Quick Start - Larval Plants
There are pollinator plants...and then there are super pollinator plants. Super pollinator plants do double duty. They provide pollen and nectar, plus they provide larval food for the caterpillars of butterflies and moths. Without the ability to feed their young on the specific native plants required, butterflies and moths can not regenerate. When you plant a garden, consider these double duty native plants to fully support our butterflies and moths. And if you have a favorite butterfly or moth make sure to plant their favorite host plants!
This is not an inclusive list, but enough to get you started. Most native plants, shrubs and trees are host plants for moths and/or butterflies. You can't go wrong with natives.
This list is courtesy of Kim Eierman, author of The Pollinator Victory Garden: Win the war on pollinator decline with ecological landscaping
Trees & Shrubs Caterpillars That Use Them
Acer rubrum (red maple) Cecropia Moth
Amelanchier spp. (serviceberries) Striped Hairstreak
Apios americana (groundnut) Silver Spotted Skipper
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (bearberry) Hoary Elfin, Brown Elfin
Aristolochia spp. (pipevine) Pipevine Swallowtail
Asimina triloba (pawpaw) Zebra Swallowtail, Pawpaw Sphinx
Betula spp. (birches) Mourning Cloak, White Admiral, Canadian Tiger Swallowtail
Carpinus caroliniana (ironwood) Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Striped Hairstreak
Carya spp. (hickory) Banded Hairstreak, Hickory Hairstreak
Ceaonothus americana (New Jersey tea) Summer Azure
Celtis occidentalis (hackberry) Hackberry Emperor, Mourning Cloak, QuestionhMark, American Snout
Chionanthus virginicus (fringetree) Rustic Sphinx
Cornus spp. (dogwoods) Spring Azure, Summer Azure
Crataegus spp. (hawthorns) Striped Hairstreak
Diospyros virginiana (persimmon) Luna Moth
Fagus grandifolia (American beech) Early Hairstreak
Fraxinus spp. (ash) Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Hickory Hairstreak, Mourning Cloak, Viceroy
Gleditisa triacanthos (honey locust) Silver Spotted Skipper
Juglans cinerea (butternut) Banded Hairstreak, Hickory Hairstreak
Juglans nigra (black walnut) Banded Hairstreak, Luna Moth, Regal Moth
Juniperus virginiana (eastern red cedar) Juniper Hairstreak
Lindera benzoin (spicebush) Spicebush Swallowtail
Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree) Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
Magnolia virginiana (Sweetbay) Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
Photinia spp. (chokeberries) Coral Hairstreak
Pinus spp. (pines) Eastern Pine Elfin
Pinus strobus (Eastern white pine) Gray Hairstreak
Populus deltoides (cottonwood) Viceroy
Prunus spp. (cherries, plums) Coral Hairstreak, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Red Spotted Purple
Quercus spp. (oaks) White-M Hairstreak, Banded Hairstreak, Gray Hairstreak
Rhus spp. (sumacs) Spring Azure, Summer Azure
Salix spp. (willows) Mourning Cloak, Viceroy
Sassafras albidum (sassafras) Spicebush Swallowtail
Ulmus americana (American elm) Eastern Comma, Mourning Cloak, Question Mark, Painted Lady
Vaccinium spp. (blueberries) Spring Azure, Pink-edged Sulfur, Striped Hairstreak, Henry’s Elfin
Viburnum spp. (viburnums) Spring Azure, Henry’s Elfin
Flowering Perennials Caterpillars That Use Them
Actea racemosa (black cohosh) Spring Azure
Antennaria spp. (pussytoes) Painted Lady
Aquilegia canadensis (columbine) Columbine Duskywing
Aruncus dioicus (goat’s beard) Dusky Azure
Asclepias spp. (milkweeds) Monarch, Queen
Cardamine diphylla (two-leaved toothwort) West Virginia White
Chelone glabra (white turtlehead) Baltimore Checkerspot
Doellingeria umbellata (flat topped aster) Harris’ Checkerspot
Erigeron philadelphicus (fleabane) Northern Metalmark
Fragaria virginiana (Virginia strawberry) Grizzled Skipper
Helenium autumnale (sneezeweed) Silvery Checkerspot
Helianthus spp. (sunflowers) Silvery Checkerspot, Gorgone Checkerspot
Lupinus perennis (wild lupine) Karner Blue, Gray Hairstreak, Wild Indigo Duskywing
Mentha spp. (mints) Summer Azure
Mimulus ringens (monkey flower) Common Buckeye, Baltimore
Penstemon hirsutus (hairy beardtongue) Baltimore
Potentilla canadensis (dwarf cinquefoil) Grizzled Skipper
Rudbeckia hirta (black-eyed Susan) Gorgone Checkerspot, Bordered Patch
Senna hebecarpa (wild senna) Cloudless Sulphur
Symphyotrichum spp. (asters) Pearl Crescent
Verbena spp. (verbenas) Common Buckeye
Verbesina alternifolia (wingstem) Summer Azure
Viola spp. (violets) Great Spangled Fritillary, Meadow Fritillary
Zizia spp. (alexanders) Black Swallowtail
Grasses and Sedges Caterpillars That Use Them
Andropogon gerardii (big bluestem) Delaware Skipper, Dusted Skipper, Cobweb Skipper
Bouteloua curtipendula (sideoats grama) Green Skipper, Sheep Skipper, Dotted Skipper, Orange Skipperling
Carex stricta (tussock sedge) Mulberry Wing, Eyed Brown, Black Dash
Deschampsia cespitosa (tufted hairgrass) Umber Skipper
Elymus hystrix (bottlebrush grass) Northern Pearly Eye, Little Wood Satyr
Panicum virgatum (switchgrass) Delaware Skipper, Dotted Skipper
Scirpus cyperinus (wool grass) Dion Skipper
Schizachyrium scoparium (little bluestem) Indian Skipper, Dusted Skipper, Cobweb Skipper
Sorgastrum nutans (Indian grass) Pepper and Salt Skipper