Host Plant Common Name | Scientific Name | Butterfly/Moth |
Acacia spp DBG | Acacia spp Also includes Vachellia, Senegalia, Mariosousa, Acaciella | Reakirt’s Blue, Marine Blue, Hubbard’s Small Silkmoth, Mexican Yellow, Mimosa Yellow, Tricolor Buckmoth |
Agave spp | Agave spp | Arizona Giant Skipper |
American Elm | Ulmus americana | Mourning Cloak |
Anacacho Orchid Tree | Bauhinia lunarioides | Silver-Spotted Skipper |
Antelope horns milkweed DBG | Asclepias asperula | Monarch, Queen |
Apache Red Grass | Panicum bulbosum, Zuloagaea bulbosa | Cassus Roadside Skipper, Texas Roadside Skipper |
Apples | Malus spp | White-Lined Sphinx |
Arizona Beggarticks NSL | Bidens aurea | Dainty Sulphur, Sleepy Orange, Arizona Metalmark |
Arizona Cypress | Cupressus arizonica | Juniper Hairstreak |
Arizona Foldwing DBG NSL | Dicliptera resupinata | Texas Crescent |
Arizona milkweed DBG, NSL | Asclepias angustifolia | Monarch, Queen |
Arizona Rosemallow NSL | Hibiscus biseptus | Cloudless Sulphur |
Arizona rosewood NSL | Vauquelinia californica | Two-Tailed Swallowtail |
Arizona Thistle | Cirsium arizonicum | Mylitta Crescent, Painted Lady |
Arizona wrightwort NSL | Carlowrightia arizonica | Texas Crescent |
Arizona Yucca DBG | Yucca arizonica | Yucca Moth |
Ash NSL | Fraxinus spp | Two-Tailed Swallowtail, Calleta Silkmoth |
Asters DBG | AstersPlants in the Asteraceae family include: lettuce, daisies, sunflowers, chrysanthemums, asters, dandelions, goldenrod, coneflowers, thistles, artichokes, sunflowers, dahlias, marigolds, zinnias, asters, chamomile, chicory, sage, tarragon, ragweed, thistle, sagebrush, and yarrow. | Cabbage White, Common Buckeye, Common Checkered Skipper, Dainty Sulphur, Fiery Skipper, Painted Lady, Pearl Crescent, Red Admiral, Hackberry Emperor, Tawny Emperor |
Baby Bonnets | Coursetia glandulosa | Funereal Duskywing |
Baja Fairyduster | Calliandra californica | Ceraunus Blue, Marine Blue |
Bamboo Muhly | Muhlenbergia dumosa | Orange Skipperling, Cestus Skipper |
Banana Yucca DBG | Yucca baccata | Yucca Moth |
Beargrass | Nolina microcarpa | Gray Hairstreak |
Beebrush NSL | Aloysia wrightii | |
Big Bluestem DBG | Andropogon gerardii | |
Bladderpod, Bladdermallow NSL | Herissantia crispa | Arizona Powdered Skipper, Texas Powdered Skipper, Erichson’s White Skipper, Northern White Skipper |
Blanketflower NSL | Gaillardia spp | Bordered Patch |
Blood Flower, Tropical MilkweedCut back in the winter to prevent Ophryocystis elektroscirrha (OE) parasites | Asclepias curassavica | Monarch, Queen |
Blue Flax | Linum lewlsii | Mexican Fritillary, Variegated Fritillary |
Blue Grama Grass DBG | Bouteloua gracilis | Hualapai Buckmoth, Fiery Skipper |
Brittlebush DBG | Encelia spp | Painted Lady |
Buckwheat | Eriogonum spp | Lupine Blue, Ceraunus Blue, Rita Dotted Blue, Acmon Blue, Brown Elfin, Mormon Metalmark |
Bull Grass | Muhlenbergia emersleyi | Nabokov’s Satyr, Red Bordered Satyr, Moon Marked Skipper, Large Roadside Skipper |
Butterfly Pea | Clitoria mariana | Long-tailed Skipper, Golden Banded Skipper, Desert Cloudywing, Dorantes Longtail, Funereal Duskywing |
