This week’s Buzz & Bloom reminds us that a pollinator garden needs more than flowers. Native grasses can be an important part of butterfly habitat, too!
🌾 THE BLOOM: Sideoats Grama (Bouteloua curtipendula)
Named for the distinctive oat-like spikelets that hang along one side of its stems, Sideoats Grama is a warm-season native grass that adds movement, texture, and wildlife value to the landscape. Its seeds can provide food for wildlife, while the plant itself offers valuable habitat and structure.
🦋 THE BUZZ: Dotted Skipper (Hesperia attalus)
The Dotted Skipper has an important connection to native grasses. Sideoats Grama is one of its larval host plants, providing food for its developing caterpillars.
🐛 That means this native grass isn’t simply something an adult butterfly flies past—it can help support the next generation of butterflies.
🌾 The connection:
Sideoats Grama → Caterpillar → Dotted Skipper
We often think of creating a butterfly garden by planting colorful nectar flowers. Those flowers are important, but butterflies also need the plants their caterpillars can eat. Adding native grasses alongside native wildflowers creates a more complete habitat with food, shelter, structure, and places for wildlife to reproduce.
💚 Plant the grass. Support the caterpillar. Welcome the butterfly.
The next time you plan a pollinator garden, don’t forget the grasses!
#BuzzAndBloom #NatureOnTheBrink #SideoatsGrama #DottedSkipper #BoutelouaCurtipendula #HesperiaAttalus #NativeGrasses #NativePlants #HostPlants #ButterflyGarden #GrasslandHabitat #PollinatorHabitat