Attract butterflies... but what about the resulting caterpillars?!

[Lmbauer2017]

I'm very curious what people think about when they see all the signs on plants saying "attracts this type of butterfly!" or "attracts this type of moth!"

I personally cringe at these signs and have been avoiding planting milkweed or the like, and I hate myself for doing so... But my entire garden was wiped out by armyworms last year, so I'm still a bit scarred

I love helping the environment out (planting a wide variety of natives), but at the cost of my leaves/veggies being demolished? Do any of you vegetable gardeners bring in butterfly specific plants like milkweed to help the environment? Is there a balance that can be struck so that you AND the butterflies/caterpillars can have shares without "neem-oiling" everything getting eaten?

 

[cpp gardener]

Since Monarch Butterfly caterpillars are the only species to eat milkweed and they ONLY eat milkweed, there shouldn't be any hesitation to grow them. Now some species DO eat edibles and pretties, so careful selection of other plants IS warranted. Check out which species eat what to know what to watch for.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

I think similar comparisons to the monarch/milkweed situation are common, the caterpillars that eat nettles, or ragwort, won't touch your garden plants, and those bloody caterpillars from white butterflies that munch through my brassicas won't touch non-brassicas.
Some other pests are not so particular.

 

[Lmbauer2017]

@cpp gardener @Oliver Buckle
Ohhhh wow those signs make much more sense now haha. So they literally mean that specific plant attracts that specific insect (for the most part)! I’m definitely getting some milkweed and going to check out my native plant nursery for any other beneficials.

This has made me reassess my techniques of pest elimination. I think I’m gonna start spraying more specifically, leaving some of the plants that are getting eaten alone. Now that I think about it, having all these beneficial plants but not letting any insect eat them completely defeats the purpose

Thank you!