In addition to growing nectar plants for the benefit of stalking and chasing hummingbirds, I also provide nectar and host plants for butterflies and a few moths
I grow spicebushes where Spicebush Swallowtails deposit eggs… fennel for Black Swallowtails, paw paw trees for Zebra Swallowtails and pipevine for Pipevine Swallowtails I collect as many of the eggs and small caterpillars as I can to increase their chances for survival, and release them once they pupate and eclose from their chrysalides.
Here's a few images from my butterfly gardening project...
Spicebush swallowtail caterpillar just after hatching from the egg… it then eats the egg casing. The egg is the size of a small pinhead.
A spicebush caterpillar …in a spicebush
They change from green to yellow before pupating into chrysalis form.
An adult Spicebush Swallowtail that eclosed yesterday… and the first time I've used a flash in awhile. I like it for fill and detail with black butterflies. I exposed for the background.
Black swallowtail ovipositing eggs on fennel
A 3rd instar black swallowtail caterpillar shedding its skin and morphing into the 4th instar stage.
5th instar Black Swallowtail caterpillars feeding on fennel. 5th instar is the final stage before pupating into a chrysalis.
Zebra Swallowtail feeding on a butterfly bush
Tiger Swallowtail and echinacea
Monarch feeding on liatris ligulistylis right before…
…the photo bomb ;-)
And Hemaris thysbe… the Hummingbird Clearwing Moth feeding on monarda fistula, also known as "Wild Bergamot" and bee balm.