Subject: Butterflies on Hyssop, _ Hyssopus officinalis _

From: Patrick Roper <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 30 Aug 1995 20:48:35 +0100

There appear to be two schools of thought on whether the various Hyssops
(Hyssopus spp.) are attractive to butterflies or not.  Some books on
butterfly gardening say it is one of the best attractants available, others
do not even list it.

This summer I have grown blue, pink and white forms of _ Hyssopus
officinalis_ and the smaller, dark blue flowered _ Hyssopus aristatus _ and
none of these plants has attracted any butterflies (except, briefly, a lone
Meadow Brown _ Maniola jurtina_) though nearby flowers on other plant
species have performed well.

I wonder if the true Hyssops get confused with the Anise Hyssops (Agastache
urticifolia, A. cana etc.), though I have not tried these, or possibly with
Hedge Hyssop (Gratiola officinalis), sometimes known as Gratia Dei because
of its medicinal properties.

I would be interested to hear of other subscribers' experiences with Hyssop
and butterflies.  Is it just mine they don't like, or are successive
generations of butterfly gardening writers perpetuating a myth that got into
print by mistake years ago?

There may be French, Swiss or other mainland European lepidopterists who
know something about this, so please reply in French, German, Italian etc.
if it is easier.

Patrick Roper
Butterfly Conservation
============================================================
South View, Sedlescombe, Battle, East Sussex TN33 0PE, UK
Telephone:  (01424) 870208; Fax: (01424) 870208
Email: [email-masked]
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From: [email-masked] (Pierre Zagatti)
Date: 31 Aug 1995 08:22:33 GMT

>butterfly gardening say it is one of the best attractants available, 
others

(...)

>Patrick Roper

12 years ago I observed hundreds of Macroglossum stellatarum 
(hummingbird hawkmoth ?) on flowers of Hyssopus. There was
also many Pieris and Lycaenids.
Unfortunately it was in September in the French Pyrenees,
too late for many interesting species.

It was a natural patch of Hyssopus canescens (according to my own
identification...), with blue flowers.

I am not certain that other species of Hyssopus are attractive too.

Pierre Zagatti