Monarch Butterflies Use Regenerating Milkweeds for Reproduction in Mowed Hayfields in Northern Virginia

The effects of mowing milkweeds in areas visited by monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus L., Nymphalidae) were studied by counting the eggs and larvae on regenerating common milkweeds (Asclepias syriaca L., Apocyanaceae) in five adjacent mowed hayfields in northern Virginia in late summer 2015. At the same time monarch larvae were counted on mature senescent common milkweeds in unmowed areas adjacent or near to the mowed hayfields. Milkweeds...