Milkweed sightings are spiking as bloom season peaks
iNaturalist Community
Native Plants
The milkweed patch you've been letting grow wild in the back corner of your yard is exactly what monarch caterpillars need to eat, and this bloom-season surge in sightings shows other gardeners are noticing the same plants right now.
Common milkweed is the plant showing up most often on iNaturalist this week, with 415 people logging research-grade sightings. It's peak bloom time for this plant across much of its range, and it's also the only food source monarch butterfly caterpillars can eat. Seeing this many observations at once is a good sign that both the plant and the people watching for it are thriving this season.
Key Findings
415 research-grade observations of common milkweed logged in a single week on iNaturalist
Ranks among the most-observed plant species on the platform this week
Timing aligns with peak summer bloom period for Asclepias syriaca across its native range
chevron_right Technical Summary
Common milkweed is having a big week on iNaturalist, with 415 people documenting sightings across its range. That surge signals both a bloom period and growing citizen interest in the plant monarch butterflies depend on to survive.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Trending: common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) — 415 observations this week
common milkweed is among the most observed plant species this week with 415 research-grade observations.
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
Species Mentioned
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Asclepias syriaca, commonly called common milkweed, butterfly flower, silkweed, silky swallow-wort, and Virginia silkweed, is a species of flowering plant. It is native to southern Canada and much of the United States east of the Rocky Mountains, excluding the drier parts of the prairies. It is i...