Host and Nectar Plants
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| Butterfly Species | Host Plant |
| Silver-spotted Skipper | False Indigo, Wild Peavine |
| Juvenal's Duskywing | Bur Oak |
| European Skipper | Timothy Grass |
| Common Roadside Skipper | Kentucky Blue Grass |
| Black Swallowtail | Parsley Family |
| Canadian Tiger Swallowtail | Willows, Poplars, Birches |
| Mustard White | Wild Mustards |
| Cabbage White | Wild Mustards, Cabbage |
| Clouded Sulphur | Alfalfa, Clovers |
| Orange Sulphur | Alfalfa, Clovers |
| Giant Sulphur | Snow Willow |
| Pink Edged Sulphur | Blueberries |
| Grey Copper | Wild Docks |
| Dorcas Copper | Shrubby Cinquefoil |
| Coral Hairstreak | Wild Plums & Cherries |
| Edward's Hairstreak | Bur Oak |
| Brown Elfin | Blueberries, Bearberry |
| Eastern Pine Elfin | Jack Pine |
| Spring Azure | Blueberries, Wild Cherries |
| Silvery Blue | Wild Peavine, Milkvetches |
| Variegated Fritillary | Violets, Flax |
| Great Spangled Fritillary | Violets |
| Aphrodite Fritillary | Violets |
| Atlantis Fritillary | Violets |
| Meadow Fritillary | Violets |
| Gorgone Checkerspot | Sunflowers, Ragweed |
| Pearl Crescent | Asters |
| Question Mark | Nettles, Hops |
| Grey Comma | Birches, American Elm, Currants |
| Compton Tortoiseshell | Willows, Birches, Alders |
| Mourning Cloak | Willows, Elms |
| Milbert's Tortoiseshell | Stinging Nettle |
| American Painted Lady | Pussy-toes, Everlastings |
| Painted Lady | Thistles, Sunflowers |
| Red Admiral | Nettles |
| White Admiral | Poplars, Birches |
| Viceroy | Willows, Poplars |
| Northern Pearly Eye | Purple Oat Grass, Reed Canary Grass |
| Ringlet | Grasses & Sedges (various) |
| Common Wood Nymph | Grasses (various) |
| Monarch | Milkweeds (various) |
Nectar Plants
Butterflies will sip nectar from many kinds of flowers. Here are some common plants that are good nectar sources for butterflies, and other insects, too; don't forget about bees and other beneficial bugs! The perennials are all Manitoba prairie plants which are now available commercially (see the list of sources below). Related horticultural plants could be substituted for most of these species. Look for plants with the same Genus (first name of the two scientific names).
ANNUALS / BEDDING PLANTS
| Common Name | Scientific Name |
| Zinnia | Zinnia spp. |
| Nasturtiums | Tropaeolum majus |
| Heliotrope | Heliotropium arborescens |
| Dianthus | Dianthus spp. |
| Ageratum | Ageratum houstonianum |
| Cosmos | Cosmos bipinnatus |
| Petunia | Petunia spp. |
| French Marigold | Tagetes patula |
| Pink-flowered onion | Allium stellatum |
| White prairie-clover | Dalea candidum |
| Purple prairie-clover | Dalea purpureum |
| Swamp milkweed | Asclepias incarnata |
| Dwarf milkweed | Asclepias ovalifolia |
| Whorled milkweed | Asclepias veticillata |
| Wild bergamot | Monarda fistulosa |
| Yarrow | Achillea millefolium |
| Many-flowered aster | Aster ericoides |
| Smooth aster | Aster laevis |
| Flodman's thistle | Cirsium flodmanii |
| Purple coneflower | Echinacea augustifolia |
| Smooth fleabane | Erigeron glabellus |
| Gaillardia | Gaillardia aristata |
| Narrow-leaved sunflower | Helianthus maximilianii |
| Rough false sunflower | Heliopsis helianthoides |
| Meadow blazingstar | Liatris ligulistylis |
| Dotted blazingstar | Liatris punctata |
| Long-headed coneflower | Ratibida columnifera |
| Black-eyed Susan | Rudbeckia hirta |
| Graceful goldenrod | Solidago canadensis |
| Stiff goldenrod | Solidago rigida |
| Lilacs | Syringa spp. |
| Tatarian Honeysuckle | Lonicera tartarica |
| Red-osier Dogwood | Cornus stolonifera |
| Choke Cherry | Prunus vigininana |
| Nannyberry | Vibernum lentago |
| Crabapples | Malus spp. |
Sources of Native Prairie Plants:
Living Prairie Museum (Seeds only) | Prairie Originals | PrairieFlora
More on butterflies in NatureNorth.com:
Mourning Cloaks | Butterflies are Free? | Butterflies of Manitoba | Marvelous Monarchs!
Thanks for learning about Butterfly Gardening! Bye for now!
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