aubunique: Purple milkweed important to production of migrating monarchs

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Please click on image to ENLARGE photo of Asclepias purpurascens.

Anonymous said...: I like this photo a lot better than the previous one!
Peace!; September 10, 2008 at 5:26 PM
Anonymous said...: Nice picture, however the species id is incorrect. Do a Goggle image search on Asclepias incarnata or Swamp Milkweed or contact me gd_stell@hotmail.com.; September 11, 2008 at 7:12 AM
aubunique said...: http://bp3.blogger.com/_4JC_ocVfdes/SI5M3ZZO2rI/AAAAAAAACTI/vG6s6lbDlyQ/s1600-h/IMG_2820milkweed+bugs+wpwp.JPG

Above is a July 28, 2008, shot from a nearby wetter spot. The deeper red of the September-blooming plant caused me to call it the purple variety.

I don't care as much about the name as the fact that this later plant is feeding caterpillers as we speak! The July blooms are gone and the leaves have been mostly eaten away now!

Because of the shortage of returning monarchs in spring, there were some fields with good-looking foliage on asclepias viridis until a few weeks ago when a lot of needless mowing was done here in Fayetteville.; September 12, 2008 at 8:37 AM

aubunique