Monarch/Milkweed question

Anne Kilmer viceroy at gate.net
Sun Oct 22 13:48:43 EDT 2000


There are several possibilities. 
A wasp nest or bird family may be patronizing your milkweed patch. You
haven't put out a bird feeder, have you? 
Ants may be harvesting the eggs as they are laid. 
Your milkweeds may be excessively toxic, after their experience of last
year (are these the same plants, or new plants?) 
What you might try is planting some milkweed seedlings in other parts of
your garden, and see whether that makes a difference. 
You are, of course, planting larval hosts for many other species of
butterflies. Are they, also, declining your hospitality?
Anne Kilmer
South Florida

Randy Morgan wrote:
> 
> We live on the west central coast of Florida, near Clearwater. Last summer
> in our butterfly garden, our milkweeds were covered with Monarch
> caterpillars, so many that they completely stripped every plant twice.  This
> year, with even more milkweeds, I have yet to see the first caterpillar,
> despite seeing Monarchs in the garden every day during the summer.  Any
> theories for the no-show this fall?  The milkweeds are infested with aphids,
> but they were last year as well, and it didn't stop the little critters
> then.
> 
> Randy
> 
> 
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