Hello all, I am new to this forum. I have a question regarding the plant Asclepias curassavica (butterfly weed or Mexican Milkweed). I figured this was the best place to ask.
I planted one in my garden last fall for the monarchs, and was so excited when I started to see them on it a few weeks ago. Then last weekend I noticed that their caterpillars had hatched and I had 7 of them on my lonely plant! They are so cute. Well, it only took a few days for them to devour the whole darn thing - leaves, parts of the stems, and even a few bites out of the seed pods.
So I have 2 questions:
1) Will the plant come back after being stripped?
2) Are there any other plants the poor little caterpillars will eat?
I have seen a few of the caterpillars crawling on the ground in the vicinity of the plant. I am so upset because I accidentally stepped on one and killed it. After that incident I rounded up as many as I could find and put them on my Duranta erecta (Golden dewdrop) so they wouldn't be roaming around and get squished again. Wondering if they will like it.....
Will it come back?
No, milkweed is the only plant that is a host plant. There are different vaireties, but all are Asclepias. The plant will come back with other pereinnals. The will not only eat the leaves, but will chomp on the stems too.
Good news, they are beginning their migration and will not stop long to lay many eggs.
Ok thanks for the info. Kinda sad, I hope they get enough to eat!
Sometimes a neighbor might have more milkweed...of course, that neighbor would have to agree to having it eaten! Monarchs are foliage-eating machines! So 7 cats might not seem so many, but it takes a lot of milkweed to feed seven. I've been known to jump in the car and head up the road to look for roadside milkweeds...or head to a nursery that is way too far away in order to keep the cats fed when they are running out! I doubt if I could ever be sure I have enough...not when one female Monarch can lay dozens of eggs.
I was at the nursery the other day and I saw a lady with some of the milkweed in her cart. I mentioned to her how they will attract monarchs (and monarch cats) so when her leaves start getting munched NOT to go out and kill the cats. She was like "oh....... they are going to eat my plant? I don't like the sound of that." and she put it back. Oops!
That is sad, but best for the cats that you told her. Now days there is so many kids learning about butterflies in their class rooms that they will perhaps be better stewards of them when they become adults.
Yeah. Our precious cats that we planted the host plants on purpose for are some people's unwanted pests that eat their plants and they will spray to kill them. Hopefully some of those will not spray ahead of time and by the time they realize the cats are there the cats will be crawling off to pupate! Many nurseries remove the eggs and cats...I hate to think about what they do with them. Although I do know of two nurseries that will only remove them to a garden that is a safe haven for them or offer them to people who will raise them. The native nursery in the hills has a butterfly farm owner who takes some. And one guy there knows I have host plants and that I raise cats...he will take some of the Spicebush cats and the PVS cats off the host plants and is quite insistent about me taking them....HA! I think the owner is not as happy about the chewed-on plants as he is!