Butterfly Hostplants

Pterourus (Papilio) palamedes from Florida.

My original goal for this part of my site was to go into great detail on caterpillar hostplants and then realized that it would be too big of a project for me to do alone and would take forever (plus there are so many other sections of my site that also needs work). What I have decided to do, at least for now, is to provide places for you to go for the information you need. If you spend alot of time at the computer working on lepidoptera-related projects, I would recommend you to have the two following books (I do not get any kind of payment for praising these books and hope that by showing them I am not infringing on any copyright laws - they are just good books and highly recommended by me).

This is, by far, one of the best field guides ever created (and to be honest, all of the National Audubon Society books are highly recommended). At 916 pages with incredible color plates the price of less than $20 cannot be beat! Robert Michael Pyle has a masterpiece on his hands with this one!

This book, by Jeffrey Glassberg, though not as in depth as the Audubon book is still recommended for its great pictures and price (less than $15). It runs 202 pages and is approved by the North American Butterfly Association (NABA).

After you have these books (or a similar guide with color pictures to help you identify what species look like). I would recommend going here:

BUTTERFLIES OF NORTH AMERICA

This site is a wealth of accurate information, most of which is based on eyewitness accounts. Harry Pavulaan must be commended for the work done here! When you go here click on the state in which you live on the map. A list will pop up of all of the butterflies known to exist in that state (and even includes drifters from neighboring states). Click on individual species' names and it will show you where the species can be found within the state. Also included will be photos of the species and general information on the species, including some of the favored foodplants. If you find a species that interests you write the name down and go to this website:

CATERPILLAR HOSTPLANT DATABASE

Once here, just type in the genus and species names in the appropriate places and a whole list of foodplants will appear. Keep in mind that most foodplants are listed by genus and species name only so you may need a book to further identify what that plant is (again, check out the Audubon guides for books on trees and shrubs). If you know what plants you already have you can also find out what may eat them. Just look up the scientific name of the plant and type it into the appropriate place and a list of lepidoptera species will appear whose caterpillars feed on that particular plant! Another place you can try for finding images of both lepidoptera species and plant species is Google. They have an excellent image search engine and if you type in the genus and species names you can be almost 100% guaranteed that pictures will show up illustrating what you have typed.

I hope this information is useful and will help you get going on identifying local species of both lepidoptera and hostplants. With the books and websites provided here you should be able to accomplish alot. Feel free to e-mail me with any questions also! Good luck and have fun!!!

E-mail me at:

bugguy01@cox.net

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