Date: 06/28/2022

Number: 1

I spent a few hours today enjoying the Curtis Gates Lloyd Wildlife Management Area The mowers are very conservative so fields of wildflowers and trees are left for the wildlife
I checked in on the milkweeds in different areas One field has at least 500 common milkweed; Asclepias syriaca plants, many in healthy bloom and a good showing of Butterfly milkweed Asclepias Tuberosa
Sadly there is no sign that Monarch butterflies are aware of the Spring and Summer bounty A syriaca already has the yellows creeping up bottom leaves The insect herbivores with a taste for milkweed are still at a minimum With mating Red Milkweed Beetles working hard on a population explosion and only a couple milkweed bugs per every 50 plants or so I hope there’s still plenty of milkweed to sustain the Fall migration this year and to produce seeds
What I have been looking for in vain for the two years I’ve spent in Grant County is native Swamp milkweed Asclepias incarnata I remember it growing freely, especially around the abundant fresh water streams and lakes in NKY Strong 6’+canes Invasives seem to have taken over these prime growing spots That’s bad for the monarchs since it would break ground later in the season and be fresher and waiting for their later migration
Now the "ornamental" cultivators; ie Cinderella, are sold at big box stores They’re pretty but pale in comparison to the local genotype when it comes to Nourishing hungry caterpillars on leaf count and size alone
I did find Asian lady beetle eggs and nymphs and plenty of these tiny golden gems of a Leaf-footed bug Coreidae

Crittenden, KY

Latitude: 38.8 Longitude: -84.6

Observed by: Jypsi
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