Resident Butterfly on my Lantana camara

[WillFolsom]

A casual observation from Virginia where we have planted several Butterfly Bushes import from Asia. We have a small butterfly garden that has several large butterfly bushes that grow each year. The white colored flowers typically tend to attract more butterflies than the purple ones do ... during one year... but then the purple plants attract more the following year. We have yellow flowered plants that seemingly are ignored no matter what the year. Just an odd observation. William

[Commander]

Interesting observations and discussions just from Weng Chun's Lantana plants!

We don't know enough as to how a plant makes itself "attractive" to its pollinators. I've seen a row of flowering plants, but only one or two specific ones attract butterflies and bees, whilst similar plants in the row has "no business"!

Geographical and environmental factors also contribute, as Weng Chun suggested. It's just like we humans. For example, if we were to offer Bill our "King of Fruits" - durians, he would probably head for the bathroom after even smelling it, much less taste it! Same as what I would do, if my European friends offer me their favourite blue cheese.

So maybe butterflies across the different parts of the world also have their taste preferences modified by the regions where they "grew" up in?

[Painted Jezebel]

Whilst we are talking about butterfly attractants, I notice that there is one species missing from your threads, which is Caesalpinia pulcherrima, or the Pride of Barbados, or in Malay, Jambol merak or Cana. This species regularly attracts many of the Swallowtails, including the Common Birdwing and also Catopsilia species, or at least it does up here. Indeed, whilst I am typing this, I can see one Troides helena cerberus, two male Papilio memnon, one female memnon f. agenor, one f. distantianus, one P. demolion, two P. polytes and a P. demoleus.

[Commander]

The butt-flower threads are just the first instalment. Yes, Caesalpinia (what we call Peacock Flower here), Clerodendron (Pagoda Flower), etc etc will follow eventually. That would give us a good stock of blog articles in the backburner for this series, when we run out of life history articles in about a year's time.

[Psyche]

Whilst we are talking about butterfly attractants, I notice that there is one species missing from your threads, which is Caesalpinia pulcherrima, or the Pride of Barbados, or in Malay, Jambol merak or Cana. This species regularly attracts many of the Swallowtails, including the Common Birdwing and also Catopsilia species, or at least it does up here. Indeed, whilst I am typing this, I can see one Troides helena cerberus, two male Papilio memnon, one female memnon f. agenor, one f. distantianus, one P. demolion, two P. polytes and a P. demoleus.

This is quite amazing. Caesalpinia pulcherrima is commonly planted in Malaysia, but I have yet to see a butterfly on it .

I have always wondered why this is so when the closely related flaming Bauhinia of the forest is a magnet for all Papilionids especially Birdwings.

TL Seow

[Commander]

This is quite amazing. Caesalpinia pulcherrima is commonly planted in Malaysia, but I have yet to see a butterfly on it .

C. pulcherrima is cultivated here too, with the orange-yellow flowers and another cultivar with predominantly yellow flowers. The Grass Yellows love it, as their cats also feed on this Leguminosae. As for the Papilionidae, so far I've only seen Common Mormons going for it. But then again, Birdwings, Great Mormons and the others that Les mentioned are not as common here.

In my old collecting days in Kedah, I used to net Pachliopta coon (Common Clubtails) feeding on these flowers as well. They were common up in Kedawi, but I've yet to see a live one this far south of the Malay Peninsula.

[atronox]

Those small plants are probably extensively hybridised/bred so they do not share traits with the "wild types" which butterfies find attractive.