Winter Resort
Posted by Charlotte Hamiter on March 24, 2005
Q: Does the female monarch butterfly lay her eggs on any other type of plant besides the milkweed plant?
A: The answer is yes, she does. Although one of several species of milkweed are the first choice, Monarchs do lay their eggs on other plants. Here are a few that I found, I'm sure there are others, depending on where you live.
The most important northern host plant is Asclepias syriaca (common milkweed - Figure 2), but a number of other species are used as well, including A. incarnata (swamp milkweed - Figure 3) and A. tuberosa (butterfly weed - Figure 4). Central Plains host plants include the vine Cynanchum laeve (sand or honey vine). A northeastern invasive plant in the same genus (C. nigrum) has spread west as far as Wisconsin. This species is attractive to ovipositing females, but monarch larvae do not survive on it (Haribal 1998). In the south, the most important host plants are probably Asclepias oenotheroides (zizotes milkweed), A. viridis (spider milkweed) and A. asperula (antelope horn milkweed), all fairly common throughout Texas and other southern US states.
John Wiessinger ( March 24, 2005)