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Q&A ViewAttendees 9

Plant-Insect Ecosystems

10-Minute Paper

P-IE: Biodiversity and Conservation

Suitability of native milkweed (Asclepias) species versus cultivars for supporting monarch butterflies and bees in urban gardens

Tuesday, November 2, 2021
10:36 AM – 10:48 AM MT
Location: Colorado Convention Center, Meeting Room 108-110
In-Person
Public interest in ecological gardening is fueling a robust market for native plants. Most plants available to consumers are cultivated forms that have been selected for ornamental characteristics. Depending on their traits, some native plant cultivars seem to support pollinators and specialist insect folivores as effectively as native plant species, whereas others do not. There is need for information on whether native cultivars can be as effective as “wild-type” native species for supporting native insects. Herein we compared the suitability of native milkweed species and their cultivars for attracting and supporting the iconic monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), as well as native bees in urban gardens. Wild-type Asclepias incarnata and Asclepias tuberosa and three cultivars of each that vary in stature, floral display, and color were grown in a replicated common garden experiment. We monitored the plants for colonization by monarchs, assessed their suitability for supporting monarch larvae, measured their defensive characteristics, and compared the abundance and diversity of bee genera visiting their blooms. Within each milkweed group, cultivars were colonized to the same extent as wild types. Despite some differences in defense allocation, all cultivars were as suitable as wild-type milkweeds in supporting larval growth. Five bee families and 17 genera were represented amongst the 2,436 total bees sampled from blooms. Bee assemblages of A. incarnata were dominated by Apidae, whereas A. tuberosa attracted relatively more Halictidae and Megachilidae. This study suggests that milkweed cultivars can be as suitable as their parental species for supporting monarch butterflies and native bees.