This map above on the right shows our estimate. Read the comments from each observer. If the observer did not include this information, contact her by e-mail for these details. As a way to synthesize your learning this spring, write your own scientific paper based on the Journey North research in which you have participated. As you know, milkweed plays a central role in the lives of monarch butterflies.
Ecology is the study of the interactions between living things and their environment.
Here are 8 different animals that interact with a milkweed plant, in one way or another. Unlike monarchs, who usually lay only a single egg per plant, this species lays a cluster of a dozen or more eggs on a single leaf. The larvae are found in late summer feeding on milkweed. This species does not migrate the way monarchs do. Instead, it over-winters in the cocoon stage.