Tips to attract and keep butterflies in your yard:

• Pesticides are a butterfly’s worst enemy. If absolutely necessary, apply only organic pesticides sparingly and selectively after sun-down, when most butterflies are inactive. Even better, attract beneficial insects and birds to your yard to keep pest populations under control, naturally.
• Create basking spots for butterflies by placing a few flat stones in sunny, sheltered locations.
• Leaf litter, fallen logs, or brush piles allow adult butterflies a safe place to hibernate.
• Leave garden cleanup until spring or do it carefully in the fall to avoid destroying the pupae of butterflies that overwinter on plant stems or leaf litter.
• Add some night-blooming flowers, such as Evening Primrose, Fireweed, Phlox, and Cardinal Flower, to attract night-flying moths.

 Suggested Plants to Attract Butterflies:

To attract butterflies to your garden, there are two types of plants to consider: ones that draw the adult butterfly, and, more important, plants for the young larvae that will become those beautiful adults.

Larval Food Plants of Vancouver Island Butterflies

* A great choice for butterflies associated with Garry oak ecosystems.

BUTTERFLY	PREFERRED LARVAL FOOD
Woodland Skipper	*Native Grasses
Two-banded Checkered Skipper	*Grasses
Clodius Parnassian	Western Bleeding Heart
Western Tiger Swallowtail	Poplars, Willow, Birch, Bitter Cherry
Pale Swallowtail	Alder, Cherry, Ceanothus
Anise Swallowtail	Cow Parsnip, Fennel, Parsley, Angelica
Pine White Douglas	Fir, Pine, Hemlock
Sara Orangetip	Arabis, Mustard family
Cabbage Butterfly	Cabbage family, Mustard family, Saskatoon
Margined Whites	Mustard family - Arabis, Cardamine.
Western Elfin	Labrador tea, Salal, Arbutus, Kinnikinnick, Manzanita
Moss’ Elfin (rare)	*Stonecrop
Western Pine Elfin	Lodgepole Pine, White Pine, Fir
Spring Azure	Spiraea, Oceanspray, Dogwood, Viburnum, Cherry, Ceanothus
Painted Lady	Thistles, Mallows, Pearly Everlasting, Borage
Cedar Hairstreak	Western Redcedar
Purplish Copper	Dock, Sorrel
Lorquin’s Admiral	Spiraea, Willow, Poplar
Red Admiral	Stinging Nettles
West Coast Lady	Stinging Nettle, Mallows
Milbert’s Tortoiseshell	Stinging Nettle
Mourning Cloak	Willow
Satyr Comma	Stinging Nettle
Mylitta Crescent	Short-styled Thistle *Native specie only
Plain Ringlet	Grasses
Common Wood Nymph	Grasses

To provide nectar for adult butterflies in your garden:

• Aster Clover
• Dogwood
• *Stonecrop
• *Yarrow Violet
• Goldenrod Phlox
• Wild Rose Spring Gold
• Wild Strawberry
• *Nodding Onion
• Saskatoon Berry

* A great choice for butterflies associated with Garry Oak ecosystems.