It’s been hitting well into the 100s every day now for 10 plus days with this horrid heat dome. But early and late – and some even during the midday heat – our Southern California yard’s numerous bird species are chittering away. See previous habitat tales article. We’re also seeing butterflies since it’s not until 84 to 100 degrees that they fly well.
I’m a slow identifier, so this has been a good project for me. Here are the recent butterflies in our yard, where I’ve seen them, and what I’ve learned about their host plants, many of which are California native plants, or grow well here.
Swallowtails
Swallowtails have long tails on their hindwing, like swallows. They are part of the Family Papilionidae.
We seem to have swallowtails year-round. A month ago a pair of them were busy with their mating dance, while the last few weeks it’s been a solitary one, which I ran around unsuccessfully with my camera trying to photograph. Finally got a photo of its underside yesterday, and today could positively identify it as a Giant Swallowtail -tho still didn’t get a good photo of it. I’ll keep trying.
Every state has at least one swallowtail.
Why they like our yard: I usually see them in our citrus grove – not surprising, because that’s a top host plant for many swallowtails – where they lay their eggs and the caterpillars munch the leaves as they go through their larval stages. (Giants also use prickly ash and hop tree; another common one, Western Tiger Swallowtail, use aspens, willows and alders.)
Lifespan: the photo I have shows a pretty tattered one, so with their short 6-14 day adult lifespan, it must be nearing two weeks old. It’s quite the process, with the larval (caterpillar) stages lasting up to 4 weeks.
Interesting fact(s): The caterpillar looks like bird poop (see above), and its chrysalis (which takes 10-20 days) looks like a piece of wood. Thanks to MonarchButterflyLifecycle.com for the above photos. I have never located them in our yard.
Gulf Fritillary
Fritillaries are part of the Family Nymphalidiae or Brush-footed butterflies, named because they have hairy front legs!
Gulf Fritillaries, found in all the southern states in the U.S. and also in Illinois and Wisconsin, are easy ones to host in your yard. Plant a passion vine, their host plant, and they will come! It should be easy to find one wherever you live, as there are 500 species.
We have a rather sad passion vine because of poor placement, but it still seems successful, as we’ve had a non-stop show of the butterflies.
Why they like our yard: As mentioned, gulf fritillary caterpillars require passion vine! We also have a jungle of blooming plants for feeding it nectar as an adult — in the photo above, it’s getting nectar from our oregano flowers.
Lifespan: They live a little longer than swallowtails, up to four weeks as an adult. The larval and cocoon stages are a little shorter.
Interesting fact(s): The maypop or purple passion vine is native to Eastern and Southern U.S.. Here in California there are no native host plant species. I prefer those because plants native to your area carry many benefits)
The Whites
The Whites and Sulphurs are part of the Pieridae Family. Both are medium-sized; whites are…. whitish and sulphurs, surprise, are yellow.
Cabbage White butterflies get a bad rap because they can be a agricultural pest, but unless you have a large infestation of their caterpillars – green and one inch long – they shouldn’t be a big issue. Plus, once the caterpillar becomes an adult butterfly, it doesn’t do any damage.
Why they like our yard: They like all plants in the brassica family, such as mustards, or cabbage and broccoli if you’re a vegetable grower. They also use the introduced black mustard which is now quite prevalent in yards around us, although we have removed them since it’s quite invasive. We also see sulfurs, which use cassia and senna plants as their host plant, both common in the East U.S..
Lifespan: Not very long lived – one to two months from egg through adulthood.
Interesting fact(s): Cabbage whites are native to Eurasia but have become common in the U.S. and Canada.
Skippers
Skippers are a favorite; they’re part of the Family Hesperiidae – small butterflies that seem to skip about in a way that’s different from other butterflies.
I believe the one I saw recently (left, below) is a Western Branded Skipper, tho they supposedly have a lot of variation. They fly Summer through Fall. I also see Fiery Skippers (right), particularly on our California goldenbush which blooms in the fall.
Why they like our yard: We have their host plants, which are all grasses. We have Fescue, and needlegrass (Stipa). Others include brome, beargrass, bluegrass and sedges. I always see them out in our front former lawn where most of the California native grasses are. This one was also visiting our flowering oregano.
Lifespan: Adults are short-lived, 10-20 days.
Interesting fact(s): One thing that differentiates all skippers, which are small at 1″ to maybe 1.5 inches, is their big eyes. They are one of the rare species that flies in bright sunlight with fully open pupils.
Other yard favorites – other common ones in our yard Spring through Fall
Acmon Blue – buckwheat, which we have a lot of, is its main host plant
Morning Cloak – this one is found throughout the U.S. as it has many popular host plants like willows, aspens, birches, hackberry and elms. Some live as long as 10 months!
Monarch – I see evidence of them on our eaten milkweed (their only host plant), but none flying recently. They don’t like to fly when it’s too hot.
For more info:
The Beginner’s Guide to Butterflies – a nice beginner guidebook, by Donald and Lillian Stokes
Xerxes – this great organization supports butterflies and all invertebrates, conducting research and supporting the conservation of pollinators and endangered species, and teaching about reducing pesticides.
Calscape – here in California you can use this website to find out what plants to grow for butterflies you want to attract. Those in other states, google butterfly host plants in your state, or find one of many good books on butterflies.
There are a number of websites with good caterpillar photos, here is one by LeafyPlace
Some of my other articles on butterflies are habitat gardening and favorite plants for butterflies and moths and butterflies and puddle parties and attracting pollinators and butterflies
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