Map Asclepias Project with Monarchs Across Georgia

Suitable habitat is a limiting factor for the success of many species, including the monarch butterfly. Asclepias species, commonly known as milkweeds, are the host plant for the monarch, providing the sole food source for these caterpillars. With the loss of native milkweed stands across our landscape, it is important that existing milkweed is protected to ensure monarchs have adequate food sources. We also encourage planting native milkweeds on your property and incorporating them into gardens at schools, nature centers and parks.

Monarchs Across Georgia wants to know the location and species of milkweeds both in the wild and in cultivated plantings that are available for egg-laying females. To this end, we are asking butterfly and native plant enthusiasts to familiarize themselves with Georgia’s milkweeds, search them out in your travels and report your findings. Specifically we would like photo documentation, a description of the site including the latitude and longitude coordinates, and a record of the condition and number of plants.

Using your reports, a milkweed distribution database/ map in GIS and milkweeds of Georgia scrapbook will be created. This data will help prioritize our future milkweed restoration and education efforts.

To find out more about this project and how to report the milkweeds in your garden and those seen growing wild, visit the Creating Habitats section of www.monarchsacrossga.org. Reports can be filed online or mailed in from the MAP: Map Asclepias Project page.

To aid in the identification of milkweed species, a “Field Guide to Milkweeds of Georgia” has been created as a downloadable pdf in the Creating Habitats section. (Tip: Photographs of milkweed flowers can help verify the species. Bloom times occur May – September.)

Please join us in our data collection efforts by participating in our MAP: Map Asclepias Project. We hope to hear from you soon!

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