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  • Macrofungi: The Daisy Earthstar
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  • Home
  • About iDigBio and the AR Collection Card Project
  • Macrofungi: The Daisy Earthstar
    • Take a Closer Look: Daisy Earthstars
  • The Consortia of North American Lichens and Bryophytes: Greygreen Reindeer Lichen
    • Take a Closer Look: Reindeer moss
  • New England Vascular Plants: The Cardinal Flower
  • Keys to the Cabinet: SE Plants: The White-topped Pitcher Plant
  • Invertnet Collection Network: The Thorn Bug
    • Take a Closer Look: Thorn Bug Treehopper
  • Paleoniches: Brachiopods
  • Ammonite
  • iDigBio: Channel Catfish
  • Great Lakes Invasive Network: Zebra mussel
  • Tri-Trophic Thematic Collection Network: Stink Bug Parasitoid
  • Macroalgal: Elk Kelp
  • Insect Fossils: Tsetse Fly
  • SCAN: Earth-boring Scarab Beetle
  • InvertEBase: Carolina Mantis
  • EPICC: Fossil Crab
  • Animal Communication: Ruby-throated Hummingbird
  • Poweshiek Skipperling
  • RINGTAIL
  • Tarantula Hawk
    • Take a Closer Look: at the Tarantula Hawk
  • Sonoran Mantid
  • California Leaf-nosed Bat
    • Take a Closer Look: Bat Wings
  • Pipevine Swallowtail
    • Plants to attract Pipevine Swallowtails
  • Desert Hairy Scorpion
  • Gila Monster
  • Ocotillo
  • California Poppy
  • Anna's hummingbird
    • Plants to attract Hummingbirds
  • Monarch
    • Plants to attract Monarchs
  • Bumblebee
    • Plants to Attract Bumblebees
  • White-nosed coati
  • Asian Long-horned beetle
  • Learning Resources
    • Latitude and Longitude Game
  • Special Thanks
  • Give Us Your Feedback!
  • Contact Us
  • Specimen Cards
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • TEST page

Plants to Attract monarch butterflies

Milkweed (Asclepias sp.)
Milkweeds are perennial plants, growing each spring from rootstock and seeds. Milkweed is named for its latex, a milky substance containing cardiac glycosides. They are the only larval food source for monarch butterflies. Monarch caterpillars feed on the milkweeds containing these cardiac glycosides. This gives these butterflies their bright orange colors and in return makes them poisonous to predators. Common milkweeds in Arizona include: Arizona milkweed (Asclepias angustifolia), Butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa), Antelope horns milkweed (Asclepias asperula), Pineneedle milkweed (Asclepias linaria), and Desert milkweed (Asclepias subulata).
Picture
Photo by Sue Carnahan is licensed under CC BY-SA
Picture
Photo by Frankie Coburn is licensed under CC BY-NC

Gregg’s Mist Flower (Conoclinium greggii)
Gregg's Mistflower is a perennial that grows up to 2 feet tall. It has small purple-blue flowers that cluster together to form puffy, cushion-like flower heads. It is frequently found along plains, stream beds and overflow areas. It grows well in sun to part shade. Gregg's Mistflower often attracts large numbers of Queen and Monarch butterflies in the fall.
Picture
Photo by Sue Carnahan is licensed under CC BY-NC
Picture
Photo by Steve Plath

Picture
Photo by Clara Gauna
Picture
Photo by Frankie Coburn is licensed under CC BY-SA

Mexican Sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia)
Mexican sunflowers can be warm season annuals or perennials. They have daisy like flower heads that range in color from red, vivid orange to yellow. These flowers bloom from late summer to autumn and are great at attracting pollinator species like hummingbirds and butterflies especially monarchs.
Picture
Photo by Mauricia Mercadante is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA
Picture
Photo by Steve Plath
Sweetbush (Bebbia juncea)
Sweetbush is a perennial, many stemmed shrub of the deserts of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It can grow 4-6 feet tall and produces many flowers that are yellow in color. It is commonly found in sand washes and on rocky slopes up to 4,000 feet. This species flowers year round, with the peak time in the spring. This plant is a great nectar source for monarch butterflies in the fall months.
Picture
Photo by Frankie Coburn is licensed under CC BY-SA
Picture
Photo by Max Licher is licensed under CC BY-SA
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