American Bugleweed

A variety of insects visit the flowers, primarily for nectar, especially short-tongued bees, wasps, and flies. Other floral visitors include long-tongued bees, butterflies, skippers, and beetles. The caterpillars of Sphinx eremitus (Hermit Sphinx) feed on the foliage of this and other bugleweeds (as well as other members of the Mint family). Other insect feeders include such aphids as Kaltenbachia ulmifusa (Slippery Elm Gall Aphid), which feeds on the roots of Lycopus spp. during the summer, Hyalomyzus sensoriatus and Hyalomyzus eriobotryae, and Tiliphagus lycoposugus. Larvae of the gall flies Neolasioptera lycopi and Neolasioptera mitchellae also feed on these plants. Because the leaves of American Bugleweed are bitter-tasting, they are not often eaten by mammalian herbivores.