Saw one of these flying through my yard today. Supposedly they only use PawPaw as nectar and to lay eggs. Anyone familiar with anything else they might use? Karen
Zebra Swallowtail ?
I looked it up in my book, "Florida Butterfly Gardening" by Marc and Maria Minno. Here is what is written:
Host Plants: Trees and shrubs in the Custard Apple Family (Annonaceae). The caterpillars eat the young leaves and flowers of Pawpaws (Asimina incarna, A. angustifolia, A. obovata, A. tetramera, A. pygmaea, A. triloba, and A. pulchella, and D. rugelii).
Nothing else was listed.
Hope that helps!
~Becky~
Thanks Becky, now I have to see if these are all trees or if maybe I could get a bush instead. Karen
You were very helpful. After investigating the possibilities in the Plant files, I found dwarf Pawpaw on eBay, (asimina parviflora) for a total of $12.50 for a 1 gallon pot. Here come the zebra swallowtails!! Karen
My bf book says they use milkweed, asters, red clover, zinniz, cosmos, lantana, pentas, and daisy for their nectar plants. At least these would draw them in until you get the Pawpaw host plant. They are so beautiful, wish they were in our area.
A lot of the BF's seem to like the red Penta. That and the Buddlea.
Fly-Girl, I guess you are on the wrong side of Houston. Here on the outermost West side we have them. Hope I'm in the migration path.
Ann