Date: 05/21/2022

Number: 1

With seeing my first adult monarch in the area I carefully checked the more easily accessible 15 Common Milkweed (A. syriaca) plants on the hillside And my big planter of overwintered Tropical (A. curassavica) No eggs or signs of caterpillars on any Ranging from only 3” -24” tall the wild plants look better than they have at any time since I found them 2 years ago Still green buds building blooms curled in the centers of about half of the plants Those over 6” tall Only 1 seed pod survived the bugs to produce seeds last year
I’d come equipped to thin the milkweed pest population that has been decimating this grove of over 100 plants before Fall migration but only saw 1 mating pair of milkweed bugs to dispatch and 1 gorgeous welcome native Lady Beetle Very stormy weather for the past couple weeks brought pelting rain and hail in unusually strong wind gusts up to 60MPH that might be washing them away frequently enough to interrupt some procreation
I plan to cut some plants back when the heat takes its toll this Summer Hopefully any migrating mommas who fly over in the Fall will be met with new growth The few eggs or cats found since moving and planting here have been in the planters
Poison Ivy is as bad as I’ve ever seen it thriving on the hill and keeps most plants out of reach

Crittenden, KY

Latitude: 38.8 Longitude: -84.6

Observed by: Jypsi
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