Influence of the green-flowered milkweed (Asclepias viridis) health and quality on monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) larval survivorship

• In Event: Poster Presentation and Judging for: Anthropology; Botany; Conservation Ecology; Environmental Science; Freshwater Science; Geosciences; Mathematics & Computer Science; Neuroscience; Physics & Eng; Science Education; Terrestrial Ecology & Management.
  In Poster Session: Conservation Ecology Poster Session

Abstract

Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) have experienced population declines of up to 90% in the past few decades. Each spring, overwintering monarchs make their journey north from montane forest refuges in Mexico to stop in Texas and Oklahoma to breed. Many of these spring generation monarchs are reared on green flowered milkweed (Asclepias viridis). While there have been numerous studies on the arthropod predators present on monarch host plants and on host plant defense mechanisms, there is no information about how the health and quality of A. viridis affects monarch larval survivorship. The purpose of this study is to describe host plant characteristics of A. viridis and to determine what affects these traits have on monarch larval survivorship. This information may prove to be important for making informed decisions on best management practices for successful monarch reproduction in spring.

Authors

• Kelsey Helgerson, Texas A&M University- Commerce

• Howard Crenshaw, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

• Jeremy Mayhew, Texas Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

• Jeff Kopachena, Texas A&M University- Commerce