Common milkweed, as well as swamp milkweed, attracts an amazing diversity of insects. I always check out milkweed plants to see what is on them because I have found so many invertebrate species using these plants. Some insects are not using the milkweeds for any purpose other than resting (those nice broad, sturdy leaves!). Some lurk there, hiding in flowers or under leaves, predators waiting for other insects to land. Some feed on the nectar of the flowers. Some eat the leaves. Others feed on the stems. Some lay their eggs on the leaves, or in the stems. Milkweeds form an entire little "habitat", and by planting for monarch butterflies, we are also attracting a myriad of other creatures, including many other butterfly species, flies, bees, wasps, beetles, bugs, etc. Because some eat the plants, we need to provide hundreds and hundreds of milkweeds to ensure that there is room for everyone.

The photos here were not all taken at the FWG, as I am interested in showing who is using the plants and some of these insects have not yet been found at the garden, but many, of course, have.