Grasses for Butterflies

When you picture a butterfly garden, you probably envision big, colorful flowers. But did you know that over 100 butterfly species in Texas use native grasses and sedges as their larval host plants? In this episode, Leah makes the case for adding grasses to your pollinator garden.

The majority of grass-obligate butterflies – skippers and satyrs—are small, brown, and understudied. Leah argues that our aesthetic preference for the “charismatic megafauna” of the world of Lepidoptera has created a blind spot for conservationists and gardeners alike, and this spells bad news for little brown butterflies. This leads us down a philosophical rabbit hole, so we bring in rhetorician Eric Dieter (Colleen’s husband) to discuss the role of aesthetic biases, gaps in scholarly literature, and data collection in contributing to the problem of ecological “unknown unknowns.” 

Then we talk about one researcher who is studying this topic, Diane Narem, and cover her recommendations for using native grasses and sedges to support a more diverse butterfly habitat. 

Mentioned: 

Butterfly Gardening For the South by Geyata Ajilvsgi (Taylor, 1990); “St. Augustine grass” (Stenotaphrum secundatum) by Richard L. Duble (Texas Cooperative Extension, A&M); “Native Plant Myth Number One” by Shirley Denton (Florida Native Plant Society blog, 2013) “Meadows for Home Gardens: More Than Just Wildflowers” by Craig Huegel (Palmetto, the Quarterly Journal of the Florida Native Plant Society, 2020); “Mitigating The Effects Of Climate Change On Grassland Butterflies” by Angela Laws (Xerces Society, September 2020); “Satyrinae” (nymphalidae.net); Native Host Plants for Texas Butterflies by Jim Weber, Lynne Weber, and Roland H Wauer (2nd printing, A&M Press 2021); Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium); Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center’s Native Plant Information Network; National Wildlife Federation’s Native Plants Finder; “The Importance of a Rare Butterfly” by Diane Narem (TEDxBrookings, 2014); Gardening with Native Grasses in Cold Climates and a Guide to the Butterflies They Support by Daine Narem and Mary Hockenberry Meyer (ebook from University of Minnesota 2020).

For more info on this topic, check out these past Horticulturati episodes:

Design for Conservation (June 12, 2022)
Metamorphosis and Victory Gardens  (May 17, 2020)
Pocket Prairies with John Hart Asher  (May 14, 2022)

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