Native plants for a Cape Cod garden

The more showy butterflies such as the monarch and swallowtail may still be “waiting in the wings”, as it were, but that does not mean that Papilionidae or true butterflies are not represented this time of year. The spring azure has been fluttering about for a few weeks now, and just the other day I noticed a juvenal’s duskywing (Erynnis juvenalis) in the yard, trying to blend in with the soil and mulch. This particular species of butterfly is quite common in Massachusetts (although I noticed it for the first time this week), and can be seen from April to early June in or near oak woods. Unlike other species this butterfly is generally single-brooded, meaning that there is only one generation each year. The larva are fully grown when they overwinter.