Growing a Butterfly Garden in Southern California - FineGardening

Abstract

Most of Southern California is on the western monarch butterfly migration path and is home to a number of other fascinating butterflies that are ecologically significant pollinators. The Three Stages of a Butterfly's Life When gardening for butterflies, it is important to provide plants that support all the parts of their life cycle. Terflies go through three distinct stages that feed differently: The caterpillar that requires host plants The chrysalis that consumes no outside nourishment The adult flying butterfly form that is sustained by nectar Monarch butterfly caterpillars require lots of foliage to munch on to ready themselves for transformation. Monarch butterfly An excellent example of a species-specific plant that supports various life-cycle stages is milkweed, which includes the following pink- or white-flowering native milkweeds: California milkweed Woollypod milkweed Narrow-leaved milkweed Desert milkweed Wooly milkweed There is some controversy about whether or not the red, orange, or yellow milkweed varieties most commonly seen for sale are as healthy for monarchs as these natives. California lilac is a favorite nectar plant of the pale swallowtail butterfly. Swallowtail butterfly Our anise swallowtail butterflies are attracted to plants of the Apiaceae family, such as: parsley celery fennel Pale swallowtail The pale swallowtail butterfly loves native plants such as: California coffeeberry California lilac holly leaf cherry sycamore Western swallowtail The western swallowtail butterfly feeds on these plants: aspen and cottonwood Pacific blackberry alder willows birch California sycamore Mourning cloak Many plants attract and support more than one species of butterfly. Tips for Designing a Butterfly Garden Create shelter and sunbathing areas When designing a butterfly garden, be sure to provide for their other needs too.