The caterpillar crawls away from the milkweed plant in search of a safe spot to begin the pupa stage of the monarch butterfly life cycle. It uses spinnerets near its mouth to create a tiny silken pad.

The monarch butterfly is a beautiful and colorful creature, but it takes a while to reach that part of its adult life.

David Wagner says, in his experience, they are feeding on different stages of milkweed, monarchs preferring new shoots and milkweed tussock moths content with older, yellowing, foliage.

David Wagner says, in his experience, they are feeding on different stages of milkweed, monarchs preferring new shoots and milkweed tussock moths content with older, yellowing, foliage.

Native milkweed plants — the kind good for butterflies — are coming out of dormancy and starting to sprout, so be patient. Southern California gardeners should be able to buy narrow-leaf ...

Readers, you’ve been told: Don’t plant common milkweed unless you want a meadow full of it. The good news is that other types of milkweed can be both beautiful and well-mannered in a Northeast ...

How one milkweed plant turned into a yearlong investment and fostered an unexpected community. ... And you may know that during this larval stage the caterpillar grows 2,000 times its original mass.

Many things prey on aphids. This community of insects are linked together with a common breakfast — the milkweed plant. According to Anurag Agrawal, author of “Monarchs and Milkweed,” there ...

The less milkweed, the more the wriggling insects squabbled. ... Dr. Keene said, because at this stage in their life, the larva are “basically eating constantly.” ...

A Two-Way Chemistry Equation. If someone says “milkweed,” maybe you also hear “monarch butterfly” in your head. It’s almost as if the two are inextricably linked.

Milkweed is no longer considered a “noxious weed” in Michigan, ... “Monarchs benefit from having milkweed at different growth stages, ...

These low-maintenance flowers are very attractive to butterflies as a nectar source, with red milkweed also being an important food source for the larval stage of Monarch butterflies, TDOT said ...