Page 22 - BRN April 2021

Above: A nectaring Queen, Danaus gilppus, showing extended proboscis and long antennae. Queens and species like the white angled sulphur, Anteos clorinde, on the following page are attracted to Asters like Dieteria bigelovii, Sticky Aster.
Interestingly another non-toxic butterfly, the viceroy, mimics the coloring of monarchs and queens. The markings of all three species warm predators to stay away. Milkweeds are becoming more common on the market.
• * Antelope Horns (Asclepias asperula). Showy cream- colored flowers clustered in large umbels, available as seed.
• Showy Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa). Showy yellow to orange flowers clustered in umbels. Monarchs and Queen Butterflies visit this and other native milkweeds.
• * Horsetail Milkweed (Asclepias subverticillata). These are taller plants with delicate leaves and flowers, they provide nectar for a variety of insects, including tarantula hawks, and are host for monarch and queen butterflies. A tough native that is very sun and drought tolerant. If it is on your property, keep it!
# Buckwheats: The buckwheat family in the southwest is richly diverse; as a group they are excellent nectar sources and critical as host plants for a number of Lepidoptera. One of these is the beautiful Mormon metalmark. Plants bloom summer through fall. Pinkish-brown seeds that follow blooms are showy well into fall as well. Wright Buckwheat (Eriogonum wrightii) is common. Keep buckwheats if you have them! They are not common in the nursery trade.
# Skyrocket Ipomopsis (Ipomopsis aggregata). The beautiful tubular red flowers of this species are a favorite of the two-tailed swallowtail butterflies. Hummingbirds also visit them and males can sometimes be found performing swooping aerial displays above the flowers.
* Four-o’-Clocks (Mirabilis species). The long-tube Four-O’-Clock is common at higher elevations and is visited for nectaring by the sphinx moth (a.k.a. hummingbird moth). Caterpillars of sphinx moths also feed on the foliage of various species.
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