More About Milkweeds

Milkweeds are a very important group of plants for pollinators, especially for the monarch butterfly.  There are 12 species of milkweeds in Wyoming - though three of those are rare.  Part of the goal for this program is to find out which species, if not all of them, provide the monarch caterpillar with its critical food source.  Milkweeds are often considered a weedy species and are targeted for spraying in pastures and along ditches.  However, they are important assets to monarchs, and do great in garden settings!

FIND A MILKWEED?  SUBMIT YOUR OBSERVATION!

You can identify milkweed species based on their location in the state, leaf shape, flower color, and other hints. 

DOWNLOAD THE ID GUIDE

Click here to download the printer-friendly, Monarchs and Milkweeds' 
Milkweed Identification Guide to learn how to identify milkweed species. 

MORE RESOURCES

To learn more visit these online resources:

• Cultivating milkweeds in your garden: Plants With Altitude: Regionally Native Plants for Wyoming Gardens
• Monarch and Milkweed coloring book
• Monarchs and Milkweeds elementary school lesson plan

Project Navigation

Mission

The Monarchs and Milkweeds program is designed to work with you - community scientists across Wyoming - to gather observations of where, when, and how many monarchs and milkweed plants you find in the state.  Through this, we hope to gain a better understanding of where monarchs migrate through Wyoming, at what time of year, and in what densities.  We also hope to learn where and which species of milkweeds exist in Wyoming.  With your help, we all can learn more about these wonderful organisms!