Why Do Monarch Butterflies Eat Milkweed

Monarch caterpillars feed exclusively on the leaves of milkweed the only host plant for this iconic butterfly species. They really only eat milkweed which is why the Monarch butterflies find the milkweed to lay their eggs on it.

Where There Are Milkweeds There Are Monarchs Help Monarchs Thrive By Growing Their Favorite Foo Milkweed Flowers That Attract Butterflies Attract Butterflies

When tropical milkweed is planted in the coastal southern US.

Why do monarch butterflies eat milkweed. Fortunately milkweed can be grown in our yards and gardens so we can help in the survival of monarch butterflies. Over the past 2 decades however monarch numbers east of the Rockies have fallen by 80 to 90 percent. The caterpillars thrive on the plant even storing its toxins in their bodies as a defense.

Monarchs lay eggs specifically on milkweed the eggs hatch into caterpillars and the caterpillars eat the foliage. The leaves contain cardiac glycosides compounds that affect heart function making. Monarch butterflies gain an important defense against predators by feeding on milkweed as caterpillars.

This is the reason Tropical milkweed Asclepias curassavica an introduced species. This relationship status stems from the fact that the butterflies are one of the primary pollinators of the milkweed. Planting milkweeds on your property will provide food plants for monarch caterpillars and nectar sources for adult butterflies.

5th instar Monarch larvae. In fact the monarch butterfly is also known as the milkweed butterfly The milkweed plant provides all the nourishment the monarch needs to transform the Monarch caterpillar into the adult butterfly. Milkweed plants contain toxic steroids known as cardenolides which are bitter-tasting.

Monarch caterpillars ONLY eat milkweed. 4th instar larvae will chew out a circular area in milkweed leaves this helps reduce the amount of sticky sap that flows as the larva feeds. Monarch Butterfly caterpillars eat ONLY milkweedDo not try to offer them alternate food plants.

Milkweed contains toxins which makes the monarch butterfly unpalatable to most predators. As such milkweed is critical for the survival of monarchs. Without it they cannot complete their life cycle and their populations decline.

Milkweed is the host plant for the monarch butterfly. Researchers describe the relationship between monarch butterflies and milkweed as symbiotic. The monarch butterflys colorful caterpillars for example devour milkweed with gustoin fact it is the only thing they ever eat.

And California these plants continue to flower and produce new leaves throughout the fall and winter except during rare freeze events. The monarchs even use aposematic coloration to warn predators that they will be eating a toxic meal should they choose to prey on the orange and black butterfly. Monarch expert Karen Oberhauser from the University of Minnesota recently did a Q A for Journey North and this is what she had to say about Asclepias curassavica.

The decline is partly attributed to shrinking milkweed habitat especially in the Midwest. Milkweed is the sole host plant of the monarch butterfly. Monarch caterpillars eat only one plant milkweed and many Californians have planted the showy tropical milkweed Asclepias curassavica to.

Dale Clark A delayed monarch migration. Monarch Butterfly larvae do not. Through metamorphosis the monarchs store the cardenolides and emerge as adults with the steroids still in their bodies.

They can tolerate this food source because of a peculiarity in a. In addition to supporting the monarch milkweed species are important sources of nectar for dozens of other butterflies and numerous pollinating insects such as native bees and honey bees. Milkweed is the only plant food that will keep them alive.

Most people know that monarch butterflies benefit from feeding on milkweed as caterpillars. A male monarch butterfly feeds on the flowers of a Mexican milkweed. The caterpillar of the monarch butterfly eats only milkweed a poisonous plant that should kill it.

The reason that milkweed is so critical for monarch butterflies is because it is the only plant on which both the adults and the caterpillars feed. Without milkweed the larva would not be able to develop into a butterfly. If you plant it they will come.

Some caterpillars like variety in their diet. But if you run out of milkweed at least the older caterpillars will eat butternut squash and pumpkin I think and will grow enough to then turn into chrysalises and then butterflies. Importance of Milkweed Many butterflies have a single plant required as a food source for their larval form called a host plant.

Natural chemicals the caterpillars ingest from milkweed also protect them and the adult butterflies theyll later become from predation.

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