If you saw a butterfly laying motionless on its side, it was not puddling. Insecticidal soaps are more likely to hurt monarch eggs/caterpillars than adults. I would use them as a last resort. Check out the post linked below for some other options to battle the little sap suckers! Good luck, Tony Here is a link that might be useful: Stop aphids from destroying your milkweed

I have honeyvine, too, but only grow it as a back up plant to feed the Monarchs in the event I run out of my other milkweeds, which the Monarchs prefer, as mentioned above, including Asclepias incarnata (Swamp Milkweed), Asclepias syriaca (common milkweed, can be invasive), and Asclepias curassavica (tropical milkweed). I have heard many people mention that the Butterfly Weed (A. tuberosa) doesn't serve well as a host plant, but is a great nectar plant for most butterflies, including Monarchs. I think it and Cynanchum laeve are in the same category, having less of the cardiac glycosides which protect the Monarchs from a lot of predation. That doesn't mean it protects them from ALL predation. Birds that eat a Monarch will usually avoid it in the future, after a nasty reaction to the toxin. However, other predators, like stink bugs, soldier bugs, preying mantids, etc., don't seem to mind the toxic Monarch at all. The other species of milkweed I've mentioned have higher concentrations of the toxins than other milkweeds and seem to be preferable by the Monarchs as a host plant. There are many species of milkweed that are native to the U.S. You might want to check some out to see what you can grow that is native. Also, Tropical Milkweed is really favored as a host, and I just replant the seeds each spring. Hope this helps some. Susan

Last year I planted a yellow Butterfly Weed plant. It has grown quite large. No flowers yet, but 3 days ago I noticed the leaves were mostly gone and counted 31 Monarch caterpillars. I took 12 to a friend who tags them, and kept watch on the rest. Yesterday, I picked 2 stems of a milk weed plant, put in a jar of water next to my plant since it appeared the caterpillars would be running out of leaves shortly. This morning I see that there are only 5 caterpillars left. WHERE COULD THE OTHER 14 HAVE GONE??? 2 are busy munching on the new leaves and the others are finishing off the old leaves. I was so disappointed and curious as to what has become of the missing ones. Any ideas? I was hoping they'd be staying. Pat

Tigerdawn, I don't know where you are located in Oklahoma, but I live in OKC. The biggest attraction in my garden this year for the Monarchs was Sunflowers. I let a Sunflower seed grow that came from my bird feeder. It is very tall, much branching, about 5-6" flowers. I had about 6 or 7 of them in the front, and they acted like a beacon to draw them in. They also attracted other winged critters, bees, moths, the finches, and even the hummingbirds who I think were eating the tiny insects drawn to the Sunflowers. I also have Tropical Milkweed blooming and they found that, too, as well as the Zinnias, Cosmic Orange Cosmos, Golden Crownbeard, and Verbena bonariensis. The Tropical Milkweed is an annual for us, but they produce seeds you can collect year to year. I've never tried a pie plate of sugar water, so I don't know if that really works or not. I do put out a suet feeder of rotting bananas, though, for the butterflies that nectar on that, tree sap, dung, etc., and not flowers. I have other milkweeds, including Asclepias speciosa, but it won't bloom until next year, it's 3rd year. I also have new plants of Purple Milkweed, and A. sullivanti that are new this year, so will be awhile before they bloom. Good sources for other milkweed seeds, in case you don't find any, are Prairie Moon, Everwilde Farm, Butterfly Encounters. If you go to the Butterfly Forum, you may find that someone will offer seeds to you that I don't have, in exchange for an SASBE. Folks are always offering seeds over there. Meanwhile, I will have seeds also of Cosmic Orange Cosmos, if that is a Cosmos you don't have, as well as Verbena Bonariensis, which is actually perennial in zone 7, but will grow quickly and bloom for you next year. Other good nectar plants for the Monarchs include Tithonia, or Mexican Sunflower, Golden Crownbeard aka Verbesina encelioides (I have seed of these if you want), Zinnias, especially the single flowering varieties. I haven't seen the Monarchs nectaring on my Salvia 'Lady in Red', 'Hot Lips', or 'Cherry Queen' this year. I did last year, but they are ignoring it this year. Some years, they are very particular, changing their preferences so that you wonder, what is up? Anyway, let me know if you want any of these seeds, and please go to the Butterfly Forum. We love gardeners who are in interested in helping the butterflies. Susan