Hummingbird and Butterfly Gardening: Golden Hops 'Humulus lupulus': A Host Plant Vine??, 0 by ineedacupoftea

ineedacupoftea wrote:
I grow both the species Hop (Humulus lupulus) and the gold 'Aurea' cultivar, as well as Dutchman's pipe (Aristolochia durior/macrohylla). I've not seen a butterfly on the Aristolochia (and probably won't, looking at the species of butterfly it hosts). I have no conclusive evidence, but I saw butterflies that I assumed to be painted ladies leaving my hops last year. I joked that they were getting sloshed with the finches but I haven't seen what they were really doing. They may ahve simply been roosting for the night. I have not seen any skeletonizing that is not from the occasional earwig.

Sadly, we just don't have many butterflies around here, thanks to the invasion of the European paperwasp- more voracious than the local sandhill paperwasp- and in turn eats more than its fair share of caterpillars.

We do have abundant Swallowtails that feed on the globe willows, and occasional Monarchs that are specifically on abundant milkweed.

I think divesity is the key to wildlife, and Variety is the spice of life!
Kenton