Oklahoma Host Plants & Pollinators
Host plants are the native plants that many insects depend on to complete their life cycles. While flowering plants often attract adult pollinators with nectar and pollen, host plants serve a different and equally important role. Host plants provide the food and habitat needed for insect eggs and larvae to develop.
Many butterflies and moths lay their eggs on very specific plants that their caterpillars will eat once they hatch. Monarch butterflies, for example, rely on milkweed species as their host plant. Without these plants, the next generation cannot survive.
By planting native host plants in our gardens and landscapes, we help support the entire life cycle of pollinators and other beneficial insects. These relationships have developed over thousands of years, forming the ecological networks that sustain healthy ecosystems and the wildlife that depends on them.
We belong in relationship with the living world.
Understanding Host Plants
Host Plants That support Pollinators
These native plants provide the food and habitat needed for the next generation of butterflies, moths, and other insects to grow and develop. Planting host species helps sustain the intricate relationships between plants and wildlife that have evolved over thousands of years across Oklahoma’s prairies, forests, and wetlands.
Oklahoma Host Plants & Pollinators:
Milkweeds (Asclepias spp.)
Host for:
•. Monarch Butterfly
•. Queen Butterfly
• Milkweed tussock moth
Common Oklahoma species:
• Common milkweed (A. syriaca)
• Butterfly milkweed (A. tuberosa)
• Green milkweed (A. viridis)
• Swamp milkweed (A. incarnata)
Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata)
Host for:
•. Gulf Fritillary
•. Variegated Fritillary
Pipevine (Aristolochia tomentosa / macrophylla)
Host for:
•. Pipevine Swallowtail
Parsley Family Plants (Apiaceae)
Host for swallowtail caterpillars.
Examples:
• Dill
• Fennel
• Parsley
• Golden alexanders (Zizia aurea)
Host for:
•. Black Swallowtail
Oaks (Quercus spp.)
One of the most important host plants in North America.
Host for 500+ species of caterpillars, including:
•. Banded Hairstreak
• Edward’s Hairstreak
•. Red Spotted Purple
• Numerous moths
Common Oklahoma species:
• Post oak
• Bur oak
• Blackjack oak
• Shumard oak
• Chinkapin oak
Hackberry (Celtis spp.)
Host for:
•. Hackberry Emperor
•. Tawny Emperor
•. Question Mark Butterfly
Willows (Salix spp.)
Host for many early season insects.
Host for:
• Viceroy Butterfly
• Mourning cloak
• Red-spotted purple
• Many moth species
Cherries / Plums (Prunus spp.)
Host for:
•. Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
•. Red Spotted Purple
• Coral hairstreak
Native species:
• Chickasaw plum
• Wild black cherry
Elms (Ulmus spp.)
Host for:
•. Question Mark Butterfly
•. Mourning Cloak
•. Eastern Comma
Grasses (Poaceae family)
Important for skipper butterflies.
Host for:
•. Fiery Skipper
•. Sachem
•. Common Wood Nymph
Native grasses:
• Little bluestem
• Big bluestem
• Switchgrass
• Indiangrass
Violets (Viola spp.)
Host for:
•. Great Spangled Fritillary
• Variegated Fritillary
Nettles (Urtica / Boehmeria spp.)
Host for:
•. Red Admiral
•. Question Mark Butterfly
Sunflowers (Helianthus spp.)
Host for several moth species and specialist insects.
Also extremely important nectar plants for:
• native bees
• butterflies
• beetles
False Indigo (Baptisia spp.)
Host for:
•. Wild Indigo Duskywing
Leadplant (Amorpha canescens)
Host for:
•. Silver Spotted Skipper
If this work matters to you, please consider supporting it.
