If you're intrigued by monarch butterflies, you can turn your backyard into a fuel stop for these fall wanderers as they fly to winter havens in California and Mexico. Monarchs are the only truly migratory insect in the world. Like most types of butterflies, they depend on just a few families of plants for food. Adult monarch butterflies use native milkweed species and other plants as a nectar source, and their caterpillars eat milkweed leaves. The caterpillars stockpile toxic chemicals they ingest from milkweeds as a deterrent against predators wanting to eat them or the butterflies they develop into.
Fall and winter are the best times to plant native milkweed plants. Not all native milkweed plants sustain monarchs. In Texas, spider milkweed (Asclepias asperula) and green milkweed (Asclepias viridis) are good for sustaining monarchs.