California Buckthorn | Rhamnus californica | Spring Azure, Gray Hairstreak |
Cane Beardgrass | Bothriochloa barbinodis | Slaty Roadside Skipper |
Canyon hackleberry DBG | Celtis reticulata | Empress Leilia, Mourning Cloak, Hackberry Emperor, American Snout, Randa’s Eyed Silkmoth, Tawny Emperor, Question Mark |
Catclaw (Acacia) | Senegalia spp | Mexican yellow, Mimosa Yellow, Reakirt’s Blue, Marine Blue |
Chapparal Honeysuckle | Lonicera interrupta | Chalcedon Checkerspot |
Citrus NSL | Citrus | Giant Swallowtail |
Carrot NSL | Daucus carota | Black Swallowtail |
Clematis | Clematis spp | Fatal Metalmark |
Climbing milkweed vine | Sarcostemma cyanchoides | Queen, Soldier |
Colorado Four O’clock NSL | Mirabilis multiflora | White-Lined Sphinx |
Cooley bundleflower NSL | Desmanthus cooleyi | Ceraunus Blue, Reakirt’s Blue |
Cottonwood | Populus deltoides | Mourning Cloak, Red-Spotted Admiral |
Cowpen daisy NSL | Verbesina encelioides | Bordered Patch |
Creosote NSL | Larrea tridentata | Geometrid moths (family Geometridae), Bagworm moths (family Psychidae) |
Datura NSL | Datura | Sphinx Moths (family Sphingidae) |
Deer Vetch DBG NSL | Lotus rigidus | Acmon Blue, Funereal Duskywing |
Deerbrush | Ceanothus integerrimus | Nais Metalmark, Arizona Hairstreak, Southwestern Azure (Celastrina echo cinerea), Pacuvius Duskywing, California Tortoiseshell |
Desert Agave DBG NSL | Agave deserti | Sandia Hairstreak, Arizona Giant Skipper |
Desert Bahia NSL | Bahia absinthifolia | Owlet Moths (family Noctuidae) |
Desert Broom NSL | Baccharis sarathroides | Fatal Metalmark |
Desert Ceanothus NSL | Ceanothus greggii | Nais Metalmark, Arizona Hairstreak, Southwestern Azure (Celastrina echo cinerea), Pacuvius Duskywing, California Tortoiseshell |
Desert Cotton DBG NSL | Gossypium thurberi | Gray Hairstreak, Painted Lady |
San Marcos Hibiscus | Gossypium harknesii | Painted Lady, Gray Hairstreak, and many moth species |
Desert Fern DBG | Lysiloma watsonii | Large Orange Sulphur |
Desert hackberry DBG NSL | Celtis pallida | Empress Leilia, Mourning Cloak, Hackberry Emperor, American Snout, Randa’s Eyed Silkmoth, Tawny Emperor |
Desert Honeysuckle DBG NSL | Anisacanthus thurberi, Anisicanthus spp | Elada Checkerspot, Arizona checkerspot |
Desert Hopseed | Dodonaea viscosa | Cinta’s Silkmoth (Rothschildia cincta), Slug Caterpillar Moths (Family Limacodidae) |
Desert lavender NSL | Hyptis emoryi | Gray Hairstreak |
Desert Mallows | Abutilon spp | Arizona Powdered Skipper, Northern White Skipper, Common Streaky Skipper, Common Checkered Skipper |
Desert Marigold NSL | Baileya multiradiata | |
Desert Milkweed DBG NSL | Asclepias subulata | Monarch, Queen |
Desert Plumbago DBG | Plumbago scandens | Marine Blue |
Desert Rosemallow DBG NSL | Hibiscus coulteri | Cloudless Sulphur |
Desert Senna DBG | Senna covesii | Cloudless Sulphur |
Desert Smoketree | Psorothamnus spinosus | Burns’ Buckmoth |
Dill NSL | Anethum graveolens | Black Swallowtail |
Dogweed NSL | Thymophylla pentachaeta | Dainty Sulphur |
Dutchman pipevine DBG, NSL | Aristolochia watsonii | Pipevine Swallowtail |
Eastern Mohave buckwheat NSL also called Desert Buckwheat | Eriogonum fasiculata v. polifolium | Bernardino Dotted-Blue, Lupine Blue, Mormon Metalmark, Behr’s Metalmark, Nut-Brown Hairstreak |
Evening Primrose | Oenothera spp | White-Lined Sphinx |
Fairy duster DBG NSL | calliandra spp | Marine Blue, Ceraunus Blue |
Fall False Tansy Aster NSL | Dieteria asteroides var glandulosa | |
False Indigo DBG NSL | Amorpha fruiticosa | Silver-Spotted Skipper, Southern Dogface, Gray Hairstreak, Marine Blue |
False Tarragon | Artemisia dracunculus | Old World Swallowtail |
Fennel NSL | Foeniculum vulgare | |
Fernball Acacia | Acaciella hirta (Acacia angustissima) | Mimosa Yellow, Mexican Yellow, Gold-costa Skipper, Acacia Skipper, Ceraunus Blue, Reakirt’s Blue |
Flattop & Wright’s DBG | Buckwheat | Lupine Blue, Ceraunus Blue, Rita Dotted Blue, Acmon Blue, Brown Elfin, Mormon Metalmark |
Fleabane NSL | Erigeron divergens | Checkerspot Butterfly species (Chlosyne spp), and the white-lined sphinx moth (Hyles lineata) |
Four O’clock | Mirabilis spp | White-Lined Sphinx |
Giant Sand milkweed DBG | Asclepias erosa | Monarch, Queen |
Globemallow DBG | Sphaeralcea ambigua | Common Checkered Skipper, Gray Hairstreak, Painted Lady, West Coast Lady, Common Streaky Skipper, Laviana White Skipper, Northern White Skipper |
Goodding Verbena | Glandularia gooddingii | Five-Lined Sallow Moth, Verbena Moth |
Golden-flowered Agave DBG NSL | Agave chrysantha | Sandia Hairstreak, Arizona Giant Skipper |
Gooseberry | Ribes spp | Hoary Comma |
Grapes | Vitis spp | White-Lined Sphinx |
Green Sprangletop | Leptochloa dubia, Disakisperma dubium | Orange Skipperling, Sheep Skipper, Nysa Roadside Skipper, Oliveclouded Skipper |
Gregg’s Mist Flower NSL | Conoclinium greggii | Rawson’s Metalmark |
Graythorn NSL | Ziziphus obtusifolia | |
Groundsel | Senecio spp | American Lady |
Guajillo | Senegalia berlandieri | Long-tailed Skipper |
Hairy Fournwort | Tetramerium nervosum | Tiny Checkerspot, Texas Crescent, Elf |
Hairy Mountain Mahogany | Cercocarpus breviflorus, | Gray Hairstreak |
Hairy wedelia | Wedelia hispida | Bordered Patch |
Hartweg’s twinevine NSL | Funastrum cynanchoides ssp. heterophyllum | Monarch, Queen |
Heart Leaved hibiscus NSL | Hibiscus cardiophyllus | Cloudless Sulphur, Mallow Scrub Hairstreak, Gray Hairstreak |
Hoary Pea | Tephrosia spp. | White Striped Longtail, Valeriana Skipper |
Hollyhock NSL | Alcea rosea | Painted Lady |
Hoptree | Ptelea trifoliata | Giant Swallowtail, Two-Tailed Swallowtail |
Hummingbird Trumpet DBG | Epilobium canum | |
Indian Mallow NSL | Abutilon palmeri | Common Checkered Skipper, Laviana White Skipper |
Indiangrass DBG | Sorghastrum nutans | |
Indigo | Indigofera spp | Gray Hairstreak, Reakirt’s Blue, Silver-Spotted Skipper |
Ironwood DBG | Olneya tesota | Rawson’s Metalmark |
Justicia spp DBG NSL | Justicia spp | Tiny Checkerspot, Texas Crescent, Pearl Crescent |
Kidneywood DBG NSL | Eysenhardtia spp | Gray Hairstreak, Marine Blue, Arizona Hairstreak, Ceraunus Blue |
Lavender Thoughtwort | Fleischmannia sonorae, Eupatorium sonorae | Bordered Patch |
