Great stuff, Dan. I'm going to follow your lead by finding some milkweed
plants this year.
Alan
On 16-Jul-19 11:21 PM, Daniel J. Matyola wrote:
I have planted a number of Common Milkweed, Hairy Balls Milkweed and Swamp
Milkweed throughout our yard, hoping they will establish themselves and
become permanent parts of our landscaping plan. They grow a bit slowly,
however, so I planted a number of Tropical Milkweed plants in pots on our
rear deck. I salso use the potted Tropical Milkweed to place in my net
cages to feed larvae that hatch from the eggs I receive from a facility in
PA or from Monarch Watch.
The Tropical Milkweed plants have more developed flowers, and are
attracting Monarchs to nectar, as well as to lay eggs. Two of the larger
plants have caterpillars feeding on them, from eggs laid there either by
butterflies I released over the past few weeks or by those just passing
by. In either event, seeing them is quite rewarding. For whatever reason,
female Monarchs seem to consistently choose Tropical Milkweed, if
available, over native milkweeds for depositing their eggs.
The first image shows a Monarch, possibly a female looking for a place to
leave her young, taking nectar from a potted Tropical Milkweed. The second
image shows a wider scene, including part of our deck.
http://dan-matyola.squarespace.com/danmatyolas-pesos/2019/7/16/monarch-on-milkweed
Again, Pentax K-5 IIs with Pentax FA 100 mm Macro F 2.8
Comments are invited and appreciated.
Dan Matyola
http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/danieljmatyola
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