The Great Caterpillar Rescue

August is monarch season in Missouri. Monarch butterflies feed on nectar, particularly on purple flowers such as blazing star, New England aster and mistflower. Monarch caterpillars require milkweed leaves to feed on. As the monarchs start making their way South to Mexico for the winter, the adult butterflies lay eggs on milkweed plants. We found one of these caterpillars on a honeyvine that we were pulling off of a client’s redbud tree in her front yard. Honeyvine, Cynanchum laeve, a native milkweed vine, makes good habitat for monarch caterpillars, but often grows aggressively and overtops other desirable plants. We chose to remove it all in this tidy landscape. Since there were no milkweeds left nearby, we moved it to a common milkweed in her backyard. Hopefully it will find plenty to eat there! To benefit monarchs in your yard, make sure to have plenty of milkweeds and nectar plants available!