Butterfly Lady

Despite the bad rap it has gotten in the past few years, one of my very favorite flowers in the butterfly garden is Asclepias curassavica also known as Tropical Milkweed, Bloodflower, Scarlet Milkweed, and Mexican Butterfly Weed.

There are many other types of milkweed but Asclepias curassavica is one of the Monarch butterfly’s favorite host plants. Here are eight reasons why it is my personal favorite milkweed.

1. Flowers bloom continuously from spring to fall in temperate climates and in tropical climates they will flower all year.

2. Tropical Milkweed is easy to grow from seeds and is a fast grower.

3. You can easily also propagate new plants from stem cuttings.

4. Tropical Milkweed is tolerant of different soil types,  growing well in dry, moist, and wet soils.

5. Tropical Milkweed can be planted in containers.

6. Tropical Milkweed is the host plant for both Monarch and Queen butterflies.

7. The flowers of Tropical Milkweed attract many species of butterflies.

8. Hummingbirds like to feed on the blooms.

Tropical Milkweed is a perennial in zones 8-11. It will grow year-round in zones 9b-11. In zones 8-9 it will die back to return in the spring. Elsewhere in the US and Canada, it is grown as an annual.

If you live in zones 9b-11 where the Tropical Milkweed stays green all year it is recommended to cut it back in the fall or winter so new growth will form. The reason is that Monarchs can get a parasite called Ophryocystis elektroscirrha, or OE. OE is a protozoan parasite that is spread to any milkweed plants when an infected adult butterfly flies over the plants. The flapping of monarch butterfly wings exfoliate the OE spores and the spores fall like glitter and stick to the milkweed. When a caterpillar ingests the leaves with the spores they become infected. These spores can survive on the leaves of any Milkweed. So, if Milkweed does not die back and gets new growth then the OE spores may stay present and continue to re-infect caterpillars. This is not an issue in areas where Tropical Milkweed (or any other Milkweed for that matter) dies back in the winter.

Since I live in USDA Zone 9b where Tropical Milkweed lives year-round, I cut the plant back twice a year, once in mid-summer and again in late December or in January. I will also cut it back once it gets leggy. This does two things, one, it removes a build-up of OE spores on the plant that can be harmful to the Monarch, and two, it encourages branching and therefore produces a healthier plant and more flower clusters.

Additional Resources:

Year 2023: What Does the Year Hold for Monarchs and Tropical Milkweed? by Kathy Keatley Garvey

Tropical Milkweed -Yes or No? by Edith Smith

Choice of Plant Reduces Parasitic Load: Tropical Milkweed

Tropical Milkweed and the Injurious Effects of Well-Meaning People by Jeffrey Glassberg

What is OE 

Tropical milkweed impact on monarch butterflies “vastly overblown,”says longtime butterfly researcher by Texas Butterfly Ranch

My friend Wendy Williams, author of the book The Language of Butterflies, asked, “Christmas is over. When do we get to the Good Stuff? When does Butterfly Season finally start?” Fortunately for me because I live in south Texas, and for others who live in temperate and tropical climes, butterfly season never ends. We get to enjoy seeing many different species of native butterflies throughout the winter.

Even if you live where winter weather prevails, there are also many butterfly exhibits where you can enjoy seeing beautiful tropical butterflies year-round in the United States and Canada.

I also would like to argue that the butterfly season never ends even where it snows. Many butterflies that live in cold climates spend the winter as caterpillars, while almost as many spend the winter as pupae. A few species, mainly the California Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis californica), Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa), and Comma (Polygonia comma) spend the winter as adults, hibernating in holes in trees, in crevices in man-made structures, or in other shelters. A very few species spend the winter as eggs. By leaving autumn leaves un-raked and yards a little messy with debris, we allow safe places for them to snooze the winter away.

Winter is the perfect time of year to start planning your garden for the butterflies!  If you enjoy seeing butterflies in your garden, then you not only need to plant flowers that feed the adults but also plant host plants that will feed the caterpillars of those butterflies.

Many seeds, especially native milkweeds and native perennials, need to be cold-stratified for 3 to 6 weeks. If you live where it snows, I think the easiest way to cold stratify seeds is using the milk jug method.

Seeds can also be cold stratified in the refrigerator. Simply place the seeds on a wet piece of paper towel or sand inside a plastic container or Ziplock bag and place them in the refrigerator. Leave them there for 3-6 weeks or until you are ready to plant them.

There are many excellent books available as well as online resources to help you learn about the butterflies native to your area and the plants that will attract them. Start finding out about different plants and trees so that you will know what to plant to create a habitat for the butterflies. Start making a list.

Take an online course on “Creating a Butterfly Garden” by Jessica McAtee. In this free course you will discover what butterflies live in your corner of the planet and how you can attract them and understand what butterflies require to survive. With a healthy mix of science and silliness, she teaches people how to attract butterflies to their landscapes. Thousands of folks have taken her advice to create or enhance their outdoor butterfly retreats. From healing gardens to pollinator stops she has happily shared her knowledge of butterflies. She is a butterfly author, speaker and conservationist.

As you can see, Butterfly Season has already started. Enjoy the flowers and the butterflies!

Recently, I learned about a  group of eighth-grade students in New Jersey who wanted to give away Milkweed (Asclepias spp.) seeds to people in their community. They found out I also was giving away Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) seeds so they contacted me.

These ambitious students wanted to do something which would make a lasting impact in their town. They discussed how much they liked being outdoors and believed that because of the pandemic they wanted to do something to encourage others to go outside to appreciate nature more. Learning about a USDA project encouraging farmers to plant Milkweed, they felt a need to help Monarch (Danaus plexippus) butterflies by planting Milkweed, the only plant Monarch butterflies lay eggs on. So the group decided to encourage people in their community to plant Milkweed.

The students created a Facebook page called NJ Monarchs and posted a link to an online survey to find people who would be interested in planting Milkweed in their gardens. The response for the free seeds far exceeded their expectations. They’ve received 1,000 requests for Milkweed seeds, so far. They have been working hard making seed packets and mailing them out to people who requested the seeds.

These dedicated students are encouraging their neighbors, churches, and local businesses to certify their property as National Wildlife Habitats. They collaborated with a local church, which recently was certified, and scattered seeds on the side of the church, which will provide plants for pollinators, next spring.

These motivated youngsters now are working on another project with a local wildlife photographer to create an educational packet for younger students.

My hat goes off to these young people and their efforts to help Monarch butterflies!

Each fall Monarch Watch distributes more than a quarter of a million tags to thousands of volunteers across North America who tag Monarchs as they migrate through their respective areas. These “citizen scientists” capture monarchs throughout the migration season, record the tag code, tag date, gender of the butterfly, and geographic location, then tag and release them. At the end of the tagging season, these data are submitted to Monarch Watch and added to their database to be used in research.

Tags are tiny, lightweight, round stickers. They are a little larger than a hole-punch, about 9 mm in diameter. Each tag has a unique ID number. When a tag is recovered (found again), valuable information about migration is revealed.

According to Monarch Joint Adventure, “The purpose of tagging Monarchs is to associate the location of original capture with the point of recovery for each butterfly. The data from these recaptures are used to determine the pathways taken by migrating Monarchs, the influence of weather on the migration, the survival rate of the Monarchs.

Coded tags are attached to Monarchs when they are captured before or during their southbound migration, and recovered when Monarchs are found throughout the migration or overwintering season. Citizen scientists record the date, location, Monarch gender, and unique tag number for each fall-migrating monarch that they tag and then submit these data to be used in research. The tags and tagging process do not harm the butterflies, and the data collected have the potential to answer many important questions about monarch biology and conservation.”

Tagging helps answer questions about the origins of Monarchs that reach Mexico, the timing and pace of the migration, mortality during the migration, and changes in geographic distribution. For example, by tagging Monarchs and collecting data, we have learned that these butterflies can travel at least 170 miles in a single day and that they have traveled as far as 3,000 miles. In fact, tagging led to the discovery of the monarch’s winter home in Mexico. (Read more of this fascinating story here.)

Monarch Watch, the Southwest Monarch Study, and Monarch Alert all have monarch tagging programs and are always looking for more citizen scientists; find the program that’s best for you and get involved!

It is that time of year when Monarch butterflies are starting their long migration south to Mexico. During the next three months, millions of Monarchs will travel 2500-3000 miles across Canada and the United States headed for warmer weather in Mexico.

The Monarchs (Danaus plexippus) fly during the day, typically traveling alone. They do not migrate in flocks like many birds. But in the early evening, they will rest in trees. Sometimes they cluster in small groups, and sometimes they form large clusters. These clusters of Monarchs are called roosts. Most roosts last for only a night or two but sometimes these gatherings may last as long as two weeks.

Why do monarchs roost? According to Journey North, “One hypothesis is that roosting behavior is an anti-predator strategy. Cool temperatures paralyze monarchs, making them vulnerable to predators. A roost provides safety in numbers. When overnight temperatures are warm, monarchs may not aggregate as tightly or roost at all. Perhaps monarchs shift to roosting behavior when cold overnight temperatures make them vulnerable.”

Where do Monarchs roost? Roosts are more likely found in certain habitats but are not consistently found in the same place. They vary from year to year. Roosts can often be found near nectar sources, in trees that are downwind, and near a major flyway. Flyways are typically near valley streams or depressions that provide a cool moist environment. (https://journeynorth.org/tm/monarch/FallRoosts.html)

One of the best ways to follow the fall migration is to track where they are forming roosts. Journey North keeps and posts data collected by citizen scientists on where roosts are being observed. The roost map shows where there are large concentrations of monarchs. Week by week, it reveals the fall migration pathways to Mexico and the pace of the migration.