Edit: Sorry Clint did not read the other thread before posting. Quote from you in the other thread "There was a speaker that goes around "educating" people about native plants that said it. "
That's very sad that someone would do that. I certainly would hope they have some research paper to back them up before spreading info like that.
I certainly hope the misinformation gets bunked before it goes to far!
Thanks for debunking it! (before I even heard it in my area even;p )
Original comment:
That's an odd claim. I've never seen it claimed that butterflies would be 'tricked' to lay their eggs on butterfly bush. I don't know of any host plant that it is even remotely related to so why would a butterfly even try? They are very host specific.
Sad to see that people would fall for such an odd claim. Good to see it clarified.
There is some really odd misinformation generated out there. Where in the world do people come up with these things???!
My issue with it is that it takes up valuable space that could be given to more beneficial plants, like host plants, and that most varieties do produce copious amounts of seed and are invasive. So invasive they have been banned from many states. If you want nectar there are plenty of non invasive nectar plants out there, many that ALSO are host plants.
If you just must have a buddleja then at the very least get one of the 'sterile' plants (but even they produce around 2% viable seeds so you do still have to be responsible in where you plant and maintain.)