Honeyvine (swallow-wort) doesn't look like a milkweed with its heart-shaped leaves and creepIng vine. (It belongs to a different genus than the other milkweed species). I wasn't sure why it was selected to be in the research plot, and, because it can be invasive, I certainly didn't cheer for it to do well. However, all 6 plants survived, and it did sustain a number of monarch larvae. In my research plot, there were 12 monarch throughout the summer on honeyvine; 7 eggs and 5 larva, ranking 6th out of the 9 milkweed species. Here is what it looked like on August 15th in my research plot.
I found my first egg on honeyvine in on July 19th, and by the end of the July had two 5th instars. In the middle of September when none of the other milkweed had monarch larva, I counted a 5th instar on honeyvine.
I don't know how invasive it will be, so certainly wouldn't recommend planting honeyvine at this point. It has exceeded my expectations for attracting monarch, however, so we'll see what happens next summer!
Next week: Asclepias exaltata: poke milkweed
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