Very excited to see lots of monarch butterfly caterpillars - more than ever before - on the various milkweeds growing in the garden this year!
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| Monarch cats on Asclepias viridis (spider milkweed) |
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| Monarch cat on Asclepias incarnata (rose milkweed) |
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| Monarch cats on Asclepias syriaca (common milkweed... I didn't plant this one, it showed up last year, and this year has multiplied into three stems... I know it's got a somewhat aggressive reputation, but clearly it's a big hit with the monarch cats, and when it bloomed last year, I was bowled over by the incredible floral fragrance!) |
All three of these milkweeds are native to Tennessee.
I hope to add two more to the garden eventually - A. purpurascens (purple milkweed) and A. tuberosa (butterflyweed).
What are your best butterfly host plants?
