If you want to attract Gossamer-Winged butterflies to your garden, check out the list of host and nectar plants below for each of the twenty-four species that visit Tennessee!
| Host Plants | Gossamer-Winged Species | Nectar Plants | Gossamer-Winged Species |
| Alder Tree (Alnus) | Harvester | Asters (Asteraceae, Family) | Great Purple Hairstreak, White M Hairstreak, Red-banded Hairstreak, Eastern Tailed-Blue, Silvery Blue |
| Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) | Reakirt’s Blue, Eastern Tailed-Blue | Basil (Ocimum basilicum) | Gray Hairstreak |
| American Basswood (Tilia americana) | White M Hairstreak | Blazing Stars (Liatris spp.) | Gray Hairstreak, Eastern Tailed-Blue |
| American Holly (Ilex opaca) | Henry’s Elfin | Blackberry (Rubus fruticosus) | Bronze Copper, Spring Azure |
| Beech Trees (Fagus sylvatica) | Early Hairstreak | Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) | American Copper, Brown Elfin, Eastern Pine Elfin |
| Bitter Dock (Rumex obtusifolius) | Harvester, Bronze Copper | Buttercups (Ranunculus) | American Copper, Silvery Blue |
| Black Cherry (Prunus serotina) | Bronze Copper, Striped Hairstreak, Henry’s Elfin | Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) | Bronze Copper, Coral Hairstreak, Edwards’ Hairstreak, Juniper Hairstreak, Gray Hairstreak, Early Hairstreak, Eastern Tailed-Blue |
| Black Cohosh (Actaea racemosa) | Coral Hairstreak, Striped Hairstreak, Summer Azure, Appalachian Azure | Catmint (Nepeta spp.) | Gray Hairstreak |
| Black Huckleberry (Gaylussacia baccata) | Brown Elfin, Henry’s Elfin | Chickweed (Stellaria media) | Eastern Pine Elfin |
| Black Oak (Quercus velutina) | Oak Hairstreak | Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana) | Juniper Hairstreak |
| Blackberry (Rubus fruticosus) | Edwards’ Hairstreak | Chrysanthemum | Gray Hairstreak |
| Blackjack Oak (Quercus marilandica) | Striped Hairstreak, Oak Hairstreak | Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) | Bronze Copper, Coral Hairstreak, Edwards’ Hairstreak, Banded Hairstreak, Striped Hairstreak, Oak Hairstreak, Eastern Pine Elfin, White M Hairstreak, Gray Hairstreak, Red-banded Hairstreak, Early Hairstreak, Eastern Tailed-Blue, Spring Azure |
| Box Elder (Acer negundo) | Edwards’ Hairstreak | Coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata spp.) | Red-banded Hairstreak |
| Chestnut (Castanea dentata) | Banded Hairstreak | Creeping Phlox (Phlox stolonifera) | American Copper, Great Purple Hairstreak |
| Chickasaw Plum (Prunus angustifolia) | Banded Hairstreak | Dandelions (Taraxacum officinale) | Eastern Tailed-Blue, Silvery Blue |
| Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana) | Coral Hairstreak, Striped Hairstreak | Dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum) | Coral Hairstreak, Edwards’ Hairstreak, Banded Hairstreak, Striped Hairstreak, Juniper Hairstreak, Gray Hairstreak, Red-banded Hairstreak, Spring Azure |
| Curly Dock (Rumex crispus) | Coral Hairstreak | Fleabane (Erigeron) | Red-banded Hairstreak, Early Hairstreak |
| Downy Milk Pea (Galactia volubilis) | American Copper, Bronze Copper, Eastern Tailed-Blue | Floss Flower (Ageratum houstonianum) | Eastern Tailed-Blue |
| Dwarf Sumac (Rhus copallinum) | Red-banded Hairstreak | Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) | Banded Hairstreak, White M Hairstreak |
| Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis) | Henry’s Elfin | Glade Cress (Leavenworthia stylosa) | Henry’s Elfin |
| Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus) | Eastern Pine Elfin | Goldenrod (Solidago spp.) | Great Purple Hairstreak, Edwards’ Hairstreak, Striped Hairstreak, White M Hairstreak, Gray Hairstreak, Red-banded Hairstreak |
