hi, Kyla. I have great respect for your decision! In a way, it takes a lot of courage to *not* do anything, to trust that nature can do a better job of this than we can, and that disrupting the ecosystem has negative consequences of its own.
That said, just for your interest (and totally unrelated to doing anything in response to a bug on a plant), I wanted to let you know about a really cool website that is a database for butterfly and moth species on plants. It's part of the research arm of the Natural History Museum in London and collects information from all over the world.
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-...
It took me a while to really get the hang of it, but last summer I spent a lot of time going through the database and logged the following information for the plants I own (only including butterfly larval host info here, not moth info, and also only including butterflies that have been sighted in the midatlantic area):
Forget me Not Myosotis sylvatica American Lady
Turtlehead Chelone lyonii: Baltimore Checkerspot
Turtlehead Chelone glabra Baltimore Checkerspot
Dill Anethum graveolens Black Swallowtail
Fennel (Common, Bronze) Foeniculum vulgare Black Swallowtail
Lovage Levisticum officinale Black Swallowtail
Parsley (curly-leaved) Petroselinum crispum : Black Swallowtail
Columbine, European Aquilegia vulgaris Columbine Duskywing Skipper
Columbine (Wild) Aquilegia canadensis Columbine Duskywing Skipper, Spring Azure;
Snapdragon Antirrhinum majus Common Buckeye
Sneezeweed Helenium autumnale Dainty Sulphur
Violet (horned) Viola cornuta Diana Fritillary
Violet, Johnny Jump-up Viola tricolor Variegated Fritillary, Aphrodite Fritillary
Rose of Sharon Hibiscus syriacus Grey Hairstreak
Borage Borago officinalis Painted Lady
Yarrow Achillea millefolium Painted Lady;
Marigold (pot, English) Calendula officinalis Painted Lady;
Aster (New England) Symphyotrichum novae-angliae Pearl Crescent;
Aster (Bigleaf, LargeLeaf) Eurybia macrophylla aka Aster macrophyllus Pearl Crescent
Wild Ginger Asarum canadense Pipevine Swallowtail
Black-eyed Susan, Rudbeckia hirta Silvery Checkerspot
Dogwood (Pink Flowering) Cornus florida f. rubra Spring Azure;
Dogwood (Red Twig), Cornus sericea Spring Azure;
Honeysuckle (Coral or Trumpet) Lonicera sempervirens Spring Azure;
Mayapple (American) Podophyllum peltatum Variegated Fritillary;
Alyssum (Sweet), S Lobularia maritima Cabbage White, Checkered White;
Switch Grass, Panicum virgatum Delaware Skipper, Leonard's Skipper;
Lilac (French or Common) Syringa vulgaris Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Spicebush Swallowtail;
Peach Tree Prunus persica Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Spicebush Swllowtail
Rue (Common or Garden), Ruta graveolens Giant Swallowtail, Black Swallowtail
Mint (Spearmint) Mentha spicata Gray Hairstreak, Painted Lady;
Red bud (Eastern) Cercis canadensis Henry's Elfin, Spicebush Swallowtail;
Milkweed (Mexican, Scarlet), Asclepias curassavica Queen, Monarch
Milkweed (Butterfly Weed) Asclepias tuberosa Queen, Monarch
Milkweed (Swamp) Asclepias incarnata Queen, Monarch;
Milkweed Asclepias syriaca Monarch
Raspberry Rubus idaeus Spring Azure, Gray Hairstreak;
Jerusalem Artichoke Helianthus tuberosus Spring Azure, Silvery Checkerspot;
Serviceberry, Amelanchier canadensis Striped Hairstreak, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail;
Indigo (False) Baptisia australis Wild Indigo Duskywing Skipper, Henry's Elfin
Hollyhock Alcea rosea Common Checkered Skipper, Painted Lady, American Lady;
Spicebush Lindera benzoin Easter Tiger Swallowtail, Palamedes Swallowtail, Spicebush Swallowtail;
Sunflower Helianthus annuus Spring Azure, Silvery Checkerspot, Painted Lady;
Sunflower (Maximilian) Helianthus maximilianii Silvery Checkerspot
Wisteria (American) Wisteria frutescens Silver-spotted Skipper, Horace's Duskywing Skipper, Zarucco Duskywing Skipper, Long-tailed Skipper;
Alfalfa Medicago sativa Northern Cloudywing Skipper, Silvery Blue, Painted Lady, Orange Sulphur, Clouded Sulphur;
Snap Bean Phaseolus vulgaris Silver-spotted Skipper, Longtailed Skipper, Cassius Blue, Gray Hairstreak, Variegated Fritillary, Painted Lady;
Little Bluestem, Schizachyrium scoparium Aragos Skipper, Dusted Skipper, Leonard's Skipper, Cobweb Skipper, Indian Skipper, Swarthy Skipper, Crossline Skipper
Toadflax Linaria maroccana Buckeye
Spider Flower Cleome cabbage white, southern white
Spider Flower (Spiny) Tarenaya spinosa cabbage white, southern white
Plaintain (Broadleaf, Greater) Plantago major Common Buckeye, Painted Lady
Petunia (Wild) Ruellia ciliosa aka Ruellia humilis Common Buckeye.
Clover (Alsike) Trifolium hybridum Eastern Tailed Blue, Clouded Sulfur;
Clover (Crimson, Italian) Trifolium incarnatum Gray Hairstreak;
Sage Salvia x sylvestris Gray Hairstreak;
Passion Vine, Passiflora caerulea Gulf Fritillary, Variegated Fritillary.
Boneset (Common, American) Eupatorium perfoliatum Spring Azure;
Grass (Orchard) Dactylis glomerata Zabulon Skipper, Little Wood-Satyr;
(Sorry--I know it's hard to read without all the columns in the excel file
) )
Anyway, I spent a lot of time last summer identifying plants that were larval hosts for different butterfly species in this area, and then I put them on my wish list!
I also did the same for top native nectar plants (since these, combined with the host plants, are what attract the butterflies to browse and lay their eggs)--eg:
Goldenrod, Solidago spp.
Gayfeather, Liatris spicata
Aster (New England), Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
Black-eyed Susan, Rudbeckia spp
Blue Mistflower, Conoclinium coelestinum aka Eupatorium ceolestinum
Sneezeweed, Helenium autumnale
Ironweed (Threadleaf or Narrowleaf), Vernonia lettermannii
Milkweed, Asclepias spp
Joe Pye Weed, Eutrochium
White Snakeroot, Ageratina altissima aka Eupatorium rugosum
well, just in case it is useful!
Probably more info than you want
