What Do Caterpillars Eat? Host Plants
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| Black Swallowtail Caterpillars on Fennel |
The plants that caterpillars eat are called host plants (while the plants that adult butterflies eat are called nectar plants). Each species of butterflies has specific host plants on which the adult butterflies lay their eggs. The butterflies are particular about the plant they lay eggs on because their caterpillars must have that specific host plant to survive. The caterpillar will not eat if it does not have access to its specific host plants and thus it will die.
Some caterpillars are so picky about what they eat that there is only one plant type that will support them. Many caterpillars will eat from a few plant types. Listed below are several popular butterflies species and their host plants.
Also of interest is that you may find that in one region of the country the butterfly caterpillars may prefer to eat one variety of their host plant and in another area they may prefer a second type of plant within their group of host plants. I've read that this can even vary from garden to garden and may be due to changes in soil types, pH, etc.
If you are raising caterpillars indoors and you happen to run out of caterpillar food, you will probably be successful in changing their food source as long as it is in their group of host plants. Many caterpillars will easily eat from several food plants within their normal host plant range. For example, I have seen great success with switching between fennel, parsley or dill for a Black Swallowtail caterpillar (other switches may be totally successful, these are only the ones I have witnessed). I have also seen success in raising a Monarch caterpillar while switching out different milkweed varieties. Hopefully the table below will help you find something for your caterpillar to eat if you happen to run out of food for your caterpillar.
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| Buy This Book |
For an excellent book that will help with choosing what caterpillar food plants to grow in your area, check out The Family Butterfly Book by Rick Mikula. It has a section about best butterflies, host plants and nectar plants broken down by regions of the US including Hawaii, Alaska and parts of Canada. It is well illustrated with a lot of good information about raising butterflies. I own this book plus a book that is specific to my region (Butterflies of the East Coast by Rick Cech and Guy Tudor) which is very good as well.
The Family Butterfly Book is easy to read with lots of practical advice for raising butterflies while the Butterflies of the East Coast book is a bit more scientific but is a great reference book for East Coast butterflies as well as having alot of general butterfly information.
Okay, here is a list of some common and/or popular backyard garden butterfies and the food their caterpillars eat. Several of these caterpillar host plants (as well as nectar plants) can be found at Nature Hills Nursery which is a popular online nursery with a good reputation. They offer a free catalog so you can sign up for it then flip through the catalog at your leisure to become familiar with some of these plants.
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| BUTTERFLY SPECIES | HOST PLANTS |
| Anise Swallowtail | anise, parsley, carrot, dill, fennel |
| Eastern Black Swallowtail | parsley, carrot, dill, fennel |
| Giant Swallowtail | citrus, hop tree, prickly ash, rue |
| Pipevine Swallowtail | dutchman's pipe, pipevines (not the exotics), Virginia snakeroot |
| Spicebush Swallowtail | spicebush (primarily), sassafras, various bays (Persea spp.) |
| Eastern Tiger Swallowtail | many broadleaf trees and shrubs, lilac, willow, birch, tuliptree, cherry |
| Zebra Swallowtail | pawpaw |
| Monarch | milkweed |
| Viceroy | willow, poplar, aspen, apple, cherry, plum |
| Red-Spotted Purple | apple, aspen, cherry, hawthorn, hornbeam, poplar, willow |
| Great Spangled Fritillary | violets |
| Variegated Fritillary | violets, pansies, stonecrops, passionflowers, plantains |
| Meadow Fritillary | violets |
| Mourning Cloak | elm, poplar, willow |
| Question Mark | elm, hackberry, hop, nettle |
| Green Comma | rhododendron, azalea, birch, willow |
| Red Admiral | nettle, false nettle, hop |
| Painted Lady | members of the mallow family |
| American Painted Lady | daisies, everlastings, other composites |
| Buckeye | plantain, snapdragon, stonecrop, verbena, other garden flowers |
| Baltimore Checkerspot | turtlehead, false foxglove, plantain, white ash |
| Pearly Crescentspot | asters |
| Great Purple Hairstreak | mistletoes |
| Gray Hairstreak | cotton, mallows, strawberry, legumes, mints |
| American Copper | sheep sorrel, curly dock, mountain sorrel |
| Tailed Blue | clovers, beans, peas |
| Spring Azure | blueberry, California lilac, dogwoods, meadowsweet, viburnums |
| Cloudless Sulphur | senna, clovers, other legumes |
| Clouded Sulphur | clovers and other legumes |
| Orange Sulphur | white clover, alfalfa, vetch, lupine |
| Dogface | false indigo, clovers, lupine, vetch, leadplant |
| Checkered White | crucifers, cleome |
| Cabbage White | cabbage, mustards, other crucifers, nasturtium |
| Zebra Longwing | passionflower |
| Gulf Fritillary | passionflower |
| Malachite | yerba papagayo |
Monarch butterflies and Black Swallowtail butterflies (Anise butterflies in the West) are popular and common butterflies to raise indoors. They are found throughout most of the US and beyond. If you are interested in raising butterflies then start by planting what these caterpillars eat. My recommendations based on my personal experience would be parsley (curly or flat) or fennel for the Black Swallowtail caterpillars and Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) or Tropical Milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) for the Monarch caterpillars. These plants are attractive in a garden setting and the milkweed has the added advantage of being a popular nectar plant as well. Adding some additional nectar plants will also help attract butterflies to your yard.
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