Facts About Daisies Attracting Butterflies

Nectar from Daisies

• Butterflies need nectar to feed on and shelter to lay the eggs that become larvae, caterpillars and butterflies. Members of the daisy family of flowers provide both. Nectar plants produce the food butterflies need as they emerge from the caterpillar stage and begin to fly. Coneflowers are a wild prairie daisy-like perennial with abundant blooms all summer. The swallowtail butterfly is attracted to pink coneflowers and is sustained through its adult stage on the flower's nectar. Butterflies use their long tube-like, flexible tongue (proboscis) to sip liquid nectar from flowers.

Daisies as Host Plants

• Butterflies need nectar to feed on and shelter to lay the eggs that become larvae, caterpillars and butterflies. Members of the daisy family of flowers provide both. Nectar plants produce the food butterflies need as they emerge from the caterpillar stage and begin to fly. Coneflowers are a wild prairie daisy-like perennial with abundant blooms all summer. The swallowtail butterfly is attracted to pink coneflowers and is sustained through its adult stage on the flower's nectar. Butterflies use their long tube-like, flexible tongue (proboscis) to sip liquid nectar from flowers.

Nectar Preferences

• Planting a wide variety of daisy-like flowers in the garden provides nectar for butterflies all year round. Different species of butterflies have different preferences of nectar. The gray hairstreak butterfly prefers nectar from heath aster, Tithonia (Mexican sunflower), showy coneflower, small white aster and the tickseed sunflower. The pearl crescent butterfly lays eggs and feeds on the leaves and flowers of black-eyed Susan, coneflowers and small white asters. The pearl crescent butterfly is an over-all orange color with brown markings.

Year-Round Daisies

• Planting a variety of annual and perennial daisies attracts a variety of butterflies to the garden. Annual members of the asteraceae daisy family include Marguerite daisies, cosmos, sunflowers and asters. They provide butterfly shelter and nectar for one season only. Perennial daisies such as Shasta, coneflower and coreopsis grow, bloom and die back each year for several years, depending on the species. Sachem skipper butterflies use the black-eyed Susan perennial and annual asters as their nectar food source. They are soft brown overall with white markings.