On May 16, 6:38 pm, dohc46 wrote:
Every summer I have numerous butterflies from dawn to dusk constantly
hanging out on my 10 butterfly bushes.

I'm jealous of your butterfly bushes.

However, this week (NorthEast
Ohio), I seen a handful of butterflys flying around my house;
obviously they didn't stick around too long since my butterfly bushes
have not bloomed yet.
First off, I hope they find something to eat...I'm thinking, "Oh no,
they are all going to die since they don't have any butterfly bush
nectar to eat."

The butterflies you saw probably fly at the same season every year,
and there are never butterfly bushes blooming now, so don't worry
about them. They feed on somethiing else.

A lot of butterflies aren't very picky about what they eat.
Incidentally, some species eat tree sap, the honeydew produced by
aphids, and juices from rotting fruit or even dead animals!

Any suggestions on what plants, or something else, I can plant/use to
attract the butterflies until my butterfly bushes start blooming?

http://butterflywebsite.com/butterflygardening.cfm looks like an
interesting site--though I notice it says the cloudless sulphur (a
common yellow butterfly) likes "Zinnia, Butterfly Bush, Cosmos,
Cushion Mum", whereas Wikipedia says it likes "many different flowers
with long tubes including cordia, bougainvillea, cardinal flower,
hibiscus, lantana, and wild morning glory," so who do you believe?

I grew up in suburban Cleveland, but I haven't been there in May for
many years. There should be some daisies in bloom now, though,
right? Members of the daisy family are often good. If you like
butterflies, you might want to leave the weeds they feed on--things
like wild daisies, fleabane, yarrow, clover, and other other plants
with lots of flowers, often in clusters.

--
Jerry Friedman