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Monarchs and milkweed

  • Writer: ZISK
    ZISK
  • Apr 3
  • 1 min read

If you think your kid is a picky eater, you haven’t seen anything like monarch butterfly young’uns. Milkweed is the only plant on which the iconic butterflies lay their eggs—and upon which their baby caterpillars feed.


In fact, a remarkable relationship exists between the milkweed plant (Asclepias spp.) and the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus). As the sole host plant for the fluttering critters, wildlife scientists say monarch butterfly populations simply cannot survive without access to the plant.


And the bad news is that there simply isn’t as much milkweed around as there used to be. Wildlife scientists say current monarch populations are falling well below levels estimated to be sustainable. There are claims that monarch population numbers have been down by over 90% in recent decades.


Clint Peck

April 2, 2026

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