Butterflies and Veggies
 

Q. I have a small, urban backyard (approx. 50' x 60'), and I want to develop a small butterfly garden and a small vegetable garden in different areas of the yard . Will the veggie garden become a "restaurant" for the caterpillars?

A. Many gardeners successfully grow a very wide variety of plants in close proximity to a butterfly garden. One easy solution is to plant a few extra of the larvae's favorites. Keep in mind that butterfly gardens do very often include plants that serve as a larval food source (i.e., caterpillar bait) as well as including plants that serve as nectar sources for the butterflies themselves. In general, you might find caterpillars of the more attractive butterflies on, say, parsley, fennel and dill; tomato hornworms turn into sphinx moths; and of course, cabbage butterflies come from cabbage loopers. You can exclude loopers by covering susceptible veggies with lightweight row covers--and you would probably want to do that because loopers are nearly everywhere even without butterfly gardens. Butterflies are very specific in terms of what they eat, and luckily not that many of them eat vegetables on a regular basis. As you research the butterflies in your area and look into butterfly garden plants, you will find that a wide variety of plants can be used.

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This site was last updated 05/25/04