During the summer while my volunteer White Wood Asters are blooming I can count on seeing bunches of American Lady Butterflies (Vanessa virginiensis) sipping the nectar. I see there are oodles of larvae host plants listed for American Lady Butterflies. Asters are one of the plants listed.

Purple Coneflowers will also attract them and make for a fun picture with the American Lady’s intricately designed ventral (or bottom) side of their wings visible.

Here the American Lady is on the blooms of Bugle Weed. This beautiful butterfly enjoys the nectars of flowers but also it’s attracted to the juice of rotting fruit and tree sap. I’ve been able to entice American Lady Butterflies to my back porch by putting out fruit that will eventually go into the compost. It’s fun to experiment and see who shows up.