The only thing unattractive about milkweed is its name. Weed carries a negative connotation for most gardeners; it implies pesky or intrusive, but milkweed is neither. It produces bold little blooms and attracts over 160 species of butterflies! I thought it was just monarchs, but they’re simply the most familiar because monarchs feed solely on milkweed. Depending on where you live, milkweed will attract viceroys, queens, skippers, fritillaries, and more. This is only one of the five monarch caterpillars I’ve seen in the past two weeks on my two milkweed plants.
John called me a nerd when I stuck this bumper sticker on my car, but I love it!
I love the bumper sticker! It’s really important to raise awareness for the Monarchs…seriously.
Now, far be it from me to question LettuceShare (gasp!) but I think the photo is of a Queen caterpillar because of the horns. ???
You’re right that Queen caterpillars have horns but so do Monarchs. The horns are actually the easiest way to tell them apart. Monarchs have two sets – front and back. Queens have three sets – front, back and middle.