2:19 p.m., June 23, 2008--This fall, the University of Delaware Botanic Gardens (UDBG) will complete its new lepidoptera garden, which is designed to attract butterflies, moths and their larvae. The plant you might expect to see, buddleja, or butterfly bush, is definitely not on the planting list.

Though a staple of many home and school butterfly gardens, the fragrant, fast-growing butterfly bush is now recognized by UD experts as a problematic plant.

“The butterfly bush is junk food for butterflies,” says Doug Tallamy, an entomologist and chairperson of UD's Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology. “The butterfly bush offers nectar but, as a non-native plant, it doesn't provide a food source for caterpillars. Native caterpillars need native plants.

“In addition, the butterfly bush has been documented to establish invasive populations,” says Tallamy. “It's a real threat to native habitat.”

UD's lepidoptera garden will consist entirely of native plants that offer food and shelter to native caterpillars, butterflies and moths. “There has been a significant decline in the diversity of butterflies in the U.S.,” says Tallamy. “The UDBG garden will attract at least 27 different species of butterflies and moths and their larvae, but, more importantly, will help Delawareans create their own lepidoptera gardens.”

Located next to a herbaceous garden, the lepidoptera garden will boast a diverse selection of perennials, shrubs and trees known to attract such butterflies as the viceroy, pearl crescent, spring azure, monarch and black swallowtail, as well as the royal walnut, luna and io moths. The combination of blooms and lepidoptera should be dazzling.

But don't visit the garden just yet; it's still a work in progress, says UDBG director John Frett. “We started planting last fall but we have a lot more specimens to get in the ground this spring, summer and fall,” says Frett. “We also need to erect signage; we want visitors to have all the information they'll need for their home lepidoptera gardens.”

Although too soon to visit, it's not too soon to take a peek at the UDBG planting list for ideas you can use now, during prime planting season. One tree that makes the list is the sassafras, which Frett likes for a number of reasons, including the fact that four different leaf shapes can be found on one tree. The larvae of the spicebush swallowtail butterfly use the sassafras as a food source. The spicebush swallowtail is a real beauty, with bright green hind-wings on the male and iridescent blue ones on the female.

Many people aren't crazy about the idea of luring moths to their landscape. While no one obviously wants gypsy moths, there are many species of moths that are not pests. Take for example, the luna, an eye-catching lime-green species that features a brown, green and white spot on each wing. The UD Botanic Gardens will be planting four different kinds of trees that luna larvae like--alder, birch, hickory and persimmon.

If you're not feeling ambitious enough to plant a tree, that's okay--there are plenty of shrubs and perennials on the plant list, too. For shady spots, try the “purple showers” violet, a clump-forming cultivar with electric purple flowers. It's a food source for larvae of the variegated fritillary butterfly. For areas that get sun or partial shade, consider golden Alexander, a low-growing perennial with flat-topped clusters of tiny yellow flowers in the spring. It's a food source for the black swallowtail butterfly's larvae.

If your garden tends to be wet, think about planting Aster puniceus, a perennial wildflower that grows in wetlands and marshes and sports showy violet-blue to purple blooms. The larvae of pearl crescent butterflies use asters, including Aster puniceus, as their sole food source.

Other perennials that will be planted in UD's lepidoptera garden include cone flower and goldenrod. And what would a lepidoptera garden be without milkweed? It may not be the showiest perennial but milkweed does attract the ever-popular monarch butterfly during its fall migration.

Article by Margo McDonough
Photos by Brian Kunkel