Milkweed is the only plant that a monarch caterpillar can eat. I will be posting milkweed information here.
Past Posts
Blogroll
- Bas Relief, LLC Books, Educational Supplies and Artwork Celebrating Natural History (especially monarchs!) Bas Relief, LLC is the work of Ba Rea, exploring natural history. It includes books, educational materials, writing, and artwork. The subject matter often focuses on monarch butterflies and the milkweed community.
- Edith Smith's (of Shady Oak Farm) Wednesday, January 21, 2009, Blog page "What is Going On Inside a Monarch Chrysalis?" Edith Smith presents a great labelled image of the body parts visible on a newly formed monarch chrysalis.
- Journey North's Monarch pages An excellent resource for monarch information where students and monarch enthusiasts track monarch migration.
- Monarch Watch Monarch Watch at the University of Kansas offers tagging, Monarch Waystations programs and more.
- Monarchlab at the Univarsity of Minnesota Check out this excellent monarch site
- The Monarch Larva Monitoring Project A great citizen science project investigating the population dynamics of the monarch butterfly. You can be involved.
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Ba Rea
Ba Rea, exploring the nature world.
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Monarchchaser's Blog 
THE ASCELPIA CURASAVICCA … PHYSOCARPA..AND OTHER ASCLEPIAS ARE THE FOOD… THE ONLY FOOD FOR THE BABY CATERPILARS OF THE MONARCHA BUTTERFLY….. PLEASE SEE… http://www.givrayfotomonarca.com SORRY…ONLY IN SPANISH
I live outside of Lewisburg. Ordered your book Milkweed, Monarchs and More this summer as I was getting very interested in milkweed plants and pollinators in general. I only last week realized the book was published in Union, WV!! What a great website and what fantastic work you do. But I am trying to find information on sowing milkweed seeds. I have been collecting seeds this year from Common, Blunt-leafed and Butterfly Weed I’ve found growing in and around my place down near the Greenbrier River. Don’t know the best way to help this plant to spread: plant now or in the spring. Any suggestions, sources of info, etc? Any help would be appreciated.
Glad you are enjoying Milkweed, Monarchs and More and always happy to hear from someone encouraging milkweed. I am excited that you found A. amplexicaulis (blunt leaf milkweed) here. I haven’t seen it in this area. Be aware that your seeds will need to go through stratification…getting cold. If you plant them now the winter will take care of that. If you plan to plant them in the spring, you’ll need to make sure they get stratified in storage. I have most experience growing common milkweed. It is a first succession milkweed, it likes disturbed ground. It grows rhizomes that spread and send up ramets (individual stems) creating large clones. Seedlings are often small the first couple of years while the plant is working on establishing a good underground root. Butterfly weed has a tuberous root and stays put better than common milkweed. Here’s Monarch Watch’s milkweed propagation page http://www.monarchwatch.org/milkweed/prop.htm with lots of good information. Let me know how it goes!