Leadwort/white plumbago | Plumbago zeylanica | Marine Blue |
Lemonade Berry | Rhus aromatica | Spring Azure |
Lindheimer’s Muhly | Muhlenbergia lindheimeri | |
Lingum vitae DBG | Guaiacum spp | Gray Hairstreak, Lyside Sulphur |
Loveroot | Ligusticum Porteri | Anise Swallowtail |
Mallows DBG | Mallows (Spaeralcea, Abutilon) | Common Checkered Skipper, Gray Hairstreak, Painted Lady, West Coast Lady, Arizona Powdered Skipper, Common Streaky Skipper, Laviana White Skipper, Northern White Skipper, White Checkered Skipper |
Mesquite DBG | Prosopis spp | Leda Ministreak, Marine Blue, Reakirt’s Blue, Hubbard’s Small Silkmoth, Juno Buckmoth, Palmer’s Metalmark, Tricolor Buckmoth, Ceraunus Blue depending on species |
Mexican Elderberry NSL | Sambucus mexicana | Spring Azure |
Mexican Evening Primrose NSL | Oenothera speciosa ‘Siskiyou’ | Primrose Moth, White-lined Sphinx |
Mexican Redbud DBG | Cercis canadensis var. mexicana | |
Mexican sunflower bush | Tithonia fruticosa | Bordered Patch, Painted Lady |
Milkweeds | Asclepias spp | Queen, Soldier, & Monarch for selected species |
Milkweed vine | Matelea spp | Queen |
Mimosa spp | Mimosa spp | Reakirt’s Blue, Mimosa Yellow |
Mojave milkweed NSL | Asclepias nyctaginifolia | Monarch, Queen |
Monkey flower | Mimulus spp | Common Buckeye |
Nashville Grass | Muhlenbergia rigida ‘Nashville’ | |
Native Desert Willow NSL | Chilopsis linearis arcuate | Rustic Sphinx, Wavy-lined Emerald |
Nettles NSL | Nettles | Red Admiral |
New Mexico hops | Humulus lupulus var. neomexicanus | Mourning Cloak, Question Mark, Red Admiral |
New Mexico Feathergrass | Hesperostipa neomexicana | Uncas Skipper |
New Mexico Locust | Robinia neomexicana | Funereal Duskywing, Boisduval’s Yellow, Golden Banded Skipper, Mexican Yellow, Silver-Spotted Skipper |
New Mexico thistle NSL | Cirsium neomexicanum | Painted Lady, Pipevine Swallowtail |
Oaks | Quercus spp | Arizona Sister, Red-Spotted Admiral, Randa’s Eyed Silkmoth, Dull Firetip, Ilavia Hairstreak, ARIZONA SISTER, Sleepy Duskywing, Juvenal’s Duskywing |
Ocotillo NSL | Fouquieria splendens | Calleta Silkmoth, Geometrid moths (family Geometridae), and Slug Caterpillar Moths(family Limacodidae) |
Odora NSL | Porophyllum gracile | Dainty Sulphur |
Old man’s beard NSL | Clematis drumondii | Fatal Metalmark |
Oneseed Juniper | Juniperus monosperma | Juniper Hairstreak |
Paleface hibiscus NSL | Hibiscus denudatus | Cloudless Sulphur |
Palmer’s Agave DBG NSL | Agave palmeri | Sandia Hairstreak, Arizona Giant Skipper |
Palo Blanco | Mariosousa willardiana | Marine Blue butterfly (Leptotes marina) and moth larval food plant for the various Owlet Moths (family Noctuidae), and Geometer Moths (family Geometridae) |
Palo Verde | Parkinsonia spp | Great Purple Hairstreak—on the mistletoe, and for the tree itself, Tricolor Buckmoth, Hubbard’s Small Silkmoth, Owlet Moths, Tortrix Moths (Family: Tortricidae) |
Parish Goldeneye DBG | Viguiera parishii | Bordered Patch |
Parry’s Agave DBG NSL | Agave parryi | Sandia Hairstreak, Arizona Giant Skipper |
Passionvines DBG | Passiflora spp | Gulf Fritillary, Variegated Fritillary, Mexican Fritillary |
