Look for black scent glands on the hindwings of male Monarchs

Monarch Butteries

egg

larva

pupa

adult

In addition to providing a food source for monarch larvae, the showy owers 

of milkweeds offer abundant, high quality nectar to many pollinators 

including bees, butteries and hummingbirds. The handsome plants can 

also add interest and beauty to any landscape. Milkweeds are named for 

their milky latex sap, which contains alkaloids and cardenolides, complex 

chemicals that make the plants unpalatable to most animals. Milkweeds have 

eshy, pod-like fruits that split when mature, releasing seeds. Each milkweed 

seed is attached to uffy hairs, known as pappus, silk, or oss, that aid in 

wind dispersal.

Intensifying agriculture, development of rural lands and the use of mowing 

and herbicides to control vegetation have all reduced the abundance of 

naturally occurring milkweeds. This has resulted in a substantial loss of 

critical resources available for monarchs throughout much of the eastern 

United States. As a result, the North American Monarch Conservation Plan 

recommends planting native milkweed species to help restore breeding 

habitat. Sites of any size or location can help, from urban parks, schools 

and home gardens to commercial developments, municipalities and rural 

roadsides. 

While native milkweeds are crucial for monarchs, commercial sources of 

plants and seeds remain limited. The Florida Museum of Natural History, 

the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, Buttery Conservation 

Initiative and the Monarch Joint Venture are working to help raise awareness 

and produce reliable sources of native milkweed. Inventory is expected to 

increase steadily over the next several years, to meet demand for home 

gardens and habitat restoration projects across the region. 

Ask for native milkweeds at your local retail garden center! Be 

sure to ask for plants that have not been treated with pesticides, 

which may make them toxic to monarchs and other insects.

Milkweeds Eastern United States

During spring and summer, monarchs breed throughout the 

U.S. and southern Canada. In the fall, adults of an eastern 

population migrate to Mexico, ying up to 3,000 miles. In the 

western U.S., monarchs migrate to scattered groves along the coast of 

California. The following spring, these butteries leave their overwintering 

sites and y northward in search of host plants on which to lay their eggs. 

Female monarchs lay eggs on milkweeds and a few other plants in the 

dogbane family. As monarchs spread across North America, several 

generations of butteries are produced. In Florida, some non-migratory 

individuals remain and breed year-round. 

Sadly, population monitoring at overwintering sites in Mexico and 

California has documented a steady decline. Monarchs are threatened 

by loss and degradation of habitat, natural disease and predation, 

adverse weather and the ongoing decline of native milkweeds. Because 

of the monarch’s migratory lifecycle, effective conservation strategies 

need to protect and restore habitat across their entire range.

Asclepias tuberosa

Buttery Milkweed

Habitat well-drained soils: prairies, 

elds, roadsides, waste areas

Larval host plant, adult nectar 

source. Plants and seeds available 

from several vendors.

Asclepias incarnata

Swamp Milkweed

Habitat moist to wet soils: 

swamps, marshes, wet prairies, 

pond margins, roadside ditches

Larval host plant, adult nectar 

source. Plants and seeds 

available from several vendors.

Asclepias syriaca

Common Milkweed

Habitat well-drained soils: 

elds, roadsides, prairies, 

pastures, waste areas

Larval host plant, adult nectar 

source. Plants and seeds 

available from limited vendors.

Asclepias verticillata

Whorled Milkweed

Habitat dry to moist soils: 

prairies, pastures, roadsides, 

elds, open woods

Larval host plant, adult nectar 

source. Plants and seeds available 

from limited vendors.

Asclepias exaltata

Poke Milkweed

Habitat rich soils: woodlands, 

woodland margins

Larval host plant, adult nectar 

source. Plants and seeds not 

currently available.

Monarchs & Milkweeds

Asclepias purpurascens

Purple Milkweed

Habitat dry to moist, well-drained 

soils: roadsides, thickets, open woods, 

woodland margins, prairie openings

Larval host plant, adult nectar source. 

Plants and seeds available from 

limited vendors.
THE XERCES SOCIETY

FOR INVERTEBRATE CONSERVAT ION

Florida Museum of Natural History

UF Cultural Plaza

3215 Hull Road

Gainesville, FL 32611-2710

352-846-2000

www.mnh.u.edu

© 2013 Florida Museum of Natural History

Design and Illustration by Dale Johnson

Photography by Jaret Daniels, Peg Urban, T. Allen

Buttery Larvae

& Host Plants

This educational resource was 

developed by the Florida Museum of Natural History in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service 

(www.fs.fed.us), Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation (www.xerces.org) 

and Butterfly Conservation Initiative (www.butterflyrecovery.com).

Zebra Swallowtail Eurytides marcellus

Pawpaw Asimina triloba

Giant Swallowtail Heraclides cresphontes

Common Pricklyash Zanthoxylum americanum

Spicebush Swallowtail

Papilio troilus

Sassafras

Sassafras albidum

Pipevine Swallowtail Battus philenor

Virginia Snakeroot Aristolochia serpentaria

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Papilio glaucus

Tuliptree

Liriodendron tulipifera

Black Swallowtail Papilio polyxenes

Golden Zizia Zizia aurea

Henry’s Eln

Callyphrys henrici

Redbud

Cercis canadensis

Viceroy Limenitis archippus

Black Willow Salix nigra

Red-spotted Purple Limenitis arthemis astyanax

Black Cherry Prunus serotina

Coral hairstreak

Satyrium titus

Silvery Checkerspot Chlosyne nycteis

Blackeyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta

Checkered White Pontia protodice

Virginia Peppergrass Lepidium virginicum

Gray Hairstreak Strymon melinus

Partridge Pea Chamaecrista faciculata

Question Mark Polygonia interogationis 

Common Hackberry Celtis occidentalis

Morning Cloak Nymphalis antiopa

American Elm Ulmus americana

American Lady Vanessa virginiaensis

Woman’s Tobacco Antennaria plantaginifolia

Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta

False Nettle Boehmeria cylindrica

Spring Azure Celastrina ladon

Flowering Dogwood Cornus orida

Silver-Spotted Skipper Epargyreus clarus

Black Locust Robinia pseudoacacia

Harvester Feniseca tarquinius

larvae are predaceous on many 

species of Woolly Aphids

including Neoprociphilus aceris.

Banded Hairstreak Satyrium calanus

White oak Quercus alba

Great Spangled Fritillary Speyeria cybele

Common Blue Violet Viola sororia

Little Yellow Pyrisitia lisa

Hackberry EmperorAsterocampa celtis

Common Buckeye

Junonia coenia

Canada Toadax 

Nuttallanthus canadensis