| Fire Cherry (Prunus pensylvanica) | Henry’s Elfin | Hawthorn (Crataegus) | Henry’s Elfin |
| Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) | Spring Azure | Heliotrope (Heliotropium) | Gray Hairstreak |
| Fragrant Sumac (Rhus aromatica) | Red-banded Hairstreak | Indigo Bush (Amorpha fruticosa) | |
| Goat’s Beard (Aruncus dioicus) | Dusky Azure | Ironweed (Vernonia fasciculata) | Gray Hairstreak |
| Greenbrier (Smilax rotundifolia) | Harvester | Joe-Pye weed (Eupatorium purpureum) | Red-banded Hairstreak |
| Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) | Harvester, Striped Hairstreak | Lanceleaf Gumweed (Grindelia lanceolata) | Juniper Hairstreak |
| Hazlenut Trees (Corylus) | Harvester, Early Hairstreak | Lantana (Lantana camara) | Eastern Tailed-Blue |
| Hickory Trees (Carya) | Banded Hairstreak | Leafy Elephant’s Foot (Elephantopus carolinianus) | Summer Azure |
| Highbush Blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum) | Banded Hairstreak, Brown Elfin, Henry’s Elfin | Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica) | Gray Hairstreak |
| Indigo Bush (Psorothamnus fremontii) | Reakirt’s Blue | Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria) | Edwards’ Hairstreak, Banded Hairstreak, Striped Hairstreak |
| Bitter Vetch (Lathyrus linifolius) | Silvery Blue | Milk Vetch (Astragalus) | Reakirt’s Blue, Silvery Blue |
| Locoweed (Oxytropis) | Silvery Blue | Mint (Mentha spp.) | Gray Hairstreak, Reakirt’s Blue |
| Leafy Elephant’s Foot (Elephantopus carolinianus) | Summer Azure | Mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum) | Gray Hairstreak, Red-banded Hairstreak |
| Loblolly Pines (Pinus taeda) | Eastern Pine Elfin | New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus) | Coral Hairstreak, Edwards’ Hairstreak, Banded Hairstreak, Striped Hairstreak, Red-banded Hairstreak, Spring Azure, Summer Azure |
| Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) | Silvery Blue | Oregano (Origanum vulgare) | American Copper, Gray Hairstreak |
| Lowbush Blueberries (Vaccinium angustifolium) | Brown Elfin, Henry’s Elfin | Ox-eye Daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare) | Juniper Hairstreak, Early Hairstreak |
| Lupine (Lupinus) | Silvery Blue | Pentas (Pentas lanceolata) | Eastern Tailed-Blue |
| Mallows (Malva sylvestris ) | Gray Hairstreak | Prairie Mimosa (Desmanthus illinoensis) | Bronze Copper |
| Maple Trees (Acer) | Harvester | Privet (Ligustrum spp) | Spring Azure |
| Meadowsweets (Spiraea) | Harvester, Summer Azure | Purple Prairie Clovers (Dalea purpurea) | Reakirt’s Blue |
| Milk Vetch (Astragalus) | Reakirt’s Blue, Eastern Tailed-Blue | Queen Anne’s Lace (Daucus carota) | American Copper |
| Mistletoe (obligate hemiparasitic) | Great Purple Hairstrea | Rattlesnake Master (Eryngium yuccifolium) | Juniper Hairstreak |
| Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia) | Great Purple Hairstreak, Brown Elfin | Red Clover (Trifolium pratense) | Bronze Copper |
| New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus) | Summer Azure | Shepherd’s Needle (Bidens alba) | Great Purple Hairstreak, Juniper Hairstreak, Eastern Tailed-Blue |
| Oaks (Quercus) | Red-banded Hairstreak | Sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum) | White M Hairstreak |
| Patience Dock (Rumex patientia) | Striped Hairstreak | Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) | Brown Elfin |
| Pitch Pine Pinus rigida) | Bronze Copper, Eastern Pine Elfin | Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica) | Easten Tailed-Blue |
