We have lots of flowers and therefore nectar available in the summer months of June, July, and August.
We plant lots of native plants that provide lots of nectar. We enjoy not just the butterflies that nectar here, but also the other native pollinators, especially the bees. There’s always a pleasant hum of activity to enjoy in addition to the pretty flowers.
And because insects see the world differently than we do, native plants offer more benefits than we realize, sporting “landing strips” and such that they can see but we can’t.
These are often absent in non-native plants or hybrid — and even in cultivars of native plants!
Host plants doing double duty
It’s always nice when a plant can serve more than one habitat purpose.
Such is the case with these native plants, which are not only nectar plants for a variety of adult butterflies and other insects, but are also caterpillar food plants for particular butterflies and moths.
For example, here’s a monarch laying eggs on swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), using it as a larval host plant.
(That doesn’t happen on butterfly bush!)
And it’s also an excellent nectar plant not just for the monarch, but for other butterflies, such as this mourning cloak.
Bees and other insects use it as well.
Like swamp milkweed, butterfly weed (A. tuberosa) is a larval host plant for monarchs, as are many native milkweeds. (There are more than 100 species of native milkweeds!)
And here’s an eight-spotted forester moth enjoying its nectar.
Other host plants also serve as nectar plants, too. The list is long, but includes such native plants as particular types of turtlehead, aster, zizia, New Jersey tea, and others. (Here’s a list of host plants.)
Other summer nectar plants
Here are some of the nectar plants we grow where I’ve seen butterflies nectaring in June, July, and August.
JUNE nectar plants in our yard
JULY nectar plants in our yard
AUGUST nectar plants in our yard
