Butterfly Requirements

• Butterflies need to be around plants that can supply their needs for each phase of their life. Butterflies require a place to lay eggs, food for the caterpillars, a strong plant for a chrysalis and a source of nectar for adults. Some, like the monarch butterfly, spend most of their lives on and around one particular kind of plant. Others move between several types of plants according to their stage of development.
  
  

Larval Stage

• Butterfly caterpillars are attracted to violets.the first violets image by Kostyantyn Ivanyshen from Fotolia.com
  
  Caterpillars, the larval stage of butterflies, need high-glucose nectar to meet the needs of their growing bodies. Two of their favorite plants are violets (including common violet, violas and pansies), which are small, perennial plants with white, purple or multicolored flowers, and goldenrod, a herbaceous perennial that blooms in late summer and which feeds both caterpillars and adult butterflies. Also on the menu for hungry caterpillars are daisies, clover, mallows and fruit trees.
  
  

Chrysalis

• Monarch butterfly caterpillars live almost solely on milkweed plants.Monarch butterfly on a milkweed plant image by Terry Reimink from Fotolia.com
  
  Butterflies need a secure place to form their chrysalis. They prefer plants with sturdy, wide leaves and strong stems that will protect the chrysalis from winds and bad weather and which will protect it from predators. One plant in particular is a firm butterfly favorite. Milkweed, also known as butterfly weed, is a perennial whose strong stem, wide leaves and high-glucose nectar make it a perfect host for butterfly caterpillars, particularly those of the monarch butterfly, to form their chrysalis. Butterflies also like to form their chrysalis on aspen, willow, black cherry and dogwood trees.
  
  

Adult and Reproductive Stages

• The short tubers of the buddleia make it easy for butterflies to drink the flowers' nectar.buddleia image by Alison Bowden from Fotolia.com
  
  Butterflies seem to know what their offspring require, laying their eggs on a type of plant that can support the caterpillar. When a butterfly lands on a flower, it can "taste" the nectar with sensors in its "feet." This taste causes the butterfly's proboscis to uncurl, allowing it to drink the nectar. Adult butterflies look for flowers that have a lot of heavy, sweet nectar and which have a flower tube short enough for their proboscis to reach the food. Because they do not smell in the human sense, butterflies rely on shape and color to help them decide which flowers to choose. Also known as buddleia, the butterfly bush is a perennial shrub that grows in full to partial sunlight and reaches a height of 6 to 15 feet. Adult butterflies are attracted to this flower for its nectar. Joe Pye weed is a tall perennial herb with lacy flower heads that bloom in white, lavender or deep purple. Adult butterflies visit these plants for nectar and to lay their eggs.