When we visualize a butterfly garden, the first thing that likely springs to mind is masses of colourful blooms. After all, when we spot butterflies, they’re often fluttering around blossoms, drinking nectar.
But the plants in our vegetable gardens are important to butterflies too. Some of those plants act as hosts for larvae. Others have blossoms that are sources of nectar for adult insects. Whatever the reason for butterfly visitors, it’s good news for gardeners. Butterflies have an important role to play as pollinators. You should always welcome butterflies into your vegetable garden. But, you might also consider adding vegetable plants to your butterfly garden. Either way, those stunning insects and vegetable plants go hand in hand.
Garden Host Plants for Butterfly Larvae
Different species of butterflies choose different foodplants for their larvae. Larvae don’t move far from the site where they hatch. Instead, they tend to stay on the same plant, where they eat and grow and move closer to the metamorphosis stage. For this reason, female butterflies will travel long distances to find the right plants to deposit their eggs on. Your vegetable garden may have just those plants a butterfly is looking for.
Brassica Family
Even though they’re beautiful, cabbage white butterflies are the bane of many a gardener’s existence. These butterflies favour plants in the mustard family, also known as Brassicas, as hosts for their larvae. Mustard, cabbage, broccoli, and kale are all members of the Brassica family.
The green cabbage worm, which will go through metamorphosis to become a cabbage white, is highly destructive to Brassicas. To save their produce, vegetable gardeners may resort to chemical pesticides. But, as always, natural pest control methods are much safer. Installing floating row covers is a terrific way to deter cabbage whites from depositing their eggs on young plants. Or, if butterfly eggs and larvae already exist on a plant, those can be picked off. The earlier the eggs and larvae are removed, the less damage will be done to the plants.
Apiaceae Family
According to the Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility website, the Apiaceae family of vegetables and herbs is attractive to swallowtails. Plants such as carrots, parsnips, celery, dill, and fennel are host plants for black swallowtail butterflies in eastern Canada and to anise swallowtail butterflies in western Canada.
While swallowtails are more colourful and less common than cabbage whites, gardeners may still be loath to share produce with swallowtail larvae. As with cabbage whites, natural pest control methods–like floating row covers or simply picking off eggs and/or larvae–are safe and effective.
Fabaceae or Leguminosae Family
The long-tailed skipper favours plants in the Fabaceae family–particularly peas and beans–as a larval food source. These larvae fold themselves into the leaves of these plants as they eat and grow. Long-tailed skipper larvae would rarely do so much damage to the leaves that the produce itself would be affected. But, if your garden becomes overwhelmed with long-tailed skipper larvae, just remove them by hand.
Cucurbitaceae Family
The Cucurbitaceae family includes cucumbers, watermelon, cantaloupe, and various squashes (winter, summer, zucchini, pumpkins, gourds). Gray hairstreak butterflies particularly favour cucumber plants as a food source for their larvae. As with long-tailed skippers and legume plants, it’s rare for gray hairstreak larvae to do so much damage to cucumber leaves that the produce is affected.
Garden Nectar Sources for Adult Butterflies
Butterflies don’t visit vegetable gardens only to deposit eggs on larval foodplants. Herbs and vegetables go through flowering stages, providing precious nectar to butterflies. In addition to radishes, butterflies will seek nectar from various herbs (garlic chives, oregano, mint, sage, rosemary, and thyme). As they flutter through your garden, they will help with the pollination of all plants. And pollination, of course, is vital to the success of your garden.
Vegetables in the Butterfly Garden
In an interesting piece at growjourney.com, April Gordon explains that she initially kept her butterfly garden separate from her vegetable garden. But, she is now thoroughly integrating the two. And, there is no reason to keep them separate. Many vegetables have ornamental properties and would look stunning planted among flowers. Many herbs grow low to the ground and would make excellent border plantings.
In most cases, butterfly larvae do not do so much damage that the plants’ produce is affected. The one exception is with plants in the Brassica family. It would be easy enough to plant your Brassicas separately and keep them safe with row covers. Or, if you were feeling generous, you could plant a few Brassicas out solely for butterfly larvae to enjoy.
As pointed out at the Vegetable Matter blog, the key is to maintain a healthy balance between caterpillars and plants. That way, you can have your veggies–and you and the butterfly larvae can eat them too.
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