Lantana bushes have always worked for me. I live in

South Alabama about 90 miles from the gulf of Mexico.

Chances are they will fly off once they eclose. In my limited experience, Pipevine swallowtails tend to hang around more than other varieties of butterfly for me. If you have pipevine butterflies in your area, see if you can locate a Wooly Dutchman's pipevine (Aristolochia tomentosa) to grow. It will host the Pipevine Butterfly plus another variety of butterfly, Polydamus Swallowtail, that frequents your area. There is another Aristolochia vine, Aristolochia gigantea, that is grown in your area but it will kill the feeding caterpillars of the Pipevine Swallowtail because it is just too toxic for them. The mother Pipevine Swallowtail will lay eggs on this vine but it will not support the little cats.

The wonderful thing about your butterfly garden is many butterflies WILL discover it and if enough nectar and and host plants are there, they will feed and lay eggs, beginning the process all over again. Pretty soon, the children will be able to watch all sorts of butterflies feed, lay eggs, then watch the eggs hatch and tiny caterpillars grow and develop. They can watch the butterflies as they touch down on different plant leaves, looking for that host plant that they recognize will support their babies.

Some of the nectar plants that do well in one location might not excel in another so ask for suggestions for plants that draws in and feeds butterflies in your area. There is another butterfly admirer here on this forum that lives in Florida. I'm sure he will help when he sees your message. I remember one of the plants he says is a big nectar draw is Blue/Purple Porterweed. And as you've already discovered, plant specific host plants so that the butterflies will deposit eggs. click on Florida Butterflies to see > List of Florida Butterflies

Black Swallowtail and Giant Swallowtail Butterflies will both use common Rue as a host plant, so that plant is a two for one. You can start Rue easily from seed or buy plants in the Herb section of most nurseries. You might want to consider growing several of these small plants for the little cats to feed on. If you have citrus in your yard, I believe this is also a host plant of the Giant Swallowtail. Where I live, citrus has to be overwintered inside, so my host plants might differ a bit from what is common in your area.

Monarchs require Milkweed as their host plant. You will have several varieties of this plant to choose from in your area. A good nectar plant that is easily grown and blooms a lot is Asclepias curassavica, also known as Tropical Milkweed. Not only will the Monarchs use it as a host plant, but it blooms a lot and is a great nectar plant. If you grow this plant, please cut it down and let it regenerate fresh growth three to four times a year, so it doesn't harbor disease. Getting native milkweed planted will be best but I mention the Tropical Milkweed because it is such a great nectar plant for many flying things.

What a wonderful project for you and your grandchildren. You are fortunate to live in a climate where butterflies can be seen almost year round so it will be a fantastic learning experience and memory maker for all.

Mary

Things have begun to click. We put a stick on top of the milkweed plant and one caterpillar did its thing there. The chrysalis is now in a covered plastic shoebox with a screen top so the kids can check it every day.

Today a monarch flew around the garden on and off most of the morning and by afternoon was laying her eggs on the other virgin milkweeds we had planted. So in a few days we should have some little guys other than those we brought home from the plant nursery.

There have been fritillary butterflies, too, and they have laid eggs on our passion vine. Some have even hatched.

We planted a passion vine in shade hoping for zebra Longwings. We have seen them but not since we planted the vine.

When adults eclose, I will see if they hang around. Also, would like to attract those Zebras. Not sure if they are breeding now.

Thanks for the suggestions regarding vines and swallowtails. That will likely be our next effort.

They usually do create colonies in some cases. You might want to expand your host plant categories. Butterflies whether they are of the same species do attract each other to your locations. If they see butterflies in your garden they assume there is food.

You should get eggs layer from the Zebra Long wing on your passion Flowers. The Zebra is Florida's Official butterfly. The cats are white with black spikes. The polpalooks like upside down rabbit hanging like a bat.

On the Blue Porter Weed and Lantana try to find Florida natives. Although the Texan Lantana has done well for me specially after they began to spread and almost like a ground cover compair to the Florida native lantana that grows like a Bush about four to five feet. Am in Miami.

And the Mexican Sunflower is a magnet once it gets about three feet. It grows fast all year around unless you get a frost. Once the flower has been pollinated by butterfly save the dark seeds. And keep planting them. Once the Mex Sunflowers get too tall it doesn't attract as much. The flowers are much further away from each other. When the Mexican Sunflowers are between three to six feet the yellow flowers with a darker center are much closer together ( inches )and the bfs. can see them better. Compared to much larger plants that the flowers are multiple feet away from each other.

I understand that butterflies are near sighted. So when they flying a distance away from the blooming plant, they see bluer of colors. That why it is suggested to grow the nectar plant next to each other rather than single plants distance from each other. That maybe why a blooming meadow or lawn have a lot many butterflies flying from blooms to bloom.

Similarly is recommended for host plants. Not only are the butterfly see easier to find, but also when a caterpillar decimate one plant, they don't have to go much further to find another plants. Although it seems like both bfs. and cats have some sort of sensor ability to smell host plants, (which are in their feet.) @ fairly long distance. I don't know exactly how cats do it, but I've been told or read that at least butterflies can sense host plants a few miles away. So let's say certain butterflies for which you have host plants a mile or five miles away and how desperate they maybe to unload their eggs. They can take a while before they finally find them... Now, I don't know how true all these maybe, but I can only assume they have some sort of mechanism or at the very list they quickly have to learn some strategies in their short life as bugs.

On the milkweed try to find Florida native eBay has some seeds. Don't let it get to tall cut them back some and root.more plants in water within weeks. Soon enough you'll have lots of milkweed to share with friends and neighbors. I understand there are about 22 milkweed that grow in Florida. There are a number of website that tell you scientific name for the milkweed that grows in Central Florida which can be a bit different that the milkweed that growth in South Florida. And I suggest we follow those standards. Although certain Central Fl. may grow in south and vs. The specific one recommended for your are much better adapted to you temperature and soil conditions. I mean in the wild without human cultivation and help. Certain milkweed will volunteer to grow while others don't. Still there is only about less than half that are available commercially. Unless we are excellent at identifying them going into the wild, I would take any plants and only a few seeds (unless you are in a reserve where you are not allow to take any, or take a risk and get in a bit of legal trouble. If some place you are allowed I would only take a few seeds from a ripe pod. Then take some other seed, walk away a little bit and do my best at planting them 1/4 of inch under soil and even bring my own water to give the seeds a good watering. That's asbethical as I can think. The TuBaroda milkweed or butterfly weed is native to most of the United State. They put out a long taproot so tradplating it is near impossible.

There been a few studies that strongly suggest that the yellow and tropical Milkweeds which are popular has caused some ailments to the Florida or even nationwide butterflies. I believe those milkweed are native to Mexico. I don't understand the whole deal, but am going to trust the scientific research and am going fully native to my region until more research is done and we can draw better conclusion regarding these mechanisms. Monarchs are in trouble enough with 80% loss in population since 1960s. Am going to try to raise as many native seeds as possible and make them available.

The Florida's Monarch petty much stay in Florida all year around. Very few good to Mexico. Although, I have read that some marked Monarchs have been found to fly through Florida into the Florida Key to Cuba, then to Yucatan Peninsula before they get to Central Mexico just north of Mexico City. They Monarch leave around Pct. Nov from northern Canada ad United States. Then return to in April. Very weird the Flight of the Monarch you will find some documentaris in YouTube.

Another thing Florida are very lucky we can garden all year around.

There also a lot of what we consider to be undesirable weeds. Most are native plants that just grow wild in your and neighbors yard. Learn to identify them. I know about twenty plants that are host and/or cultivation plants to many butterflies types.

Learn to I.d. them and cultivate them (put same type of plants together makes it easier for bfs to find them). You will more than double you butterfly plants. They are also FREE, you can't beat that. Natives may have a tendency to keep butterflies around more. My garden, which is less than a year old, have butterflies (plural) hanging around all day long and they are inspiration to neighbors who notice and admire them. I also attempt to attract colored and song birds. Some are the same type of plants.

Thanks for taking the time to provide so much useful information. I will follow some of you suggestions that seem to work best for us.