BUTTERFLIES:  In Living Color

A Polydamas Swallowtail (Battus polydamas) sips nectar from a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia ‘Torch’).

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Enter the Memphis Zoo’s Butterflies: In Living Color exhibit, and you’ll immediately notice the colors of the butterflies and flowers, the movement of wings and leaves in the breeze, and the sounds of a splashing waterfall and gentle notes of music. Find a bench, sit back, and relax awhile – this may be the most tranquil spot in the zoo.

Our butterfly exhibit is home to 35 species of butterflies native to the Mid-South, as well as about 80 different varieties of plants. Thousands of individual plants make up the brightly colored and patterned beds.

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Plants in the Exhibit: More Than Just a Pretty Face

Many of the plants in the exhibit are simply stunning: the glowing orange, 4” blooms of the Mexican Sunflowers (Tithonia) and the abundant lavender-blue blooms of the chaste trees (Vitex agnus-castus) will take your breath away. But our plants serve a very practical purpose: they provide food for our butterflies. Most of the colorful plants you see are nectar plants. You can watch as the adult butterflies sip nectar out of each blossom that they visit. While some adult butterflies supplement their meals with such delicacies as rotting fruit and animal dung, flower nectar is the most important part of most butterflies’ diet.

A White Peacock (Anartia jatrophae) rests on a green-eyed susan (Rudbeckia hirta ‘Irish Eyes’). ‘Irish Eyes’ is a lovely cultivar of black-eyed susan, a plant native to the Mid-South.

Many of the nectar plants that butterflies flock to are native to this part of the United States. Purple coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) and black-eyed susans (Rudbeckia species) are two of the beautiful native species included in the exhibit. You’ll also see plants like lantana (Lantana camara) and butterfly bush (Buddleja), popular non-native garden plants that offer irresistible nectar.

The Perfect Host

There are a number of different host plants in the exhibit. These plants provide a home and food for the butterflies’ caterpillars. Female butterflies seek out their own particular host plant (many butterflies will only lay eggs on one or two very specific species of plants), lay their eggs, and in 2-6 days tiny caterpillars hatch out. The leaves (and sometimes stems and flowers) of the host plant provide all the food the growing caterpillars need to grow up to become adult butterflies. Look for spicebush (Lindera benzoin), pawpaw (Asimina triloba), sweetbay magnolia (Magnolia virginiana), milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa), and passionvine (Passiflora) during your visit, and see if you can spot any eggs or young caterpillars on the plants.

A Buckeye caterpillar (Junonia coenia) feasts on the blooms of a butterfly bush (Buddleja).

Some plants, like the milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) and swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), are both nectar plants AND host plants: adult butterflies drink the nectar from their flowers, and butterfly larvae eat their leaves. Milkweeds are important host plants for the beloved Monarch and Queen butterflies. The butterfly bush (Buddleja) is a nectar plant and a host plant, as well: buckeye caterpillars, which unlike most butterfly species are not very choosy, will feed on Buddleja blooms and leaves, as well as several other plant species.

Plant Your Own

You can enjoy butterflies in your own backyard. Plant your own butterfly garden, and around Memphis and the Mid-South, you may be visited by just about every butterfly you see here. Pick a sunny spot, plant some of the nectar plants and the host plants that butterflies depend on, and soon they should be calling your yard home. Be sure not to use any pesticides – besides killing off “pests,” the poisons will kill your butterflies, too. Protect your butterflies, birds, and other wildlife (including children!) by keeping your garden natural and safe.

Monarchs (Danaus plexippus) are frequent visitors to the beautiful blooms of chaste trees (Vitex agnus-castus). June is the best month to see the chaste trees in full bloom.

If We Had To Choose Our horticulture staff is often asked to name the very best nectar plants to include in a butterfly garden. We’ve let the butterflies decide. Based on our observations, these are the 12 plants in our exhibit that seem to get the most butterfly attention: Agastache Ageratum Buddleja Echinacea Lantana Melampodium Pentas Rudbeckia Tithonia Verbena Vitex Zinnia Anise Hyssop Floss Flower Butterfly Bush Purple Coneflower    Lantana Melampodium Pentas ‘Ruby Glow’ Black-eyed Susan Mexican Sunflower Verbena Chaste Tree Zinnia Click here for a complete list of the plants used in our exhibit, and for tips on how to begin your own butterfly garden.

Native purple coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) (far left) and old-time garden favorite Zinnias (Zinnia elegans) (left) are excellent choices for a butterfly garden. Here, a buckeye (Junonia coenia) visits a pair of zinnias.

You Can Help Wild Butterflies As more of the natural areas in America are developed, more of the native host plants that butterflies depend on disappear. Landscaping in new housing developments and office parks usually consists of species introduced from other countries. Butterflies that are becoming rarely seen in densely populated areas can still be found in rural spots, where their host plants are still plentiful. You can help reverse this trend by including native host plants in your landscape. Spicebush (Lindera benzoin), for example, is a large shrub (or small tree) that grows naturally as an understory tree in wild spots in the Memphis area. It is one of the host plants for the Spicebush Swallowtail, which sports black and iridescent blue wings, and which is certainly one of our most beautiful North American butterflies. The caterpillars are quite unique, as well – they sport huge eyespots on their backs to ward off potential predators. Add a spicebush or two to your yard, and see what turns up! And while you’re out in your yard, try planting a pawpaw (Asimina triloba). This native tree is the only host plant for the Zebra Swallowtail, Tennessee’s state butterfly. This striking black and white beauty can often be seen in Overton Park, where pawpaw trees grow naturally throughout the forest. Outside of the park, however, this butterfly is now rarely seen inside the city. Plant a pawpaw and see if you can lure some to your neighborhood! (The large, edible fruits that mature pawpaws produce in summer are yet another reason to grow them.) Ask for these and other native host plants at your local nursery, or look for them at the zoo’s annual spring plant sale.

Look closely at the leaves of the spicebush (Lindera benzoin) when you visit, and you may spot Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus) eggs.

A Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis) explores a white butterfly bush (Buddleja ‘White Profusion). Coral porterweed (Stachytarpheta) is an unusual nectar plant available at the zoo’s spring plant sale.  A Polydamas Swallowtail (Battus polydamas) visits Brazilian verbena (Verbena bonariensis).

A Monarch (Danaus plexippus)  sips nectar from the blooms of anise hyssop (Agastache ‘Blue Fortune’), a selection of a native North American wildflower.

A Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) drinks from lantana (Lantana camara). Butterflies: In Living Color is open Memorial Day weekend through October 1st, from 10 am to 5:30 pm.