When people think about milkweed, the monarch butterfly comes to mind. Monarch butterflies’ existence depends on this plant. It is a source of nourishing nectar; its leaves are essential for growing caterpillars. Without milkweed, monarch butterflies would become extinct.

Common milkweed also hosts other living things. Walk into a milkweed patch, and you will find it bustling with life. This plant’s rich nectar attracts honeybees, bumblebees, moths, and many species of butterflies.  It is also home to tiger beetles hunting for small insects, ants climbing milkweed stems to harvest the honeydew excreted by milkweed aphids that are sucking the sap of the plants’ stems, tussock moth caterpillars munching milkweed leaves, milkweed bugs that eat the plant’s seeds, wasps hunting caterpillar prey, and ambush bugs and spiders that hide in its leaves and flowers waiting to pounce on insects visiting the milkweed patch.

My Maryland daughter was surprised to see hummingbirds visiting he backyard milkweed patch where they drank the milkweed’s sweet nectar.

Unfortunately, milkweeds are declining due to habitat loss and the use of herbicides. This loss impacts not only monarch butterflies but all other organisms that rely on milkweed.

You can help by protecting and planting milkweed in your yard, advocating for the protection of this plant in your neighborhood, and spreading the word about the importance of preserving this plant. By taking these actions, you can help maintain the biodiversity of the milkweed patch.