 Monarch Larva on Milkweed
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If you like to attract butterflies to your yard, you'll want to grow some milkweed, a plant that provides nectar for a variety of adult butterflies and food for monarch butterfly caterpillars. Milkweeds also attract other insects and spiders, making it an ideal plant to investigate with children. Grab a magnifying glass and look for some of the following milkweed features and creatures:
- Milkweed's common name comes from the milky sap in the stems. If the leaf is broken off the stem, a sticky 'milk' flows out around the wound. This milk is toxic to humans, and this toxin protects it from other 'predators' the plant may have. (Make sure you wash your hands well if you come in contact with the milk to avoid accidental ingestion.) Monarch caterpillars are immune to the toxin so they can eat the plant, incorporate the toxin into their bodies, and thereby gain protection from predators.
- Milkweeds provide food for a host of other insects. Examine the plant for aphids, which suck plant juices, ladybird beetles (ladybugs) that feed on aphids, and red and black insects that feed on the milkweed leaves (milkweed beetle) or the seeds (milkweed bug).
- When milkweed is ready to go to seed, it forms pods. As the pods begin to break open, notice how the seeds are densely packed into the pod and how each brown seed comes equipped with a white fluffy portion that helps it ride with the wind.
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