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Cardenolide toxins sequestered during the Monarch's larval stage from feeding on the plant remains in the adult, making it unpalatable to predators. Chemical defense is a strategy employed by many organisms to avoid consumption by producing toxic or repellent metabolites or chemical warnings which incite defensive behavioral changes.
The seeds of some milkweeds need periods of cold treatment (cold stratification) before they will germinate. [12] To protect seeds from washing away during heavy rains and from seed–eating birds, one can cover the seeds with a light fabric or with an 13 mm (0.5 in) layer of straw mulch. [13] However, mulch acts as an insulator. Thicker layers ...
It is one of the best attractors of the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), which feeds on the flowers and lays eggs on the plants. [12] The emerging caterpillars feed on the leaves. The plants have specialized, thickened white roots which can function in heavy, wet soils that are low in oxygen. Blooming occurs in mid- through late summer.
Milkweed, of course, is the only food that monarch caterpillars eat, making it crucial for their survival. But here we come to the struggle between creating habitat and pretty landscapes in our yards.
Monarch butterfly populations are endangered, to the point that the 1.2 million Western monarchs counted in 1997 plummeted to fewer than 2,000 by 2020. Here are ways we can help them survive.
Monarch females only lay eggs on milkweed and their caterpillars only eat milkweed. The hope is that the legislation will make it easier to plant more milkweed across Ohio.
A monarch butterfly on swamp milkweed Asclepias syriaca seed pods, upper image from August and lower from December Milkweed sprout, a few days after sowing Chemical structure of oleandrin, one of the cardiac glycosides. Members of the genus produce some of the most complex flowers in the plant kingdom, comparable to orchids in complexity.
A Monarch butterfly delicately perched on a vibrant echinacea flower. Instars are developmental stages between moults (when the exoskeleton sheds to allow for growth).