Last summer friend dug milkweed roots for me. He dug them far from farmlands and roadways. They came from a pond at a DNR fishery. (DNR - department of natural resources.)
Once milkweed gets exposed to chemicals, monarchs avoid it. Forever. That might well be adding to the monarch shortage. The milkweed along farm fields, is often now un-eatable.
Root planted milkweed just outside our living room window. And it came up this year. A good clump of it came up. And thrived. I was very excited.
Both my grandmothers would think I was a little nuts for starting milkweed in a yard. But I was smart where I started it. House on one side. Grass path on the other side. Evergreens, dense evergreens that can hold their own, on both ends. So it is a contained area. And if it goes under the grass to the next bed, I am okay with that and will let it fill that (currently empty) bed.
A month or more ago we were invaded by tussock moth caterpillars. My husband removed them all. And every day he checks to see if any more have hatched. Most days he plucks at least one.
https://journeynorth.org/tm/monarch/milkweed_ecology_answers.html
Today, we counted 8 caterpillars in our patch. And I think there are enough leaves to support them. Because my husband is removing the tussock caterpillars (which mow down leaves at an alarmingly fast pace), only the monarch's are feeding.
Pictures -
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| Milkweed patch outside our living room window |
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| This is the good kind. A monarch caterpillar. (Taken with my iPhone) |