| Prairie Mimosa (Desmanthus illinoensis) | Reakirt’s Blue | Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina) | Edwards’ Hairstreak, Banded Hairstreak, Striped Hairstreak |
| Purple Prairie Clovers (Dalea purpurea) | Reakirt’s Blue | Sumac (Rhus) | Henry’s Elfin, White M Hairstreak, Red-banded Hairstreak |
| Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) | Eastern Pine Elfin, Juniper Hairstreak | Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) | Bronze Copper, Coral Hairstreak, Edwards’ Hairstreak, Gray Hairstreak, Early Hairstreak, Easter Tailed-Blue |
| Red Clover (Trifolium pratense) | Eastern Tailed-Blue | Swamp Privet (Forestiera) | Henry’s Elfin |
| Red Oak (Quercus rubra) | Oak Hairstreak | Sweet Clover (Melilotus albus) | Juniper Hairstreak, Gray Hairstreak, Eastern Tailed-Blue, Slivery Blue |
| Scrub Oak (Quercus gambelii,) | Banded Hairstreak | Sweet Pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia) | Great Purple Hairstreak, White M Hairstreak, Gray Hairstreak, Red-banded Hairstreak |
| Sheep Sorrel (Rumex acetosella) | Edwards’ Hairstreak | Sweetspire (Itea virginica) | Oak Hairstreak, White M Hairstreak |
| Shortleaf Pine (Pinus echinata) | American Copper, Eastern Pine Elfin | Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) | Gray Hairstreak |
| Smooth Sumac (Rhus glabra) | Summer Azure | Verbena (Vervain spp.) | Gray Hairstreak |
| Sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum) | Summer Azure | Virgin’s Bower (Clematis virginiana) | American Copper, Summer Azure |
| Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina) | Red-banded Hairstreak | White Clover (Trifolium repens) | Edwards’ Hairstreak, Banded Hairstreak, Striped Hairstreak, Eastern Pine Elfin |
| Sugar Huckleberry (Celtis laevigata) | Brown Elfin | White Sweet Clover (Melilotus albus) | Eastern Pine Elfin, Gray Hairstreak, Reakirt’s Blue, Juniper Hairstreak |
| Swamp Dock (Rumex verticillatus) | Bronze Copper | Wild Carrot (Daucus carota) | Juniper Hairstreak |
| Sweet Clover (Melilotus albus) | Bronze Copper | Wild Cherry (Prunus avium | Red-banded Hairstreak |
| Veiny Pea (Lathyrus venosus) | Silvery Blue | Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum) | Dusky Azure |
| Virginia Pine (Pinus virginiana) | Eastern Pine Elfin | Wild Plum (Prunus americana) | Brown Elfin, White M Hairstreak |
| Walnut Trees (Juglans) | Wild Strawberry (Fragaria vesca) | Eastern Tailed-Blue | |
| Wax Myrtle (Myrica cerifera) | Banded Hairstreak, Red-banded Hairstreak | Willow (Salix) | Henry’s Elfin |
| White Clover (Trifolium repens) | Reakirt’s Blue | Winter Cress (Barbarea vulgaris) | American Copper, Brown Elfin, Juniper Hairstreak, Gray Hairstreak, Eastern Tailed-Blue |
| White Crownbeard (Verbesina virginica) | Reakirt’s Blue, Summer Azure | Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) | Banded Hairstreak, Red-banded Hairstreak |
| White Sweet Clover (Melilotus albus) | Reakirt’s Blue | ||
| White Oak (Quercus alba) | Oak Hairstreak, White M Hairstreak | ||
| Wild Cherry (Prunus avium | Edwards’ Hairstreak, Banded Hairstreak | ||
| Wild Plum (Prunus americana) | Coral Hairstreak, Striped Hairstreak, Henry’s Elfin | ||
| Willow (Salix) | Coral Hairstreak, Striped Hairstreak | ||
| Winged Sumac (Rhus copallinum) | Striped Hairstreak, Red-Banded Hairstreak | ||
| Witch Hazel (Hamamelis spp.) | Harvester | ||
| Yaupon (Ilex vomitoria) | Henry’s Elfin | ||
| Yellow Sweet Clover (Melilotus officinalis) | Reakirt’s Blue, Eastern Tailed-Blue | ||
| Yellow Wild Indigo (Baptisia tinctoria) | Eastern Tailed-Blue |