eed w s k M l a i tter M te ut r f B lies a nd Beyond h c r a n o M
To a monarch butterfly, a manicured lawn without milkweed may as well be a food desert.
M
ilkweeds (Asclepias spp.) are irreplaceable Prairie State species. These
native plants reach 1–4 feet tall, have soft stems and grow back
each spring. Their horn-shaped seedpods contain flat, brown seeds that float on the wind using white floss. Resembling flowy gowns, their colorful flowers bloom in dense clusters.
Frequent mowing of roadsides
beetles dine on nectar, as well.
diminished milkweed numbers.
As they move from plant to plant,
To limit monarch mortality, it’s
they transfer pollen, fertilizing
best to avoid trimming milkweed-
flowers and kick-starting
rich areas in northern Illinois
seed production.
from May 1–October 1. Look for monarchs before cutting the lawn.
The Glue that Binds
and invertebrates more difficult to appreciate than birds. But bird populations would plummet if these key food sources
animals. More than 40 North
dwindled. If birds declined, their
American insect and invertebrate
predators such as foxes, frogs,
species use milkweeds as food
coyotes, chipmunks and raptors
sources or egg incubators.
could suffer from reduced food
Butterflies such as the great
availability. All life is connected
spangled fritillary (Speyeria
to other life.
only lay eggs on milkweeds.
(Chlosyne nycteis) sip nectar
Their caterpillars, or larvae, only
from milkweed flowers with their
eat milkweed leaves. Monarch
long proboscises, or tube-like
populations have suffered steep
mouthparts. Slugs and snails
drops and fluctuations since
munch on milkweed.
planting herbicide-tolerant crops.
Some people may find insects
Milkweed decline affects many
cybele) and silvery checkerspot
Midwestern farmers began
Bumble bees, moths, flies and
and home landscapes has also
Famously, monarch butterflies
the 1990s, around when Upper
Ruby-throated hummingbird
Milkweeds are named for the milky latex sap they produce. Sticky and glue-like, the sap oozes from damaged tissues. It’s a fitting trait for milkweeds: precious plants that act as glue
Ruby-throated hummingbirds
holding the health and beauty
(Archilochus colubris), the only
of local landscapes together.
breeding species of hummingbird
Farmers could spray more
east of the Rocky Mountains,
herbicides without damaging
drink milkweed nectar to help
crops. Only genetically
power their fast-fluttering wings.
Visit LCFPD.org/plant-sale to purchase milkweeds for your home.
modified plants can endure these chemicals. A 2017 Illinois Natural History Survey analysis “confirmed that milkweed numbers have dropped by about 95% in cropland in Illinois over the last 20 years.”
A monarch larva nibbles on a milkweed leaf.
The snowberry clearwing moth’s (Hemaris diffinis) coloration resembles that of a bumble bee. Predators associate this with painful stings and avoid eating these moths.