Visitor tonight

[Pulsegleaner]

Sorry I'm a legume expert, one milkweed looks pretty much like another to me.

But yes, I think monarch can eat butterfly weed too.

One warning, monarch aren't the only caterpillars that will eat milkweed, there are others. Some like the monarch cousin the Queen, are harmless, some like the milkweed moth aren't, their caterpillars (look like wooly bears with orange punk mohawks) sting like crazy

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

I gasped when I saw the first pic. Gorgeous.

 

[seedcorn]

Think what I did when she first landed on my glasses while on iPad. Then she went to hand to see what I was typing. Guess, near sighted? Didn't come back to see her pix on Internet.

I didn't get her to sign a waiver-think I will get sued?

 

[Smart Red]

That is so special to have one land and pause a bit on your hand.

 

[so lucky]

In St Louis The Butterfly House is a botanical garden fully enclosed, where hundreds of exotic butterflies live. It is so enchanting to walk the paths and have butterflies land all over you. There are butterflies that are never seen in the US, naturally. Pretty cool.

 

[Smart Red]

Milwaukee's Museum of Natural History has a butterfly house as well. Could stay there for hours.

 

[seedcorn]

As does the Fort Wayne Children's zoo

 

[Carol Dee]

And the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska.

 

[thistlebloom]

I know that milkweed is the main food, or at least very important for Monarchs. Is asclepia (butterfly weed) also a food for Monarchs? Or mostly other types of butterflies?

Here's an article that explains what I was fumbling around trying to explain.
~LINK~

And the flip side of the argument- ~LINK~

eta- These links worked for me, but sometimes my links don't work for others, so let me know if you can't open them.
Then I'll throw up my hands in despair because I can't fix it.

 

[Smart Red]

One variety of butterfly weed I have does not set seed. That can be a good thing for some gardeners. Cuttings are the only way I can reproduce these.

The butterfly weed seed I mailed last fall comes from a plant that looks and flowers identically to the non-seed type, but has lots of those beautiful milkweed pods. I keep the pods harvested and start new plants where I want them.

Hum, I wonder if a few thousand seeds would enjoy blowing over into the neighbors' yard?