What Butterflies Eat

Butterfly	Host Plants	Adult Nectar Plants
Giant Swallowtail	wafer ash, rue	zinnia, buddleia, lantana, penta
Monarch	milkweed	milkweed, verbena, lantana, blue mist flower, frostweed, goldenrod, aster, mexican sunflower
Queen	milkweed	milkweed, verbena, lantana, blue mist flower, frostweed, goldenrod, aster, mexican sunflower
Red Admiral	nettle	rotten fruit, sap
Cloudless Giant Sulphur	senna	butterfly bush, lantana, butterfly weed, aster, penta, zinnia, salvias
Gulf Fritillary	passionvine	lantana, buddleia
Eastern Black Swallowtail	dill, fennel, parsley	zinnia, fennel, gallardia, aster, phlox, thistles
Painted Lady	thistle, artemesia	sunflower, coneflower, zinnia

Some easy butterfly nectar plants for your garden:

Butterflies like plants with lots of small flowers and flat landing pads, especially those in the sunflower family (Asteraceae). There are hundreds of trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals that butterflies use as food sources.

• Zinnia
• Penta
• Eupatorium (blue mist flower)
• Lantana
• Verbena
• Aster
• Sunflower
• Mexican sunflower (tithonia)
• Liatris (gayfeather)