Pelatazo NSL | Abutilon incanum | Common Checkered Skipper, Laviana White Skipper |
Parry’s False Prairie Clover | Marina parryi | Southern Dogface |
Penstemons DBG | Penstemons | Common Buckeye, Variable Checkerspot, Owlet Moths (family Noctuidae), Geometrid moths (family Geometridae), Hummingbird Clearwing Moth |
Perennial Rockcress NSL | Boechera perennans, | Spring White, Cabbage White, Desert Marble / Pearly Marble, Sara Orange Tip, Checkered White |
Limberbush | Jatropha cardiophylla | Cinta Moth (Rothschildia cincta) |
Purslane | Porulaca spp | White-Lined Sphinx |
Physicnut | Jatropha cuneata | Cinta Moth (Rothschildia cincta) |
Pine-leaf Milkweed DBG, NSL | Asclepias linaria | Monarch, Queen |
Pink Flamingo Muhly | Muhlenbergia x ‘Pink Flamingo’ | |
Plains Bristlegrass | Setaria macrostachya | Nysa Roadside Skipper |
Prairie Clover DBG NSL | Dalea spp | Fiery Skipper, Reakirt’s Blue, Southern Dogface, Gray Hairstreak |
Primrose NSL | Oenothera macrocarpa ’ | |
Prunus spp (Cherry, plum, peach, etc) | Prunus spp | Glover’s Silkmoth, Red-Spotted Admiral |
Purple Threeawn DBG NSL | Aristida purpurea | Several species of Skipper and Satyr butterflies |
Rabbit Brush DBG | Ericameria nauseousus syn. Chrysothamnus nauseosus | Rabbitbrush Webbing Moth, Northern Checkerspot, Sagebrush Checkerspot, Ipsilon Dart |
Ragweed | Ambrosia spp | Bordered Patch |
Regal Mist Grass DBG | Muhlenbergia capillaris ‘Regal Mist’ | |
Rockcress | Arabis perennans | Cabbage White |
Rue | Ruta graveolens | Giant Swallowtail |
Ruellia DBG NSL | Ruellia spp | Common Buckeye, Texas Crescent, Tropical Buckeye, Cuban Crescent, Banded Peacock, Malachite, White Peacock |
Rusby’s Stonecrop | Graptopetalum rusbyi | Xami Hairstreak |
Saltbushes DBG NSL | Atriplex spp. | Western Pygmy Blue, Mohave Sootywing, Saltbush Sootywing |
San felipe dogweed NSL | Adenophyllum porophylloides | Dainty Sulphur |
Sanddune wallflower | Erysimum capitalum | Cabbage White |
Santa Rita Acacia | Mariosousa millefolia, Acacia millefolia | Marine Blue |
Satintail Grass | Imperata brevifolia | Clouded Skipper |
Schott’s Agave DBG NSL | Agave schottii | Sandia Hairstreak, Arizona Giant Skipper |
Schott’s Yucca DBG | Yucca schottii | Yucca Moth |
Seepwillow NSL | Baccharis salcifolia | Fatal Metalmark, Elada Checkerspot |
Senna spp DBG | Senna spp | Cloudless Sulphur, Sleepy Orange, Southern Dogface, Mexican Yellow, Boisduval’s Yellow |
Shrubby False Mallow | Malvastrum bicuspidatum | Westcoast Lady, Desert Checkered Skipper, Tropical Checkered Skipper |
Shrubby Indian mallow NSL | Abutilon abutiloides | Common Checkered Skipper, Laviana White Skipper |
Sideoats Grama DBG NSL | Bouteloua curtipendula | Hualapai Buckmoth, Elissa Roadside Skipper, Sheep Skipper, Oslar’s Roadside Skipper, Bronze Roadside Skipper |
Sierra Queen Anne’s Lace | Perideridia parishii | Anise Swallowtail |
Silver Bindweed | Convolvulus equitans | Painted Crescent |
Skeleton-leaf Goldeneye | Viguiera stenoloba | Muscosa Sphinx Moth, Geometrid moths(family Geometridae), Giant Leopard Moth, Hypocrisias Tiger Moth, Silkworm Moth |
