American Fly-honeysuckle
Lonicera canadensis
Found in mountain bogs and fens; northern hardwood forests; swamps. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
75
Strong
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- 2–4 feet
- Light
- Partial shade, Full shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to wet
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Woody perennial
- Bloom
- May to June
- Fruiting season
- June to July
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Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 13 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
1 of 3
Wet, open, peaty mountain wetlands fed by seepage, often with sphagnum moss.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 128 animals.
- Cooper's HawkAccipiter cooperii
- Northern CardinalCardinalis cardinalis
- Pine SiskinCarduelis pinus
- Red-tailed HawkButeo jamaicensis
- Sharp-shinned HawkAccipiter striatus
- Turkey VultureCathartes aura
- Yellow-rumped WarblerDendroica coronata
- American CrowCorvus brachyrhynchos
- American GoldfinchCarduelis tristis
- American KestrelFalco sparverius
- American RobinTurdus migratorius
- Blue JayCyanocitta cristata
- Blue-headed VireoVireo solitarius
- Canada WarblerWilsonia canadensis
- Cedar WaxwingBombycilla cedrorum
- Chestnut-sided WarblerDendroica pensylvanica
- Common GrackleQuiscalus quiscula
- Common NighthawkChordeiles minor
- Common RavenCorvus corax
- Dark-eyed JuncoJunco hyemalis
- Eastern TowheePipilo erythrophthalmus
- European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Evening GrosbeakCoccothraustes vespertinus
- Fox SparrowPasserella iliaca
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Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
36CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Lonicera
- Hemaris diffinisSnowberry Clearwing
- Hemaris thysbeHummingbird Clearwing
- Acronicta oblinitaSmeared Dagger
- Aethalura intertextaFour-Barred Gray
- Amorbia humerosanaWhite-Lined Leafroller Moth
- Archips negundanaLarger Boxelder Leafroller Moth
- Argyrotaenia velutinanaRed-Banded Leafroller Moth, Jack Pine Tube Moth
- Callizzia amorataGray Scoopwing
- Choristoneura rosaceanaOblique-Banded Leafroller Moth, Rosaceous Leaf Roller
- Dysstroma truncataMarbled Carpet
Show all 36
- Ectropis crepusculariaThe Small Engrailed, Saddleback Looper
- Egira alternansAlternate Woodling
- Euphydryas phaetonThe Baltimore, The Black Checker
- Harrisimemna trisignataHarris's Three-Spot
- Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
- Herpetogramma thestealisZigzag Herpetogramma, Subtle-Feathered Grass Moth
- Hyalophora cecropiaCecropia Silkmoth, Cecropia Moth
- Hyles lineataWhite-Lined Sphinx
- Hypercompe scriboniaGiant Leopard Moth, Great Leopard Moth
- Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
- Hyppa xylinoidesCommon Hyppa
- Leucania ursulaUrsula Wainscot
- Megalopyge opercularisSouthern Flannel Moth, Puss Caterpillar
- Melanchra adjunctaHitched Arches
- Melanchra pictaPainted Arches, Zebra Caterpillar Moth
- Oiketicus abbotiiAbbot's Bagworm Moth
- Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
- Orthosia hibisciSpeckled Green Fruitworm Moth, Speckled Green Quaker
- Orthotaenia undulanaDusky Leafroller
- Palthis angulalisDark-Spotted Palthis
- Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
- Sympistis badistrigaBrown-Lined Sallow
- Uresiphita reversalisGenista Caterpillar, Genista Cbroom Moth
- Zanclognatha dentataToothed Zanclognatha, Toothed Fan-Foot
- Herpetogramma aquilonalis
- Opostegoides scioterma
16BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Lonicera
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
10BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Lonicera
- Bonasa umbellusRuffed Grouse
- Catharus guttatusHermit Thrush
- Catharus ustulatusSwainson's Thrush
- Ixoreus naeviusVaried Thrush
- Mimus polyglottosNorthern Mockingbird
- Myadestes townsendiTownsend's Solitaire
- Pinicola enucleatorPine Grosbeak
- Pipilo maculatusSpotted Towhee
- Turdus migratoriusAmerican Robin
- Vireo olivaceusRed-eyed Vireo
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Caprifoliaceae
- Flower color
- Yellow or purple
- Fruit begins
- June
- Fruit ends
- July
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “May to June” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Yellow or purple” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Fruit begins · “June” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “July” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Height · “2–4 feet” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Life cycle · “Woody perennial” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Light · “Partial shade; Full shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Dry; Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
American Fly honeysuckle; Fly Honeysuckle
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | S3 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
In your garden
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Choose a county to begin.
Sources
- Virginia DCR Natural Heritage rare plant list
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- FloraQuest: Northern Tier (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications