City of Lawrence Butterfly & Pollinator Habitat

More than a third of the food we eat is reliant on pollinators (animals which carry pollen from flower to flower) such as butterflies and bees. But pollinator habitat is disappearing. A lot of habitat has been replaced with grass, which offers almost no ecological value. Hoosiers who plant pollinator- friendly species and native plants can help butterflies and bees essential to our ecosystem.

Once established, this habitat of native plants will provide nourishment for a variety of butterflies and pollinators, with a particular focus on Monarch butterflies and caterpillars. We have planted lots of milkweed, the primary source of food for Monarch caterpillars: Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) and Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa). Some of the 30 other wildflowers and grasses here which attract pollinators are: coneflowers, Sweet Black-eyed Susans, Joe Pye Weeds, and Prairie dropseed.