"Desert Sunrise" a hybrid of Agastache cana and A. rupestris is arguably one of our most valuable plants. A long blooming perennial, it provides color, architectural quality, and loads of nectar for hummingbirds and butterflies 7 August 2006).

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Hummingbird Trumpet (Zauschneria arizonica) (above and below) is another fine hummingbird and butterfly plant with bright orange-red tubular blossoms (20 September 2006).

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Catmint (Nepeta) uses little water and attracts large numbers of blues and skippers). Whack it back during winter and it will reward you with dense, new growth (Karen LeMay photo: 10 April 2006). 

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A common roadside plant, Globe Mallow (Sphaeralcea) isn't often considered as a plant worthy of cultivation. However, it thrives with little to no care, has numerous small but attractive blooms of yellow, orange, red, white, or lavender, and serves as host plant for several species of butterflies. Here, a Marine Blue nectars on a blossom (top) (5 May 2010), a small sweat bee (Agapostemon obliquus) gathers pollen from another (L) (6 May 2010), and a syrphid fly (Eupeodes volucris) (R) feeds on a third (5 May 2010).

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Growing to at least five feet in height, this form of Cosmos provides a mass of colorful flowers and is useful for filling gaps in the garden. Cosmos is a great butterfly attractant; note the two Queens feeding in the foreground (Karen LeMay photo) (26 September 2005).

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In our yard, leaf-cutter bees (Megachile) aren't numerous enough to damage the plants. Here one gathers pollen at a Cosmos blossom (2 November 2006).

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Another Cosmos provides pollen for a long-horned bee (Melissodes) a member of the family Apidae that includes the honey bees and bumble bees (10 October 2006)[[

Pointleaf Manzanita (Arctostaphylos pungens) is a common shrub in the mountains of SE Arizona. It's an attractive landscaping plant that thrives with the addition of winter water. Flowering early in the year, it provides nectar for insects such as the mining bee Andrena cerasifolii (L) (19 February 2010) and the mason bee Osmia ribifloris (R) (14 February 2010)

 

Tiny Rosemary flowers (Rosmarinus officinalis) provide precious winter nectar for honey bees and hardy butterflies such as checkered-skippers and Dainty Sulphur (18 Jan 2009)

The fuzzy back of a honey bee is targeted by both the pistils and anthers of a rosemary flower (16 February 2010)

Russian Sage (Perovskia) is large, showy, and provides food for many species of butterflies, as well as native bees and wasps (7 June 2006).

A bumble bee relative in the genus Centris nectars on Russian Sage (18 July 2007).

Also on Russian sage was this very pretty carder bee (Anthidium maculosum), whose common name is derived from the females behavior of lining her nest burrow with wooly plant fibers (27 July 2010)

Salvia nemerosa is native to central Europe and western Asia. It is available in a number of short and tall cultivars which are generally dark blue or purple. At our elevation it dies to ground level, reappearing in spring. It attracts many species of butterflies (7 May 2007).

Several Salvias native to California's brushy (chaparral) covered slopes form large shrubs. One commonly encountered species is Cleveland Sage (Salvia clevelandii), an extremely aromatic species that reaches a height and width of five to six feet. Drought tolerant and able to grow in sand and on rocky slopes, Cleveland Sage attracts butterflies, sphinx moths and hummingbirds. Give it enough room to spread and whack it down to 1/3 its height in winter (24 May 2010).

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Two Salvias that attract hummingbirds and hordes of butterflies are S. serpyllifolia (8 November 2005) (above) and S. grahami (8 November 2005) (below). In these pictures, dozens of Mexican Yellows and Sleepy Oranges are nectaring on each, as well as smaller numbers of Tailed Oranges and Gulf Fritillaries. Both produce more blooms with pruning and an occasional sip of water.

Cactus bees (Diasasia), also related to honey and bumble bees, pollinate the prickly pear and cholla cacti that are so numerous in the Southwest (13 May 2010).

Passion flowers (upper photo) are one of the strangest sights in the plant world. The hardy Passiflora caerulea is evergreen at 5,000 feet. It may be stripped by caterpillars of the Gulf Fritillary but leafs out again very quickly. It uses almost no water and creates dense vines that can serve as a visual screen if desired (16 May 2010). Carpenter bees (Xylocopa), along with queen bumble bees, are our largest bees. Here, one feeds in a passion flower, pollinating it by making contact with both pistils and anthers (1 August 2006).

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The following books have provided us not only with information but also with inspiration

                        

              

 

For additional information concerning butterflies, moths, wildlife gardening, native plants, xeriscape gardening, plant sales, and water harvesting in SE Arizona, please visit the following sites:

SEABA (Southeastern Arizona Butterfly Association)

Butterflies and Moths of North America

Butterfly Plant List: SEABA Butterfly Garden-Tucson Audubon Society's Mason Center

The Lepidoptera of Southeastern Arizona

Desert Survivors - An important plant source in Tucson

Tohono Chul Park - Education, birdwatching, and great plant sales

Arizona Sonora Desert Museum - Education, birdwatching, and great plant sales

Little River Nursery - "Plants grown here for here"

High Country Gardens (On line plant catalog)

Tucson Botanical Gardens - Education, birdwatching, and plant sales

Oasis Water Harvesting - Rain barrels, pumps, water collection design, etc.

WaterWise: University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, Cochise County

© Robert A. Behrstock 2010
Images may not be reproduced without the Photographer's permission.