Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia
Promoting environmentally sound gardening practices for over 35 years!
Today’s #PollinatorWeek post includes a list of nectar and host plants for fifty common Mid-Atlantic lepidopterans. Plants may vary from one lepidopteran to another although some attract multiple species and some feed both adults and caterpillars.
Tried and True Native Plant Selections for the Mid-Atlantic
Found naturally in meadows, floodplains, and swamps (and sometimes called swamp vervain), this native blooms throughout the summer and into autumn, longer than most other perennials. Historically thought to be a cure for many ailments, it is still used for medicinal purposes today.
Featured Glossary word: Perennial New in 2022!
Today’s #PollinatorWeek post provides gardening tips, including those for patios/balconies, to attract butterflies and moths with the use and arrangement of nectar and host plants. Also, watch a video of a monarch caterpillar eating a milkweed leaf.
perennial: a plant that lives for more than two years or growing seasons
Perennials usually can live from three to hundreds of years, with new growth from a perennating (renewing or persisting) part.
Continuing our #PollinatorWeek celebration, today’s post describes different tactics lepidopterans employ to survive and includes a new video of a gray hairstreak using his hindwing tails to imitate his antennae.
Answers to today's lepidopteran morphology fill-in-the-blank and word search puzzles. #PollinatorWeeK
