Wild Gardens - Butterfly Food Requirements

Rather than the chewing mouthparts of immature caterpillars, adult butterflies have sucking mouthparts. The mouthparts are shaped into a long coiled tube, called a proboscis. The adult butterfly can uncoil its proboscis and use it to suck up nectar or tree sap. Plants that adult butterflies use for food are called nectar plants.

Caterpillars or larvae use their chewing mouthparts to eat the leaves and stems of plants, called host plants. Some larvae, like the gypsy moth that feed in great numbers, can completely defoliaste a mature host plant in a matter of days.

Many butterflies have very specific food requirements. Often the host plant for the caterpillar isn’t the same nectar plant for the adult butterfly of the same species. To be a successful butterfly gardener you must provide both the host and nectar plants that the butterfly species in your area prefer to eat.

The lists below give some examples of common host plants for caterpillars and nectar plants for butterflies throughout the United States. Ask your local nursery staff which ones are best suited for your area and climate.

Common Host Plants for Caterpillars:


Common Nectar Plants for Butterflies:



Butterfly Food Requirements
from Dead Daisies Make Me Crazy
by Loren Nancarrow and Janet Hogan Taylor