Butterfly Eating Milkweed. Common milkweed asclepias syriaca often grows along roadsides and in fields where mowing practices may cut down the milkweed just as the caterpillars are feeding butterfly weed asclepias tuberosa is a showy bright orange perennial that gardeners usually prefer for their flower beds but don t limit yourself to these two common species. Its wings feature an easily recognizable black orange.
Well monarch caterpillars will eat the leaves after hatching from their eggs. The monarch s top 4 favorite milkweed species are bolded in the list below. There are many different types of milkweed plant the monarch caterpillar will eat and it usually depends on their geographic location.
Fortunately milkweed grows throughout the united states.
Fortunately milkweed grows throughout the united states. The winner is the asclepias incarnata common name. Insects began dining on plants over 400 million years ago spurring evolution of many botanical defenses like the poison found in milkweed. However when given a choice their favorite milkweed by far is the asclepias incarnata common name.