Last yr a dg member sent me Asclepias seed ,yelloe and just a couple red. I started them indoors and had a nice amount to set out. I had a excess of rabbits in the spring and they loved those plants. I did manage to save 1 red and it bloomed and had pods on. I was checking on the pods because I sure wanted more of them next yr. Yesterday there were 8 monarch cats on the plant.. I have a container ready for them but I need food. Can I use my native milkweed? Any thing else?
Cat help please
Congrats to you. I know for sure they love milkweed but I think that is the only thing they eat. But someone will be along shortly to tell you for sure. Good luck with the little guys.
Leslie
In the wild they will eat just about anything green, if they get lost from or run out of milkweed. They won't starve. They will just loose the protection passed on to the adult butterfly.
However, I don't know what to advise about trying to get them to eat something other than milkweed. Have you tried your local nurseries? We can generally get 10 to 15 plants on a moments notice, when they eat us out of our stockpile. Wholesale nurseries are a good place to start.
If there is a butterfly center in your vicinity, call them for advice. They may even have spare plants. Could give you detailed advice for the Houston area but don't have a clue about what would be available in the NE.
Rod
Thanks all. I went on a search for some wild milkweed and guess what, found a small cat on a wild stalk. So I will be fine now.
If your wild milkweed is one of asclepias then you'll be ok - they will eat any variety of milkweed. Good luck! ;)
I think i read some place that they like corn pollen but not the hybrid corns
Queens and Monarchs eat only plants from the milkweed family. Nothing else. They may sometimes be on other kinds of plants, but they won't eat them...they are just hanging around or looking for a place to pupate. There was something about GMO crops and their pollen negatively affecting populations of butterflies, especially Monarchs. But rarely does any butterfly species eat pollen (the ZLW does it sometimes), so I don't think that's what they are talking about.
Oh, I found this...apparently one problem has to do with Bt, which is lethal to all cats, and made airborne with the GMO Bt crop pollen and then being on milkweed. There was also a separate problem with the GMO Round-up ready crops, which allow farmers so they can use more Roundup (very bad idea)...which kills the wild milkweeds which are weeds in the fields. Butteflies cannot maintain that much of a population with only cultivated host plants in yards, etc., ...but it sure does help, so plant them and keep them free of pesticides, herbicides and Bt, etc.!
http://www.gmo-safety.eu/en/archive/2004/314.docu.html
This message was edited Aug 21, 2007 12:25 PM
I grow Milk weed to
So glad to hear you are growing milkweed, Paul! Seen any Monarchs down your way?