Butterflies

Any wildlife habitat *has to* cater to butterflies; it's something of an unwritten rule.  We have a small area in development (mostly first year plants).  It consists of butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa), narrow-leaf mountain mint (Pycnanthemum tenuifolium), dense blazingstar (Liatris spicata), and sweet-scented joepye weed (Eupatorium purpureum maculatum 'Gateway').

Ohio has something in the neighborhood of 144 species of butterfly that can be found in the state.  We've taken note of a half-dozen species so far, like the gray hairstreak (Strymon melinus) pictured above feeding on the mint.