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Milkweed and Ants

I visited a friend’s garden on November 1, 2016 to look at his milkweed plants covered with Monarch caterpillars.

Monarchs on Milkweed

While there I collected milkweed seed pods.

Milkweed Seed pods

On November 3, 2016, I popped some of the seed in soil and today two of the plants are blooming.

Ants on Milkweed

Curious why there are ants. Need to take a better look. It doesn’t appear that there is some other insect activity which is often the case. Ants are known for herding aphids for their honeydew.

My hope is that the milkweed can help the Monarch population. Recently I saw a sign posted at a local nursery that stated the exotic milkweed should be cut to the ground in the fall to prevent protozoan infection by Ophryocystis elektroscirrha (OE).

To read about the possibility of attempting to do something good that could have unwanted consequences, check out the Monarch Joint Venture site.

Post Written on Day of Planting


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