When most of us think of Butterfly migration, the amazing phenomenon of Monarch migration is what comes to mind. But did you know that other butterflies migrate, too?
The Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia) is found throughout the spring and summer from Nova Scotia, Quebec, and Ontario south through all of the US except for the Pacific Northwest.
But when autumn arrives these butterflies begin to move south, spending the winter months in the Carolinas and south into Florida and across the southern US.
I was thrilled on a recent trip to Cape May, NJ to witness part of this spectacle. I had been touring some private wildlife and butterfly gardens, and I was thrilled to see that every available bit of nectar sources were not only covered with Monarch Butterflies, but also with thousands of Common Buckeyes. Even in October they were still happily mating and I found lots of caterpillars on the Narrowleaf plantain (Plantago lanceolata).
Although Seaside Goldenrod (Solidago sempervirens) is quite common in Cape May, and there were Common Buckeye butterflies nectaring from it, I came across a patch of Slender Fragrant Goldenrod (Solidago tenuifolia) which was absolutely covered with these butterflies.
Isn’t it funny when you get to see butterflies showing such an obvious preference for one nectar source over another?
Plants in the Plantain family (Plantago spp) are considered common weeds and as such are the targets of weed control lawn fertilizers, so if you are treating your lawn with chemicals fertilizers and herbicides, you are destroying the plants that these butterflies need to survive.
So here’s permission to allow the Plantains to romp happily through your lawn, and you can tell your neighbors that you’re creating butterfly habitat. Cool, right?
Common Buckeye females lay their eggs on the Plantains, but will also use plants in the Snapdragon family (Scrophulariaceae), including snapdragon (Antirrhinum), toadflax (Linaria), and Gerardia, and also the the Acanthus family including ruellia (Ruellia nodiflora).
If you want to attract Common Buckeye butterflies to your wildlife garden, consider planting any of the following plants: Yellow toadflax also known as Butter and Eggs (Linaria vulgaris); Largebracted plantain (Plantago aristata), Narrowleaf plantain (Plantago lanceolata), Blackseed plantain (Plantago rugelii), Virginia plantain (Plantago virginica), Carolina wild petunia (Ruellia caroliniensis), Pursh’s wild petunia (Ruellia purshiana), or simply stop using chemicals on your lawn and see what pops up there naturally.
Who is migrating through your beautiful wildlife garden?
Carole Brown is the creator of Ecosystem Gardening, and author of the upcoming book of the same name. Her beautiful wildlife garden is located in Philadelphia, PA, zone 6B
© 2010, Carole Sevilla Brown. All rights reserved. This article is the property of BeautifulWildlifeGarden.com If you are reading this at another site, please report that to us
About Carole Sevilla Brown
Some beeeeautiful photos, Carole! Another good reason to allow plantain to grow is that those bunny rabbits who LOVE to eat your veggie plants also like to eat plantain (and clover) and if you have plenty of it around, they might not get around to eating all your veggies…:-)
Thanks, Ellen. Keeping the bunnies away from your veggies sounds like a great added bonus of leaving the Plantains for the Buckeyes. I hadn’t thought of that.
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I’ve been enjoying the return of the Common Buckeye here to Florida. Many dancing around my garden just this past week, as a matter of fact! Great photos Carole…those guys don’t hold still very often! Another larval host down here is Bluehearts (Buchnera americana) . With all their butterfly beauty, how can anyone want a smooth looking lawn rather than a meadow of plantains, bluehearts and frogfruits. Great piece!
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Loret,
I wished them well and sent them on their journey to you
Carole recently posted..I Am The Lorax- I Speak for the Leaves
Carole,
I was in Cape May Point State Park last weekend and noticed all the Common Buckeyes. There were so many I wondered if they were migrating. You answered my question. Thanks.
Been seeing buckeyes on the zinnias, lately–perhaps they’ve come down to overwinter! (I saw a junco t’other day, so it wouldn’t surprise me at all.)
The zinnias seem to be much preferred by our occasional monarch as well. They’re not exactly native in my neck of the woods, but being from at least the same continent and very much favored by butterflies, I’m happy to plant them.
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