a naturalized shrub (not a native) that has persisted after cultivation for many years in vacant lots, waste areas and along stream banks in a few scattered counties in northern Florida. For those of you who have buddleias in your landscape remember mid-March is the time to prune them. Most species look best if pruned hard each year (about two feet from the ground). The Fountain Butterfly Bush, Buddleia alternifolia, is the exception to the rule. The fountain style should not be pruned back, only remove some of the oldest wood to within a few inches of the ground.

"Butterflies add another dimension to the garden,
for they are like dream flowers-
childhood dreams-
which have broken loose from their stalks
and escaped into the sunshine"

M. Rothchild