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Posts Tagged: tropical milkweed

Year 2023: What Does the Year Hold for Monarchs and Tropical Milkweed?

Do monarch butterflies know what they want/need? Apparently so, from personal observation. Over the years, we've grown multiple species of milkweed...

A monarch caterpillar feeding on tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A monarch caterpillar feeding on tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A monarch caterpillar feeding on tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A monarch nectaring on tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A monarch nectaring on tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A monarch nectaring on tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey bees and other pollinators frequent tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Honey bees and other pollinators frequent tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey bees and other pollinators frequent tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Thursday, January 5, 2023 at 3:28 PM
Focus Area Tags: Environment, Innovation, Natural Resources

Tropical Milkweed Doesn't Deserve the Bad Rap

Fact: Milkweed is the host plant of the monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus. Fact: Without milkweed, no monarchs. Yet a milkweed species...

A monarch nectaring on tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A monarch nectaring on tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A monarch nectaring on tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A monarch caterpillar foraging on  tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A monarch caterpillar foraging on tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A monarch caterpillar foraging on tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-up of a monarch caterpillar.  (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of a monarch caterpillar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-up of a monarch caterpillar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A monarch laying an egg on a tropical milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A monarch laying an egg on a tropical milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A monarch laying an egg on a tropical milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Monday, October 10, 2022 at 1:21 PM
Focus Area Tags: Environment, Innovation, Natural Resources, Yard & Garden

What's Happening with Our Western Monarchs?

"A count of the Western monarch butterfly population last winter saw a staggering drop in numbers, but there are hopeful signs the beautiful...

A monarch nectaring on tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica, in October, 2021 in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A monarch nectaring on tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica, in October, 2021 in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A monarch nectaring on tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica, in October, 2021 in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A monarch caterpillar feasting on tropical milkweed in Vacaville, Calif. in the summer of 2020. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A monarch caterpillar feasting on tropical milkweed in Vacaville, Calif. in the summer of 2020. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A monarch caterpillar feasting on tropical milkweed in Vacaville, Calif. in the summer of 2020. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Friday, November 5, 2021 at 2:12 PM
Focus Area Tags: Environment, Innovation, Natural Resources

Gray Hairstreak Host Plant: A Record of Some Kind?

Where are the monarch butterflies? They're MIA on the four species of milkweed in our Vacaville pollinator garden   But milkweed attracts other...

The gray hairstreak, Strymon melinus, finds a play her lay her eggs, on the buds of a tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The gray hairstreak, Strymon melinus, finds a play her lay her eggs, on the buds of a tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The gray hairstreak, Strymon melinus, finds a play her lay her eggs, on the buds of a tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Gray hairstreak, Strymon melinus, laying eggs on the buds of a tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Gray hairstreak, Strymon melinus, laying eggs on the buds of a tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Gray hairstreak, Strymon melinus, laying eggs on the buds of a tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Wednesday, September 22, 2021 at 1:00 PM
Focus Area Tags: Environment, Natural Resources, Yard & Garden

Winter Monarchs: Thankfully, They're Out There

Thankfully, they're out there. Butterfly guru Art Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor of evolution and ecology, spotted a female monarch...

A monarch caterpillar and a honey bee sharing tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica, in the summer of 2020 in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A monarch caterpillar and a honey bee sharing tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica, in the summer of 2020 in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A monarch caterpillar and a honey bee sharing tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica, in the summer of 2020 in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This is the graph that WSU entomologist David James posted on his Facebook research page, Monarchs Butterflies in the Pacific Northwest.
This is the graph that WSU entomologist David James posted on his Facebook research page, Monarchs Butterflies in the Pacific Northwest.

This is the graph that WSU entomologist David James posted on his Facebook research page, Monarchs Butterflies in the Pacific Northwest.

Posted on Tuesday, March 2, 2021 at 4:05 PM
Focus Area Tags: Environment, Natural Resources, Yard & Garden

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