Includes the best of Florida's native flowering plants that attract and feed native butterflies. These are the plants that naturally supported themore than 160 butterfly species that bred in Florida well before the impacts of man became noticeable. The book is also about the butterflies themselves--for it is only by understanding what butterflies are that we can be effective in providing for them. Finally, this publication is about using our knowledge of butterflies and plants to design a butterfly garden. Property owners throughout Florida can use this book to create their own butterfly gardens using the plants native to their region of the state, and these gardeners, entrusted with the welfare of their butterflies, will form a network of environmental stewards that will help balance whatever impacts the future holds in store for Florida.

While many growers focus on attracting adult butterflies to their gardens, fewer know about the plants that caterpillars need to survive. Native host plants—wildflowers, trees, shrubs, vines, grasses, and sedges—not only provide a site for the butterfly to lay its eggs, they also provide a ready food source for the emerging caterpillar. Think of these plants as the nurseries of the garden. This user-friendly, heavily illustrated field guide describes 101 native larval host plants in Texas. Each species account includes descriptive information on each plant, a distribution map, and photos of both the caterpillars and adult butterflies who frequent those plants. An adult butterfly may nectar on a wide variety of flowers, but caterpillars are much more restricted in their food sources. Some feed on only a limited number of plant species, so female butterflies seek out these specific plants to lay their eggs. For example, the host plants for Monarch caterpillars are various species of milkweed. Often, these plants are not the same as the ones the adult butterfly will later use for nectar. Learning more about the plants caterpillars need is crucial for butterfly conservation. Butterflies’ dependency on specific caterpillar host plants is one of the key factors restricting their range and distribution. Armed with this knowledge, readers can also hone their ability to find specific species of breeding butterflies in nature. This is a handy guide whether you are in the field searching for butterflies or on the hunt for butterfly-friendly options at your local plant sale.

With the recent decline of the European honey bee, it is more important than ever to encourage the activity of other native pollinators to keep your flowers beautiful and your grains and produce plentiful. In Attracting Native Pollinators, you’ll find ideas for building nesting structures and creating a welcoming habitat for an array of diverse pollinators that includes not only bees, but butterflies, moths, and more. Take action and protect North America’s food supply for the future, while at the same time enjoying a happily bustling landscape.

Bring life to your garden and experience the magic of metamorphosis! This book tells you how. It describes 23 species of butterflies and shows them in color photos - adults, caterpillars and pupae, as well as dozens and dozens of larval and nectar food plants. Complete growing information is included for each plant: family, plant type, geographic region, mature size, flowering time, color, light, water and soil requirements, propogation methods and salt tolerance.

Fun how-to guide for attracting butterflies with native plants Includes more than 150 color photographs Suitable for kids and adults Have you ever wanted to draw butterflies to your home, but you haven’t known where to start? This book will help you! Butterfly Gardening with Native Plants is much more than a book filled with beautiful photographs. It brings the butterfly’s perspective to the reader. Living in nature is getting more and more difficult around the planet for butterflies. This makes manmade habitats, filled with native plants, much more important. Butterfly expert Christopher Kline explains how to use native plants and draw butterflies to your home landscape. He discusses butterfly gardening basics, common butterflies int he garden, garden designs, guide to host plants, native nectar, and sources for native plants. Many detailed illustrations on garden layout will make building your own garden much easier. This guide also makes it easy to pick plants that attract different butterfly species. Butterfly Gardening with Native Plants belongs on the bookshelf of anyone who wants to draw butterflies to their home.

This book provides a complete list of the butterfly host plants native to central Florida. Sharon LaPlante has drawn from her twenty-five years of experience working with local native plant communities to create an accessible reference guide to the plants used for butterfly gardening in central florida . Also included is information about many of the native plants, trees, shrubs, wildflowers and vines that are nectar sources for adult butterflies. Have you ever wanted to try butterfly gardening with the goal of attracting butterflies to your personal space? Perhaps you are interested in learning more about the beautiful butterflies and catepillars you see whenever you venture outside? Learning about these fascinating creatures and their habitats, can take years. So too can planning and executing a butterfly garden. This guide will help the central Florida gardener decide what native plants to choose that support each variety of butterfly, at each of their life-stages. The principles taught in the book can be applied to the butterfly garden wherever on Earth it may be. Sharon's knowledge and experience affords both the budding enthusiast, as well as the more experienced gardener, a sure path to a bountiful butterfly landscape.