Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly weed)

Butterfly weed is one of those flowers that people have in their garden and don't realize it's a milkweed.  With its orange flowers and smaller leaves and plant, it's not your typical milkweed.  Here's a close up of a butterfly weed in my front yard with a 3rd instar devouring one of its flowers.

Although all 6 of my butterfly weeds survived in my (wet) research plot, they didn't grow well.  I only had 5 eggs and one larva.  However, the plant in my front yard has been there for 5 years, and it has been very hardy.  In addition, it supports a large number of monarch larvae.  More than once this summer I counted a dozen larvae at one time.  As you can see from the photo below, mine is a large spreading plant, mostly because rabbits chowed down on it. (Which caused new shoots to grow up to replace them).  As you can see, the plant extends from the rock to the yardstick.

Usually eggs are laid on the underside of plants, but this one was laid on top of a butterfly weed.

 In just 2 weeks, the caterpillar below has grown from a larva the size of a dash to 2 inches long.  It has molted 5 times, and is now ready to find a place to hang and form a chrysalis.

Next week I'll be sharing information about the last milkweed in my research plot: Asclepias hirtella and a few other species that weren't in my research plot.

Poke Milkweed (Asclepias exaltata)

Poke milkweed is another species that doesn't look like a milkweed at first glance.  Its leaves are smooth, not as thick as common milkweed, and the shape of the leaf reminds me of a single ash leaf (although the shape can be oval to egg shaped).  Poke milkweed grows to 6 feet tall in woodlands, and if grown in too much sun, they lose some of their green color, as you can see on the lower leaves of the plant below.  They are native to eastern United States, with Iowa being on their western border.

My poke milkweed were fairly healthy with all 6 plants surviving.  I had a total of 8 monarchs:  5 eggs and 3 larvae throughout the summer.  You can see one of the eggs on the plant above.  Various websites report that they are not invasive, and in the wild the flowers attract flocks of butterflies (and rabbits).  The loosely packed flower clusters droop elegantly from slender stalks, somewhat like fireworks. 

For more information about growing conditions, seed germination, and photos, go to the Finger Lakes Native Plant Society's website:  http://flnps.org/native-plants/peaceful-gem-hiding-our-woods

Next week:  butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa)