Denison Scientific Association: What’s the best way to feed hungry monarchs?

Monarch butterflies have suffered drastic declines, with Eastern populations at near their lowest levels ever recorded. Some researchers hypothesize that the reduction of the area covered by their milkweed host plants, those in the Asclepias genus, is partly to blame. In response, many groups are promoting the planting of milkweeds across the Midwest.

One problem with this strategy is that we typically don’t know where milkweed seeds come from when we buy them. If, for example, the best seeds to plant in Granville are seeds from Granville, then we may be unwittingly planting non-local seeds destined to fail in our particular climate.

To address this possibility, our team collected seeds from 20 populations in the Eastern and Midwestern U.S. and planted them in three large common gardens in Minnesota, Ohio, and Virginia to see whether local seeds produce the most healthy plants. Over three years we measured plant growth, size, and susceptibility to insect damage - come find out the results of this experiment and see what you can do to help monarchs!