Slender janusia NSL | Janusia gracilis | Funereal Duskywing, White Patched Skipper, Brown Banded Skipper |
Snapdragon vine NSL | Maurandya antirrhinflora | Common Buckeye |
Snoutbean | Rhynchosia spp | White Striped Longtail, Ceraunus Blue |
Soaptree Yucca DBG | Yucca elata | Yucca Moth |
Sonoran everlasting | Psuedognaphalium leucocephalum | American Lady |
Sunflowers NSL | Helianthus spp | Bordered Patch |
Sweetbush DBG, NSL | Bebbia juncea | |
Tahoka daisy, Tansyleaf Aster NSL | Machaeranthera tanacetifolia | Sagebrush Checkerspot, Bordered Patch, Pearl Crescent |
Tenaza | Havardia pallens | Marine Blue, Ceraunus Blue |
Texas Ebony | Ebenopsis ebano | Ceraunus Blue, Orange Sulphur |
Texas Persimmon | Diospyros texana | Gray Hairstreak |
Texas Ranger DBG NSL | Leucophyllum spp | Calleta Silkmoth, Theona Checkerspot |
Texas Tuberose DBG | Manfreda maculosa | |
Tickclover | Desmodium spp | Dorantes Longtail, Silver-Spotted Skipper, Desert Cloudywing, Northern cloudy wing |
Tomato | Lycopersicon spp | White-Lined Sphinx |
Toumey’s Agave DBG NSL | Agave toumeyana | Sandia Hairstreak, Arizona Giant Skipper |
Blood Flower, Tropical Milkweed Cut back in the winter to prevent Ophryocystis elektroscirrha (OE) parasites | Asclepias curassavica | Monarch, Queen |
Turpentinebroom DBG | Thamnosma montana | Black Swallowtail |
Turkey Tangle Frog Fruit | Lippia nodiflora, Phyla nodiflora | Phaon Crescent, Tropical Buckeye |
Utah Agave DBG NSL | Agave utahensis | Sandia Hairstreak, Arizona Giant Skipper |
Velvet Mesquite | Prosopis velutina | Ceraunus Blue, Marine Blue, Reakirt’s Blue, Palmer’s Metalmark, Leda Ministreak |
Vine Mesquite Grass | Panicum obtusum | Dotted Roadside Skipper |
Watson’s Dutchman pipevine DBG, NSL | Aristolochia watsonii | Pipevine Swallowtail |
Western Betony | Stachys coccinea | Painted Lady |
Western mugwort | Artemisia ludoviciana | Painted Lady, American Lady |
Western Soapberry | Sapindus drummondii | Soapberry Hairstreak |
White Evening Primrose, Tufted Evening Primrose NSL | Oenothera caespitosa | |
White Prairie Aster | Symphyotrichum falcatum var. commutatum | Pearl Crescent |
White stem milkweed DBG, NSL | Asclepias albicans) | Monarch, Queen |
Whitewhooly twinip | Stemodia durantifolia | Common Buckeye, Tropical Buckeye |
Wild carrot NSL | Daucus pusillus | |
Willows | Salix spp | Glover’s Silkmoth, Mourning Cloak, Red-Spotted Admiral |
Wolfberry NSL | Lycium spp | |
Wright’s buckwheat NSL | Eriogonum wrightii | Lupine Blue, Ceraunus Blue, Rita Dotted Blue, Acmon Blue, Brown Elfin, Mormon Metalmark |
Wright’s milkpea | Galactia wrightii | Marine Blue, Funereal Duskywing, Long-tailed Skipper, Silver-Spotted Skipper, White Striped Longtail |
Wright Thimblehead | Hymenothrix wrightii | Dainty Sulphur |
Yarrow | Achillea millefolia | Painted Lady |
Yellow Sweet Clover | Melilotus officinalis | Reakirt’s Blue |
Yellow Bells, Orange Jubilee, Esperanza | Tecoma spp | Hartweg’s Sphinx Moth, Rustic Sphinx, Florestan Sphinx Moth, Calleta Silkmoth, and several Crambid Moths (family Crambidae) |
Yucca | Yucca spp | Yucca Giant Skipper, Ursine Giant Skipper |