Wish List
Native butterflies and moths we want to attract
or introduce into our garden.
The caterpillar host plants listed below their names are already in our garden in hopeful anticipation. Some of the butterflies on the list are in other areas of California, such as the gorgeous Pipevine Swallowtail from up north.
We will see what happens.
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California Dogface Butterfly
False Indigo
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California Tortoise Shell
Butterfly
Ceanothus
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El Segundo Blue Butterfly
Coast Buckwheat
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Callippe Fritillary Butterfly
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Giant Swallowtail Butterfly
Meyer Lemon tree
Great fruit tree
Common Rue
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Lorquin’s Admiral Butterfly
Black Cottonwood
Arroyo Willow
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Palos Verdes Blue Butterfly
Deerweed
Southern California Locoweed
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Pale Swallowtail Butterfly
Redberry
California Coffeeberry
California lilac
Holly-leafed cherry
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Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly
Pipevine
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Southern Dogface Butterfly
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Striated Queen Butterfly
Milkweed
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Sulphur Butterflies
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Buckeye Butterfly
Monkey flower
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Anise
Swallowtail
Butterfly
Fennel (nn)
Parsley (nn)
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California Hairstreak
Butterfly
Ceanothus and Oak species
Arroyo Willow
Cheese-weed (nn)
False indigo, Buckwheat
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California Sister Butterfly
Canyon Oak
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Ceanothus silk moth
Ceanothus,
Yankee Point Blueblossom
Manzanita
Willow
Alder
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Checkerspot Butterfly
Santa Cruz Island
Monkey flower
Mallows
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Monarch Butterfly
Narrow Leafed Milkweed
Kotolo or Indian Milkweed
Showy Milkweed
Tropical Milkweed
Note: Hardy, fast growing non-native
Tropical Milkweed is the plant of
choice for most Monarch butterfly
breeders. Beautiful in the
garden when flowering it is our
most popular nectar plant for
swallowtails and many other butterflies.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mourning Cloak Butterfly
Arroyo Willow
Black Cottonwood
Elm
Double Curl Parsley (nn)
Italian Parsley (nn)
Bronze Fennel
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Painted Lady Butterfly
San Clemente Bush Mallow
California Pearly Everlasting
Chaparral Mallow
Apricot Mallow
Silver Bush Lupin
Hall’s Bush Mallow
Thistle, Nettle
Cheese-weed (nn)
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Red Admiral Butterfly
Stinging Nettle
False Nettle
Baby Tears
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Skipper Butterflies
Western Fescue
Deergrass
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West Coast Lady Butterfly
Mallow
Cheese-weed
Nettle
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Western Tiger Swallowtail
Butterfly
California Sycamore
Fremont or Gila Cottonwood
Black Cottonwood
Arroyo Willow
White Alder
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White-lined Sphinx Moth
Tomato
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California Native
(with a couple exceptions)
Butterflies, Moths & their Host Plants
In the Mountain Mermaid Butterfly Garden
Non-Native Butterflies and Moths
And their host or larval plants
in the Mountain Mermaid butterfly garden.
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Cabbage White Butterfly
Cabbage (nn)
Horseradish (nn)
Chard (nn)
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Gulf Fritillary
Passion vine
Native Nectar Plants
In the Mountain Mermaid butterfly garden.
California Yarrow
Rocky Point Blue-eyed Grass
Spice Bush
Felt-Leaved Yerba Santa
Lilac Verbena
Dr. Hurd Manzanita Tree
Hummingbird Sage
Santa Barbara Milk Vetch
Gum Plant
Desperado Sage
Cleveland Sage
White Sage
Ken Taylor Flannel Bush
Blue Flax
Butterfly HOST, or LARVEL plants (in green below) are those upon which
a butterfly or moth will lay their eggs, as contrasted with NECTAR or FOOD plants
upon which the insects feed (shown in pink below).
Non-natives are noted with a “nn”.
Planting butterfly and moth host plants are is essential if you want
to attract females to lay their eggs.
The host plants in green below are planted in our garden.
Most of the photos above by William Vann,
from EuPic Graphical Resource