Monarch Butter ies Asclepias purpurascens Purple Milkweed Eastern United States Milkweeds Habitat dry to moist, well-drained During spring and summer, monarchs breed throughout the Asclepias tuberosa soils: roadsides, thickets, open woods, U.S. and southern Canada. In the fall, adults of an eastern Butter y Milkweed woodland margins, prairie openings population migrate to Mexico, ying up to 3,000 miles. In the western U.S., monarchs migrate to scattered groves along the coast of Habitat well-drained soils: prairies, Larval host plant, adult nectar source. California. The following spring, these butter ies leave their overwintering elds, roadsides, waste areas Plants and seeds available from sites and y northward in search of host plants on which to lay their eggs. limited vendors. Female monarchs lay eggs on milkweeds and a few other plants in the Larval host plant, adult nectar dogbane family. As monarchs spread across North America, several source. Plants and seeds available generations of butter ies are produced. In Florida, some non-migratory from several vendors. individuals remain and breed year-round. Sadly, population monitoring at overwintering sites in Mexico and Monarchs & Milkweeds California has documented a steady decline. Monarchs are threatened by loss and degradation of habitat, natural disease and predation, In addition to providing a food source for monarch larvae, the showy owers adverse weather and the ongoing decline of native milkweeds. Because Asclepias exaltata of milkweeds offer abundant, high quality nectar to many pollinators of the monarch’s migratory lifecycle, effective conservation strategies Poke Milkweed including bees, butter ies and hummingbirds. The handsome plants can need to protect and restore habitat across their entire range. Asclepias incarnata also add interest and beauty to any landscape. Milkweeds are named for their milky latex sap, which contains alkaloids and cardenolides, complex Swamp Milkweed Habitat rich soils: woodlands, chemicals that make the plants unpalatable to most animals. Milkweeds have woodland margins eshy, pod-like fruits that split when mature, releasing seeds. Each milkweed Habitat moist to wet soils: seed is attached to uffy hairs, known as pappus, silk, or oss, that aid in swamps, marshes, wet prairies, Larval host plant, adult nectar wind dispersal. pond margins, roadside ditches source. Plants and seeds not adult currently available. Intensifying agriculture, development of rural lands and the use of mowing Larval host plant, adult nectar and herbicides to control vegetation have all reduced the abundance of source. Plants and seeds naturally occurring milkweeds. This has resulted in a substantial loss of available from several vendors. critical resources available for monarchs throughout much of the eastern United States. As a result, the North American Monarch Conservation Plan recommends planting native milkweed species to help restore breeding habitat. Sites of any size or location can help, from urban parks, schools

s and home gardens to commercial developments, municipalities and rural ch ar on M roadsides. e al ds m lan on of t g the gs en hindwin sc While native milkweeds are crucial for monarchs, commercial sources of ck bla or Look f plants and seeds remain limited. The Florida Museum of Natural History, the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, Butter y Conservation Asclepias syriaca Initiative and the Monarch Joint Venture are working to help raise awareness Asclepias verticillata and produce reliable sources of native milkweed. Inventory is expected to Common Milkweed Whorled Milkweed increase steadily over the next several years, to meet demand for home egg pupa gardens and habitat restoration projects across the region. Habitat well-drained soils: Habitat dry to moist soils: elds, roadsides, prairies, prairies, pastures, roadsides, pastures, waste areas elds, open woods larva Ask for native milkweeds at your local retail garden center! Be Larval host plant, adult nectar Larval host plant, adult nectar source. Plants and seeds source. Plants and seeds available sure to ask for plants that have not been treated with pesticides, available from limited vendors. from limited vendors. which may make them toxic to monarchs and other insects. Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta Eastern Tiger Swallowtail False Nettle Boehmeria cylindrica Papilio glaucus Spicebush Swallowtail Tuliptree Papilio troilus Liriodendron tulipifera Sassafras Butter y Larvae Sassafras albidum

& Host Plants Checkered White Pontia protodice Virginia Peppergrass Lepidium virginicum

Silver-Spotted Skipper Epargyreus clarus Black Locust Robinia pseudoacacia Common Buckeye Junonia coenia Canada Toadax Nuttallanthus canadensis

Zebra Swallowtail Eurytides marcellus Harvester Feniseca tarquinius Pawpaw Asimina triloba larvae are predaceous on many Great Spangled Fritillary Speyeria cybele Banded Hairstreak Satyrium calanus species of Woolly Aphids Common Blue Violet Viola sororia White oak Quercus alba

including Neoprociphilus aceris. Pyrisitia lisa Little Yellow Silvery Checkerspot Chlosyne nycteis Blackeyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta Gray Hairstreak Strymon melinus Partridge Pea Chamaecrista faciculata

Morning Cloak Nymphalis antiopa Giant Swallowtail Heraclides cresphontes Henry’s El n American Elm Ulmus americana Common Pricklyash Zanthoxylum americanum Callyphrys henrici

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Cercis canadensis Emperor Hackberry Asterocampa celtis Question Mark Polygonia interogationis Black Swallowtail Papilio polyxenes Common Hackberry Celtis occidentalis Golden Zizia Zizia aurea Pipevine Swallowtail Battus philenor Florida Museum of Natural History Virginia Snakeroot Aristolochia serpentaria UF Cultural Plaza Red-spotted Purple Limenitis arthemis astyanax 3215 Hull Road Black Cherry Prunus serotina Gainesville, FL 32611-2710 352-846-2000 www. mnh.u .edu Spring Azure Celastrina ladon Flowering Dogwood Cornus orida

© 2013 Florida Museum of Natural History This educational resource was Viceroy Limenitis archippus American Lady Vanessa virginiaensis Design and Illustration by Dale Johnson developed by the Florida Museum of Natural History in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service Black Willow Salix nigra Photography by Jaret Daniels, Peg Urban, T. Allen (www.fs.fed.us), Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation (www.xerces.org) THE XE RCES SOCI ETY Woman’s Tobacco Antennaria plantaginifolia Coral hairstreak and Butterfly Conservation Initiative (www.butterflyrecovery.com). FOR INVE RTEBRATE CONSE RVAT ION Satyrium titus