When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Credit: Jacky Parker Photography / Getty Images The plight of monarch butterflies is well known.

Milkweed is the host plant for butterfly enthusiasts who want to attract monarch butterflies. When the monarch discovers the milkweed, she lays her eggs on it. Once the eggs hatch, the small ...

In 2020, around Thanksgiving, a total of fewer than 2,000 monarch butterflies were counted at around 250 overwintering sites where they have traditionally been counted in the state of California. A ...

Q: My milkweed has orange bugs on its seed pods. Are they harmful? No, they’re not going to damage the plant enough to warrant intervention. These are native insects, and they are part of the ...

DEAR JOAN: To help the monarch butterfly we created a milkweed patch in our backyard. We planted a tropical variety called Silky Red, a native called California narrow leaf milkweed, and another ...

Monarch butterflies are disappearing. Scientists agree that in the last 20 years, populations of the black and orange insect have been in precipitous decline. But there's much less certainty on what’s ...

Of all the perennials that sprouted up this spring, I was most pleased to see the butterfly weed. After a rough season last year, with deer keeping the plants eaten down to the ground, I wasn’t sure ...